Chapter 3 Pae

Paetyn's POV

The voice of the client sitting across from me is slightly muffled by the rampant thoughts of the masked man racing through my mind. It has been two days since I saw him standing in my backyard, his eyes piercing me through the mask covering his features, and I haven't stopped thinking about him.

Liam told me not to worry about him, but how can I possibly not? It's one thing to watch me from across the parking lot, but it's another to stand in the darkness of my backyard and watch me like a hawk, making his presence known. He's keeping his features concealed for a reason, so I'm unable to identify him, but if he's going out of his way to let me know he's there, watching me, then why hasn't he made a move yet? What is he waiting for?

The thought of him doing something to hurt me sends a shiver across my body, goosebumps pebbling my skin from beneath the cardigan wrapped tightly around my torso. I haven't been able to sleep much the past two days for fear that I would see him in my dreams. He hasn't shown himself since the night in the parking lot, but that doesn't mean he isn't around, watching me from the shadows. When walking to my car now, I call my mom as a distraction from the anxiety squeezing my heart. She has been more than happy to talk with me, so that has eased the tension in my shoulders a little.

But it doesn't erase the fear that the masked man is going to appear out of nowhere at any time.

"Miss Jones, are you okay?"

My eyes snap up to the client across from me. Jayden is a young man in his early twenties battling depression and anxiety. He was one of my first clients after I became a registered psychologist and has been coming to see me once a week to talk through his feelings and thoughts. He has a lot on his plate with his home life, so the fact that I haven't been listening to him, lost in my own thoughts, makes my stomach twist painfully.

I adjust my position in the chair and clear my throat. Guilt claws its way up my throat as I force a smile onto my lips. "I'm okay, yes. Apologies, Jayden. Can you please repeat yourself?"

Jayden nods and repeats his words, detailing an incident that happened with his father recently. Jayden's father isn't a good man, to put it simply. He's verbally abusive and doesn't understand his son. My job is to make sure Jayden feels heard and remind him that he's important and his life matters. He matters.

Forget about the masked man, I tell myself. Your client needs you.

I get through the rest of the session with Jayden, putting the man in the mask at the back of my mind. Jayden is grateful for my advice as he leaves my office, which eases the guilt swirling in my stomach from the mishap earlier in the session.

With a sigh, I collect my belongings and lock my office for the night. Clarissa is sitting at the receptionist's desk typing away on her obnoxiously loud keyboard. When I step toward her, juggling my phone and car keys in my hand, her brown doe eyes lift from the computer to meet mine.

"Leaving for the night, Pae?" Her voice is soft and gentle, which matches her exterior. Clarissa is freshly nineteen, so her youthful appearance brings a certain calmness to the office. I had my doubts about her to begin with, considering her age and inexperience in the field, but she is great with the clients and is a pleasure to work with.

I stop in front of her desk, meeting her gaze. "I am. Are my clients for tomorrow still available to come in?"

"Your 10:00 A.M. session was canceled an hour ago when you went in with your last client, something about getting food poisoning last night. But the rest of your sessions are good."

Smacking my lips together, I nod. "Thank you, Lissa. You should head home, though. It's getting late."

She waves me off. "I won't be much longer, I promise. Getting ahead on the tasks for the next day is one of the ways I like to stay on top of everything. As soon as I'm done, I will have Jerry escort me out to my car. He's waiting for me out front."

Jerry is her new boyfriend she met a couple of months ago while at a party. They seem to be good together, so I have no doubt he'll keep her safe. I wish I could have my fiance walk me to my car, but he's a busy man, so that's out of the question.

I smile and nod. "Okay, well, be safe. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

"Good night, Pae."

On my way out of the building, I spot Jerry leaning against the wall beside the front door and wave at him. He returns the gesture and goes back to playing a golf game on his phone. The sidewalks are busy with people leaving work for the night, so I join the crowd and make the trek to my car.

I'm barely a few steps down the sidewalk when I get a call from my best friend, Raya. Perfect, I have someone to talk to on the phone while I walk, saving me from calling my mother again. The last thing I want to do is bother her when she's recovering from her latest chemo treatment.

"Hey, you," I say into the phone, a smile tipping up the corner of my lips. "Long time, no talk."

"Pae!" Raya calls excitedly into the phone. "How have you been? How is your mom?"

"I'm good, just busy with work as usual. And she's good too. Her most recent round of chemo went smoothly a few days ago, and she's responding well to the new medication she is on, so I'm hopeful she'll be able to beat the cancer."

"God, she's amazing," Raya praises, her voice filled with admiration for my mom. "And I'm glad to hear you're both doing well. I was actually calling to suggest we go out for drinks tomorrow night if you're free. It's a Friday night and I could use a gossip session with my best friend whom I haven't seen in forever."

