Chapter 10

I had been irritated all day long. 

Last night, after dinner, when I had approached my car at the parking lot, I had noticed that car next to mine. The same car that I had believed had been following me. It was right there next to mine. 

I had frozen in my spot. 

The car was empty, and nobody was around. 

I had tried my best to remain calm and act like nothing had happened. I had carried myself gracefully, started my car and followed dad's car home without a word to anyone.

But all through the night and all through this morning and afternoon, the same thoughts had been harassing my mind. Was it a coincidence or not? Was someone really following me? If yes, then who and why? 

The overthinking had led to me to develop a hammering ache in my forehead. I was frequently drifting in and out of thoughts and my concentration level at work was zero.

The fact that Ira and Jace had gone to shop for groceries and other essentials for the cafe and had left me as the sole in charge for a few hours did nothing to help my anxiousness either. 

"Why isn't she answering my calls?" asked Elisha, sniffing. 

I handed her another tissue and patted her shoulder. "She must be busy. You know she keeps her phone on silent most of the time." 

"But she's been gone for hours now. Just how much longer is she going to take to come back?" she said, her eyes welling up with a fresh set of tears.

Elisha was Ira's best friend. She was also dating Ira's cousin, Stefan. The two of them often helped out in the cafe and were good acquaintances. 

Elisha had burst into the cafe about an hour and a half ago. She was a tearful mess, both distraught and dishelved, and was anxiously seeking Ira's presence. 

I had tried my best to calm her down and the result was her sobs reducing down to whimpers and occasional sniffing. 

From the bits and pieces that she had told me amidst her cries, I had learnt that she was having an issue with Stefan's family again. 

I pitied her, truly. Stefan was the only sane person in that family and the rest were extremely difficult to deal with. Period. 

"Ah, she's here," I said, as the back door of the kitchen opened and in walked Ira with a ton of bags.

She deposited the bags on the nearest counter and sighed with relief. "That was heavy. Oh, hi, Eli." 

"Wait. What happened?" she asked, getting a better look at Elisha and immediately realising that the atmosphere was tense. 

With her eyes filled with worry, she rushed towards Elisha who flung her arms around her and burst into tears again. 

"It's okay, it's okay," she said, rubbing Elisha's back. "Calm down. Tell me what happened." 

Jace walked in with more bags and some boxes. He stopped short when he saw the scene before him.

Keeping the boxes and bags down, he raised an eyebrow at me questioningly.

I shrugged and shook my head. 

Jace nodded in understanding and we both decided to give Ira and Elisha some privacy, so we headed out into the cafe area.

Two more orders had piled up in the few minutes that I had abandoned my work here to go check up on Elisha in the kitchen.

Jace walked over to a table and slumped down in the chair, resting his head down. 

I quickly got through the orders and then decided to make Jace some coffee. 

As I did that, my eyes fell on Kol's empty table. He had not come today which was weird since he had not missed a day yet. This was a first. And it felt weird to not see him in that spot, typing away with a serious expression.

Are you missing him, Zuri? 

Maybe I was.

I placed the tray with a muffin and a coffee on Jace's table. 

He raised his head and his tired eyes lit up when he saw the food.

"Thank you so much," he said, gratefully reaching for the muffin. "I was too tired to get something myself. You're the best, Zuri." 

I smiled and waved off his thanks. "No worries." 

"Hey," he said, as I turned to go.

"Yeah?" I glanced back at him.

"Are you worried about something?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Why would you think that?" 

"You seem a little off today," he said, "but maybe it's just me." 

I smiled and went back to my place behind the counters.

I was worried. Terribly.

I wanted to know for sure if I was just being paranoid and overthinking about a coincidence or if there was genuinely a need to worry. 

But do you remember what happened with Kol? You had gone to such lengths of precaution and planning without even being sure. Look at how that turned out.

I sighed. 

Just when I was starting to think about my future, here it was again—the worry, the stress, the fear, the unsurity.

I craved for peace. Not the temporary one that provided relief from the small trials that life decorated my path with. No. I wanted peace from this never-ending cycle of fear, doubt, and overthinking. I wanted to get rid of this constant worrying.

I wanted to live without having to worry about mine or my parents' safety. I wanted to go on with my life without having to keep turning back or looking over my shoulder to make sure that no one was following me. I wanted to feel satisfied without having to double check the locks. I wanted to believe people without any second doubts. And most of all, I did not want to always second guess myself.

I heard the glass doors opening and looked up to see Kol come in.

I found myself smiling despite everything, as he approached me.

"Hey," I said, "you changed your routine today. Want the usual?" 

His eyes were shining, and his voice was filled with excitement. "No, no. I have a special request today."