What she was feeling wasn’t jealousy, per se, just a persistent sense of loss, which made no sense. She hadn’t lost anything. Or anyone. Both of her friends were doing well, though Kiera was still battling the strange issues with her clients.
There was just some big piece missing from Ash’s life, and since she didn’t know what it was, she didn’t know how to resolve it.
Her parking spot at the office was occupied. Of course. There were no assigned spots—it was just part of her routine to park there. It was out on the fringes of the big lot, so she got in extra steps. And it was nicely positioned to take advantage of the afternoon shade.
Oh well. Not like it was her only parking option. She turned into another spot, feeling off kilter. She shook it off, gathered her things, and went up to her office.
Her regular Monday morning meeting was about to start. Why that irritated her, she didn’t know. Everything was bothering her today.
She took her coffee, a pen, and pad of paper, and went into the meeting room. Everyone was chatting about their fun weekends. Though they used quiet voices, the collective buzz was loud. To make matters worse, the smell of so many people gathered in a small, closed space clogged Ash’s nose. She looked around, wondering which among them hadn’t bathed, then realized she could distinguish the scent from each individual person, their soaps, perfumes, aftershaves, shampoos, hair products, skin lotions. It was weird and overwhelming. Maybe her sensitivity to touching things was moving into her other senses.
God, she was a freak.
Ash took a seat closest to the door, praying it would stay open once the meeting started. She focused on taking long, calming breaths in, pausing for a count of several seconds, out. Repeat. She breathed through her mouth so that she wouldn’t be smelling everyone.
Her boss came in and started the meeting. Ash looked at his throat as he talked, watching his Adam’s apple move, watching the skin of his neck move over the flesh of his throat. She could even see the faint pulsing of blood in his neck.
Everyone gave their individual updates. When it was her turn, she managed to contribute her information as if she weren’t falling apart.
When the meeting was over, she was the first out. Safely retreating to her office, she closed her door, finally feeling a slight easing of the oppression that was closing in on her.
Geez, if this kept up, she was going to need special counseling.
And a straitjacket.
She sat at her desk and tried to focus on her work. It was harder than normal. Her back was starting to ache. So was her throat. She held her forearm against her forehead and thought she might be starting with a fever.
She had a bottle of Tylenol in her desk drawer. She took a couple of those and was able to get through the rest of the day with some level of efficiency. It was a relief when the day was over.
She got into her hot car, feeling achy and cold. Hell, she was definitely coming down with something. At home, she took more Tylenol, then made herself a bowl of soup. She managed to eat half of it before crashing in bed.
The next morning, she was barely able to brush her teeth, but she managed that. She had no leave left to take a few days off to deal with her cold. She had to go into the office.
She stopped on the way to get a daytime cold reliever. She was standing at the cashier when a man standing by an endcap caught her attention. He was tall, with straight blond hair and blue eyes. Fear rippled along her spine. She’d seen him before. He was the guy who’d been standing outside her office building, looking up at her window.
Creep.
She paid for her things and left, hurrying to her car, relieved that it was broad daylight. She’d be able to see if he followed her onto her office campus.
He did not.
Carrie came into her office with a stack of folders and set them on her desk. She frowned at Ash. “You okay, Ash? You’re looking a little gray.”
“I’ve got a bug.” Ash held up the cold medicine she’d just taken.
“You should go home.”
“I should. But I don’t have any leave left.”
“Want anything? I could bring you a cup of hot tea.”
“Thank you, no. I have what I need.”
Carrie nodded toward the window. “That guy’s out there again.”
Ash knew who she meant before she even went over to the window. Sure enough, it was him. He smiled at her, but it wasn’t really a smile, just a baring of teeth, like a dog growling.
You’re mine now. Let the change happen.
The words appeared in her head, as clearly as if he were standing next to her speaking them. Ash turned and checked out her room. Only Carrie was there.
“What’s wrong?” Carrie asked.
“Didn’t you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Ash shook her head. Maybe she was so ill that she was delirious. Hallucinating. Except Carrie saw the creeper too.
“Nothing. I’m losing it.”
When Carrie left, Ash looked out the window. The guy was gone. If he kept making appearances, she’d get with site security to make sure they knew she may have picked up a stalker. If that didn’t work, then she might have to go to the police.
She sat at her desk and looked at her computer. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing. She put her head down on her folded arms. Everything about her was beginning to hurt. Her toes and fingertips. Her jaw and teeth. Her neck. Her ribs.
She shut her eyes, thinking a couple minutes’ rest would let the meds kick in, but the next thing she knew, someone was touching her shoulder.
She lurched to her feet and backed away, but realized it was just her boss.
“Hey. Sorry to scare you. Carrie said you were sick. I think you should go home.”
It sounded like he was speaking through water. She tilted her head, trying to understand them.
“Go home. We’ll call and check on you tomorrow. Don’t worry about the leave. You can work a couple weekends to make up the time. Take care of yourself first.”
Ash didn’t move. He opened some of her desk drawers, searching for her things, then found her purse and keys, which he held up to her. “Let’s go.” He took her arm and gently led her out of the office.
Ash sent a look around at the people she worked with. They looked curious, confused, concerned. She didn’t care about them. She didn’t care about anything.
“Carrie,” her boss said. “I’m going to drive Ash home. Follow us so you can give me a ride back.”
He walked Ash to where she usually parked, but that other car was there. And that blond guy was in it. Windows up, in the sweltering early summer heat.
“Where’d you park?”
Ash didn’t answer. She couldn’t take her attention from her stalker.
“Never mind. I see your car.”
When they reached her house, her boss gave her things to Carrie, and between them, they managed to get Ash inside her kitchen.
“Look, take some meds, get some rest, and we’ll check on you in the morning. If you aren’t better, we’ll get you to the emergency room. This could be some weird tropical bug you brought back with you.”
Ash tried to respond, but her throat was so dry that she sounded like she was growling at them. Scared them both, she could tell. She turned and walked into her living room, leaving them to let themselves out.