Raya and I have been friends since middle school. I found her eating lunch in the girls' bathroom because she didn't have anyone to eat with. Much to my surprise, I was also going to eat in the girls' bathroom because my friends at the time decided to ditch me to go sit with the popular boys. So, we decided to sit in the bathroom and eat our lunch together. This turned into eating lunch together every day, sleeping at each other's house every weekend, and getting up to a lot of mischief throughout the rest of our days in school.

Honestly, we still do get up to a lot of mischief, but it's a lot more tamed now that we are both engaged.

"I can make Saturday night work," I respond. "With how busy work has been lately, I could use a drink to unwind a little."

"Now that's what I like to hear," Raya cheers. "No partners, okay?"

Someone bumps into my shoulder roughly, forcing a puff of air from my lips as I gather myself, standing upright. "That shouldn't be a problem. Liam is catching up with his father to meet with some campaign sponsors and whatnot, so I'm all yours."

"Seren is going out for drinks with his work friends, so I'm free as a bird also. He told me to tell you that the four of us need to get together soon for dinner."

The dreaded alleyway comes into view, and my heart begins to race. I swallow hard and focus on Raya's voice and not the blood rushing in my ears. "Yeah, that sounds good to me. Maybe we can host this time since you and Seren went out of your way to prepare such a wonderful dinner for us last time we got together."

"Well, it was more of an engagement dinner consideringsince you had already been engaged for a few months and had decided not to have a party since you were too consumed with planning the wedding. It was the least we could do," she points out. "But speaking of the wedding, how is the planning going?"

I turn the corner, leaving behind the safety net of strangers to keep me company, even if they don't know it. My heart hammers against my rib cage as I walk further into the darkness. I find it hard to focus on Raya's words because of the sense of dread that washes over me. The moment that same shiver I have felt twice now races down my spine, I stop walking, my legs unable to carry me further.

He's here again.

This time, he's standing about thirty feet away from me, his intimidating stance backlit by the streetlamps in the parking lot behind him.

"Oh, shit," I breathe, staring at the masked man. My throat is thick with lead, and I'm struggling to get any air into my lungs. "Oh, no."

"Pae?" Raya's voice rings through the phone. "Is everything okay?"

Now that I'm much closer to him, the details of the mask become clearer. The stitching over the eyes and mouth is terrifying, especially when paired with the piercing blue eyes gazing at me from behind the mask. They hold me captive, forcing me to stay where I am. Even if I wanted to run or scream, I couldn't. Not when his stare is so intense.

The masked man tilts his head to the side, his hands clenching and unfurling as he watches me.

"Paetyn?" Raya tries again, panic settling in her tone. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

I lower the phone to my side but don't end the call. My gaze stays on the masked maen, my heart about to leap out of my throat. He's wearing the same clothes as two nights ago-a black T-shirt and black jeans. How is this man not freezing? Winter in New York City is no joke.

I swallow hard, my fingers twitching around my phone at my side. If I want to get away from this man alive, I need to do something. Now. My best option is to turn and run back to the busy sidewalk. He wouldn't be stupid enough to try and hurt me in the middle of a busy walkway with plenty of eyewitnesses.

Running is my only option at this point. I just pray I'm a faster runner than he is.

Without giving it another thought, I turn on my heels and make a run for the end of the alleyway. I was never the best runner in school, but I'm hoping the adrenaline and fear coursing through my rigid body are enough to propel me forward and away from the danger lurking behind me.

Unfortunately for me, as soon as I start running, the masked man does too. The pounding of his footsteps against the concrete behind me spikes my heart rate to dangerous levels.

He's gaining on me-and quickly.

The blood rushing in my ears intensifies with each step, blocking out Raya's concerned voice calling loudly through the phone gripped tightly in my hand. I just need to make it to the end of the alley, and I'll be okay. If I make it out of this alleyway, he won't be able to-

I scream the moment a pair of strong arms wrap tightly around my waist. I'm feet away from the safety of the busy sidewalk, but that joy is ripped away from me as I'm pulled back into the depths of hell. Any hope I had of surviving this man has vanished into thin air.

My phone clatters to the ground. Raya hasn't stopped calling my name the entire time.

"Let go of me!" I cry, clawing at the skin on his forearms in the hopes it'll get me out of his hold. But it doesn't work. "Help! Someone help me!"

The man doesn't say a word as he hauls me down the alleyway, my back pressed firmly against his chest. He doesn't seem fazed by the struggle I'm putting up. But I don't stop. If I stop fighting, I'm dead.

A wave of sandalwood and nicotine assaults my senses before something wet covers my mouth and nose. My body goes limp in his arms as all the fight leaves me, followed by what I'm sure is the depths of hell-darkness as far as the eye can see.