Chapter 5 Touch me, stalker

Three (3) years later..

Surviving everything was something Ariel had to learn harshly through the years. The prison, monsters, the cruelty, except for one thing.

Him.

The shadow.

The only danger she couldn't hide from. Nor know how to survive.

Like her anchor, like the only thing that made her pulse quicken, instead of her chest tightening.

Ariel had made herself believe that he wasn't real, that it was all her imagination, probably as her coping mechanism. But she couldn't deny the realness of his presence.

Or the scent of him that lingers every morning.

Apart from the first day she ever saw him, he never got close to her again.

But he was always there.

By the cell gate.

Standing.

Watching.

With his face blurred. With his hand tucked in his pocket.

Same position. Same black dress.

She couldn't ever reach him. She couldn't ever speak to him.

But tonight was different. He stepped closer, close enough she could feel him standing by the bedside.

His aura was terrifying, his presence felt more real, more rigid than it ever had in the past few years.

Every breath she took felt stolen, like she was inhaling him-smoke, cologne, and heat.

Fear coursed through her, cold and electric...yet beneath it, something else coiled in her stomach. Something dark. Something that I wanted to know what it would feel like...if he touched her.

She opened her mouth to speak, but like always, no sound came.

Then she felt him crouched beside her and the air shifted instantly.

A tremor ran through her as she felt his breath brush the side of her cheek.

He was breathing. He was real. He wasn't a coping mechanism imaginative man. He wasn't just a shadow. He was a real man.

Her breath grew heavy, her pulse racing. She wanted to pull away, to run, but her body wouldn't respond.

Her eyes widened, darting. Her mouth opened to scream but all effort was futile.

She felt him lean closer, brushing the side of her neck with his breath. Slowly. Deliberately.

Like he purposely wanted her to feel him, feel his heat, his dominance, his power over her.

Ariel clenched her fist when her breath shuddered in response. Her throat bobbed with an unsteady swallow.

She didn't have to see his face to feel his eyes burning into her, tracing her like a secret only he was meant to know.

Her breath trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes when his finger trailed across her chin to her jaw, like he was memorizing her skin.

" See you soon. Ariel Hort."

Ariel froze up. Her eyes widened in shock and horror.

He spoke.

For the first time in years, he spoke.

His voice, rich and deep, rolled her name out of his tongue smoothly.

Then, just like always, the presence slipped away.

When she finally gasped awake, it was morning already. Her sheets were damp with sweat, her skin still tingling where the air had touched her.

But the scent of him lingered. Rich. Intoxicating. Impossible.

That's when she realized, it was never a dream. She was being haunted.

Fear coursed through her veins, but that wasn't the only thing she realized. It wasn't only her sheet that was damp.

Her fingers trembled as they slowly went to her pink folds.

Her breath hitched.

She was soaked. Dripping. And worse. Aching.

Her lashes fluttered.

She should be scared, she should be running off to report to the guards about her stalker, but the way her body had betrayed her left her more stunned, more speechless, and scared.

But who would even believe her? Who would believe a man was sneaking into the prison and stalking her?

It doesn't make any logical sense. Unless he's a guard?

She jumped off the bed, waited impatiently for the guard to come and open the gate before storming off to find Hedgehog.

" Hey, princess," Hedge called, smiling as she saw her run up to her. She never stopped calling her princess.

Across the years, she'd become the only friend Ariel has, more like best friends who rely on each other.

" Hedgehog," Ariel called urgently, causing Hedge's face to twist with worry.

" Everything okay?"

" No." She shook her head and grabbed her arm, dragging her to sit with her on a bench.

" Whoa. Someone seems so impatient."

" I think I'm being stalked." She dropped with no delay.

Hedge paused, looked at her for a second before feeling her temperature. " You sure, you're okay? Someone is stalking you? in here? Is any cellmate bothering you?"

" No, not a cellmate. A man. A real man."

Hedge chuckled. " A fake man cannot stalk."

" I'm serious."

" There's no guard here that'll stalk you, Ariel. They won't dare. Though we might have some prying and ogling since the majority are fucking the women here, but I'm very certain, none of them would touch you."

Ariel furrowed her brow. She understood Hedgehog is a strong lady, but the way she says it, the certainty and assurance, even when the guards are not afraid of her, made her feel suspicious.

" Is it possible for someone else, someone outside to be gaining access into this prison?" Ariel asked.

She shook her head. " No, except the government? And everyone would know if they're around. Come on, what the fuck is going on?"

Ariel's shoulder slumped. " I don't think so." Her brow wrinkled. " He's not a guard, he smells far more expensive."

" Who?"

" The shadow haunting me."

" Okay now, you're only confusing me, tell me what the fuck is going on before time for breakfast, cause once they open that gate, I'm ditching your ass."

Ariel nodded and glanced around before leaning closer and keeping her voice low. " I thought it was just an imagination. I was very lonely and afraid when I arrived, so I thought it was my mind projecting. Though...I suspected it was real, but he was always watching only from a distance, he never got close enough for me to confirm."

" This is getting creepy, but I'm listening."

" Until last night."

" Last night?"

" Hm." She nodded. " He touched me last night."

" What?!" Hedge began checking her body for any bruises, her heart thudding fast.

" No, no, he didn't hurt me. He never hurts me. But it's like...he strives on making me scared, afraid of him."

Hedge sighed in relief. " Why didn't you scream then?"

" I tried; anytime he arrived, I wouldn't be able to move my body or speak."

" Is this sleep paralysis?"

" I don't know." Ariel shook her head in confusion. " But what scares me more...is..."

" Hm?"

" How my body, my mind...is reacting." She looked up at Hedge, as if wanting her immediate assistance. " I was soaked. My nipples were hard..."

" What?! Fuck,!" Hedge burst into laughter. " Is this some kind of wet dream or do you want a stalker to fuck you?!"

" No, no, no, I don't. I.." she paused. Unsure. " But the thought that he might...makes me scared...and...fascinated."

" Oh girl, you're fucked!" She said unsugarcoated.

Ariel's face dropped, saddened and confused. She rubbed her palm against her face as Hedge laughed at her.

" Don't worry, maybe it's this place that's messing you up. It's over already girl, hold on tight."

" What's over?" She asked, raising her head to look at her.

Hedge paused and looked behind her.

Ariel furrowed her brow, wondering what she was looking at, and turned to see a guard approaching them.

" I don't know what exactly you did, girl, or the charm you use, but you'd better thank him enough when you meet him."

" Who?"

" My boss." She smirked.

" You never told me who that is, you..."

" Ariel Hort?" The guard interrupted.

" Yes?" Ariel threw him a questioning gaze.

" You've been released."

" Excuse me?" She demanded, like the

guard had just uttered a very impossible statement.

Her heart started racing as she looked from Hedge back at the guard who gave her a cheeky smile.

" Today's your last day here, Miss Ariel."