Payton
A scream catches in my throat, too strangled to be heard
My eyes squeeze shut, and I force myself to breathe
Payton
𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨*gulps*
But when I open them again, the man is still there. And coming closer.
The man crosses half of my apartment in two long strides, putting him
only feet away
Adrenaline courses through my body, yet I don’t move.
To my own humiliation, I don’t do anything
Aside from the television, the lamp in the corner is the only light on.
And it does little to illuminate the man in front of me.
He’s tall. I’m sitting but I can tell he’s tall. And… he’s wearing a suit
Payton
𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵? 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘦?
His voice is deep. But gentle. Soft even. And my brain
doesn’t know how to react
My heart is racing.
My hands are shaking.
But the rest of me doesn’t move
he takes a few slow steps, crossing in front of
the TV
Nero
You really shouldn’t leave your door open like that
My lips part, but my words get jumbled on my tongue and I have to
swallow before trying again
Payton
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦.. 𝘐𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳
Still trying to understand what’s happening
He tilts his head, and it feels like he’s humoring my response, but I can’t
focus on that. Because the angle allows the light to fall across his features.
And…
Dark eyes. Dark brows. Nearly black hair tousled yet styled back, and
sharp cheekbones outlined with a trimmed beard in the same shade.
He looks like he came from a photoshoot. Or a boardroom. Or a
photoshoot of a boardroom. And an inner voice is shouting at me that that
should make this even scarier.
I also notice that his clothes aren’t wet, which means the rain hasn’t
started. And for some reason, that saddens me. Like that detail alone seals
my ruin
Resist the urge to sigh at the sight of my phone sitting on said kitchen
counter. Mocking me with the idea of calling the police, knowing I’ll never
get the chance
A police siren wails outside.
Then another.
And a moment later, I watch the flash of red and blue lights bounce
down through the night as cop cars speed past my building.
Slowly, I turn my gaze back to the man facing me
This man is running from the cops and he’s standing in my living room. Like
nothing is amiss. Like he just decided to take a different route home.
*
Payton
Are you running from cops?
His body shifts and I think that maybe that’s all this will be. The police
have passed by, now he can leave.
But he lifts a foot and steps closer.
Panic starts to flare brighter inside me, hitting its flash point, when
another gust of wind lifts the edge of his suit jacket.
Payton
𝘖𝘩 𝘨𝘰𝘥.. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘯
He doesn’t reach for it though. He just… lowers himself onto the couch.
My couch.
Beside me.
Once again, my mouth opens with nothing coming out
Payton
What are you doing?
What is happening?
Payton
What. In. The. Hell?
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