HOLLY
Christmas Eve was always a strange day. Most people had off, but so many places were still open as well. It left the City uncharacteristically quiet, with the exception of last-minute shoppers, most of which were standing in line for gift-cards; the ultimate ‘I really can’t be bothered to make an effort’ Christmas gift.
I of course, had everything done. I’d dutifully sent gifts to my family and friends, and even had something for Jocelyn, for our annual Day-after-Christmas lunch. I always looked forward to that, because it marked an end to the chaos. We could relax and unwind over food and drinks. Talk to each other about our holidays…
And boy, did I ever have something to talk about.
We’d all gone our separate ways upon arriving back home, with the intention of meeting up later tonight to spend Christmas Eve together. Oddly enough it was already strange, spending the day alone. Being away from the boys after having spent the last 72 hours together.
Awww… you miss them!
I did! And that was okay. I was going to see them soon anyway. All I had to do was run a few errands, and do a little grocery shopping. I’d promised to make dinner tonight, when we all met up at Lincoln’s loft.
It wasn’t until I was cutting through Tompkins Square Park that I noticed him: the person walking directly behind me. I took a side path, then another, and each time I did the person made the same adjustment.
Heart racing, I risked a glance backward. He was on the shorter side, wearing a big parka with the furry hood pulled tightly over his face. I could only see his breath on the air. Nothing else.
But he was still coming. Still walking with the same unnervingly quick gait.
I looked around, trying to find someone else. Someone to walk to. Someone to get involved. But it was just me… me and the person on the path behind me, following me. Gaining on me…
Or maybe it was just my—
No! Not your imagination.
The path turned sharply, and I hustled ahead. There was a tree I knew, one with a large, thick trunk. One I could hide behind. One I could use to maybe get away from whoever was following me, or—
Or maybe see who the fuck it is?
In one quick movement I was there, pressed against it, my back cold against the hard surface. I could feel my heart pounding. The artery in my neck, throbbing, as the too-quick footsteps grew louder and louder and…
It all happened automatically, without me even thinking. In a mixture of fear and anger and raw adrenaline, I whirled on the man behind me and grabbed him by the parka.
“OOOF!”
Twisting my body sideways, I threw him up against the tree. He was surprisingly light. He went along surprisingly easily.
“HEY!” I shouted loudly, straight into his covered face. My hands jammed hard into his shoulders, and I thought I heard a cry of pain.
In an instant I had him by the hood. I whipped it backwards, pulling it off.
“WHY ARE YOU FOLLOW—”
My own words died in my throat. I was staring into the face of a woman! A short, anxious-looking woman, with dark curly hair.
“You…”
Her eyes were wild, her expression scared. I still had her by the shoulders. I could even feel her heart beating through my outstretched palm, thundering inside her chest like a frightened squirrel.
“Andrea!”
Brody’s ex-girlfriend stared back at me, all shaken and miserable. She looked exactly as she had in the photo I’d kept.
“Let go of me!” she snarled, yanking my hands away. She took a half-step from the tree and straightened out her wrinkled coat.
“You’re the one who’s been following me?” I asked incredulously, though I already knew the answer. “What is it you want?”
I got nothing but silence in return. I could sense a seething anger, though. An underlying hatred…