Chapter 7 Eyes In The Dark
Elena noticed the car passing again,It was parked across the street from the hospital entrance, half hidden behind a delivery van, gray, ordinary, senia.
Her steps slowed without her meaning to, her grip tightened around her bag, the late morning air felt too chilled, the car’s engine was running.
She told herself it meant nothing, staff rotated in and out all day, people waited for relatives, ride shares idled constantly, she was being paranoid, still, she didn’t move.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, she jumped.
She pulled it out and froze.
Unknown: Don’t react, walk inside.
She typed back while moving, forcing her legs to work.
Elena: Who is this?
Another vibration.
Unknown: I told you not to react.
Elena: Pierce?
Three dots appeared, vanished, then:
Pierce: Yes.
Elena: You said you wouldn’t bring this to my work.
Pierce: I didn’t, he followed you.
She stopped just inside the lobby, pretending to check her phone while her pulse roared in her ears.
Elena: You’re sure it’s him?
Pierce: pretty sure.
She swallowed and slid the phone back into her pocket, work, focus, survive the shift.
The hospital was busy, a man with a fractured wrist, a woman dizzy from dehydration, a child crying over a splinter like it was the end of the world.
Elena moved through it all on muscle memory, calm voice, gentle hands, soft reassurances she barely heard herself give, her body knew this rhythm but she was still shaky, every glass surface reflected movement, every automatic door made her flinch, every time someone lingered too long in the hallway, her pulse spiked.
She washed her hands for the third time in ten minutes and stared at herself in the mirror.
Her eyes looked too bright, too alert, get it together, Elena.
She was not helpless, she was not prey, she checked her phone.
Pierce: Still there.
Her fingers trembled.
Elena: Where are you?
Pierce: Close enough.
That didn’t help.
She slipped the phone back into her pocket and stepped into the break room, the smell of burnt coffee turned her stomach.
Marco looked up from the vending machine. “You okay?”
“Yes,” she said too fast.
He frowned. “You sure?”
“I’m just tired.”
“Still not sleeping?”
She nodded, eyes on the floor.
“Take it easy today,” he said gently. “You’ve been pushing yourself.”
If only he knew, at lunch, she avoided the cafeteria, she sat in an empty consult room instead, back to the wall, sandwich untouched in her lap.
Her phone buzzed again.
Pierce: He hasn’t moved.
Elena: Is he watching me?
A pause.
Pierce: no, he is just watching the hospital, I think he can come inside because of the cameras.
That gave her a sense of relief
Elena: But why is he still watching me?
Pierce: Because you matter.
That made her angry.
Elena: I didn’t ask for this.
Pierce: I am so sorry.
She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to the cool wall.
Elena: What do I do?
The reply came slower this time.
Pierce: You keep working, you keep living, you don’t change your routine.
Elena: That’s it?
Pierce: That’s all, as long as he doesn't notice anything strange, he should eventually leave.
Her appetite vanished completely, she left work an hour early, the car was gone.
That should have been a relief, it wasn’t, she drove with the radio off, eyes flicking to mirrors too often, every car behind her felt wrong, every turn felt deliberate, she parked and sat there for a full minute before getting out, Pierce was waiting.
Leaning against the hood of her car like he belonged there.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she said.
“You shouldn’t be alone.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
She dropped her keys into her bag harder than necessary. “You followed me.”
“I had no choice in the matter.”
“That’s not better.”
“It is when the alternative is a body bag.”
“You don’t get to talk to me like that.”
She locked the door. Then locked it again.
“You saw him,” she said.
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t warn me sooner.”
“I needed to confirm.”
“Confirm what?”
“That it was him, he has been very patient.”
“Patient for what?”
“For you to be isolated.”
“So this is my fault now?”
“No,” Pierce said immediately. “This is my responsibility.”
She turned on him. “I didn’t ask you to take responsibility for my life.”
“I know.”
“Then stop.”
“I can’t,” he said.
Her back hit the counter. “You don’t own me.”
“No.”
“Then what is this?”
“This,” he said quietly, “is me fixing a mess I dragged you into.”
She laughed, “You can’t fix anything with your condition.”
“I just want to help,” he replied. “I want you breathing.”
She looked away.
“You’re staying,” she said finally. “But on my terms.”
“I’m listening.”
“No men outside my building.”
“They’re already gone.”
“No weapons in my house.”
His jaw tightened. “I’ll lock them in the car.”
“And you don’t make decisions for me.”
A pause. Then, “I’ll try.”
“That’s not comforting.”
“It’s honest.”
She nodded once.
That night, sleep didn’t come.
Elena lay in bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the faint sounds of movement in the living room. Pierce pacing, the low murmur of a phone call she couldn’t hear.
She hated that it made her feel safer, she hated that even more than the fear.
A car passed outside, slow, slowing down more than needed,
Pierce knocked once, soft.
“Elena.”
She opened the door a crack. “What.”
“They circled the block.”
Her stomach twisted. “And?”
“They left.”
“That doesn’t help.”
“No,” he agreed. “It doesn’t.”
She hugged herself, her fingers were cold, she hadn’t noticed when that happened.
“Come sit,” he said.
“I’m not…”
“Just sit.”
She hesitated, then stepped into the living room and perched on the far end of the couch.
“You’re shaking,” he said.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not.”
She hated that he could see it.
“They won’t touch you,” he added quietly. “Not while I’m here.”
“And when you leave?”
His silence was answer enough, outside, tires rolled louder now past again, Elena’s heart raced.
The eyes weren’t gone, they were closer.