Only moments before, I thought I wanted the dance to last forever. Not anymore. I can't wait for the music to stop, I can't wait to get off stage. Why is Daniel here? How does he even know I dance here? I never told him which theatre I dance at. Is he the stalker? But if he was, he wouldn't be standing there in plain sight, would he? As soon as the music stops, I walk off stage and, without even changing, I head straight into the audience, towards the back.
A bunch of people congratulate me as I pass, a few try and stop me, talk to me. Normally we wait for the audience to go before coming out. But I don't want Daniel to get away, I'd rather confront him now in front of hundreds of people than when I'm somewhere alone. I apologise to the fans, somehow manage to squeeze my way towards the back.
Daniel has a cocky smile on his lips as he watches me approach, like he was expecting me to come for him. When I'm finally standing in front of him, dressed only in my flimsy white dress that barely covers my thighs, I feel overly vulnerable. I don't want to show it, so I come really close to him, in my mind daring him to do his worst, but in fact knowing fully well that in this crowded place he really can't do a thing to hurt me, even if he is the stalker. I have to crane my head back just to look into his eyes.
"Why are you here?" I ask without greeting,
"To take you home" he says, this takes me back a little, wasn't what I was expecting him to say,
"What?"
"You heard me"
"To take me home?"
"Precisely"
"What does that mean?"
"It means you have some stranger stalking you every night and it would be reckless of you to go home alone"
"But... but how did you even know I'm here?"
"You said you dance in a theatre. This city is not that big so I figured it out"
"And this is the first time you're here?"
"I'm not the stalker, Sofia" he says with a scoff,
"I know" I say unconvincingly,
"Then stop questioning me and go change so I can take you home"
"But how did you know I even had a dance happening?"
"I came home, no one was there. Thought about where you could be, remembered you danced, connected the dots" he raises his brows like it's the most normal thing a person could do, his eyes challenging me to probe further,
"But it..."
"What?"
"It doesn't seem likely"
"What does seem likely? That I am your stalker guy and that I'm standing here for everyone to see me before I force you into my car and kill you?" his blunt words make me shiver,
"No. I don't think you're the stalker anymore"
"Then what's the problem"
"The problem is that I-"
"Hello" Lara walks up from behind, interrupting my sentence. She's looking up at Daniel with curiosity, his eyes land on her,
"This is Daniel," I say, "my roommate"
"Oh, the boxer?" she smiles up at him, "I'm Lara, Sofia's friend" she holds out her hand, he takes it into his much larger one, and nods down at her. I never told Lara about my suspicions regarding Daniel so she doesn't feel the unease I do.
I glance at Daniel, wanting to see if there's any worry on his face. If he was her attacker, maybe he'd be worried she'd recognise him. But nothing like that shows on his face. I do notice one thing, though, Daniel's eyes have an interesting shine to them as he watches her, I have a feeling he likes her. I'm not his type. He told me as much. But judging from how he's looking at Lara, she might be.
"So, you came to watch Sofia dance?" she asks, she hasn't changed from her outfit either. I guess she must have seen me storm off stage and being the good friend she is, she followed after me,
"Came to take her home" he responds,
"Oh, so you won't wait for Elias?" she asks me,
"I can't let you wait alone, Lara" I say, using it as an excuse to kindly turn down Daniel's offer to drive me,
"Elias?" Daniel asks, frowning,
"My brother" she clarifies,
"He's picking you up?"
"Well, he's coming with a bus, so we'll catch a bus together home. But it'll take him a little while, he works far from the theatre"
"I have to wait with Lara for her brother to come" I say,
"I can drop Lara off too" he says,
"No, no. It's out of your way, I live all the way on the other side"
"I'll drop you off" he says again,
"Are you sure?" Lara asks, glancing over at me,
"Yeah, Daniel, I'm sure you're busy" I say, "I'll wait for Elias with Lara and we'll catch a bus with him"
"I'm not busy tonight"
"Don't you have one of your tournament things?" I ask,
"Not tonight"
"I live an hour away from here, it's quite a drive" Lara says,
"Not an issue. I parked my car just outside, I'll wait for the two of you there" Daniel says and walks out. I glance over at Lara, she's staring after him wide eyed,
"You didn't tell me he looked like that" she whispers once he's gone,
"What do you mean?" I ask, knowing exactly what she means,
"You said he was athletic and tall, but..."
"But?"
"But wow"
"You have a crush on him" I poke. Lara rarely likes any guys, but with Daniel the attraction is visible. I bet he felt the same, he definitely wouldn't tell her she wasn't his type...
"I won't deny, he's something else" she turns to look at me, when she looks at me a genuine smile forms on her lips for the first time in days, "you look jealous?" she teases,
"No" I force a laugh, "he's not my type" I lie.
"Oh! I see, not your type. I believe you" she giggles,
"Lara, look, I'm not sure we should ride home with him"
"Why not?"
"Because..." I don't want to make her afraid, so I'm not sure what to say, "Well, I guess because I don't want to owe him anything"
"He doesn't look like someone that would keep count on who owes who"
"But I feel a bit bad-"
"He's already here" she smiles and takes my hand, "come" she pulls me after her.
We make our way to the already empty changing rooms. Though I want to trust Daniel, only one thought is playing in my mind. Does anyone know he's here to pick us up? Because very soon Lara and I will be alone with him in his car. If there is even the slightest chance that he's the stalker, he'd have us in his claws. Both of us. But then he was right when he pointed out everyone saw him. What stalker would allow two hundred people to see his face before attacking his victim? And then there are two of us. Two against one. Surely we'd stand a chance if he attacked?
Both Lara and I are quite athletic, maybe not skilled at fighting, but we can move fast, we can kick well, too. Surely if he came at us we could overpower him? Daniel's muscular body comes to my mind, his broad shoulders, thick, powerful arms. His bare chest, all covered in hard muscle, the way I saw him this morning... no, we'd stand no chance and I know it. One hit from him would probably be enough to make me go unconscious. I shake my head, stopping my thoughts. I can't keep accusing him. Firstly, he had many chances to hurt me back in the apartment. And then also when he first saw Lara today, he looked a little awe struck. Like most men are when they first meet her. If he was the stalker, he wouldn't have reacted that way.
"Ready?" she asks, I nod, "I just texted Elias that he doesn't have to come" she says,
"Lara?" I stop her,
"What is it?"
"I just have this thought, what if... um, well, what if Daniel is... you know"
"What?"
"Like... the stalker?" I ask, she frowns,
"Why would you think that?"
"It's just weird he turned up here, I never told him I danced, and now-"
"But you said he was there when you got the envelope, right?" I nod, "so it's obvious why he came, he didn't want you walking home alone"
"But I never told him I had a dance tonight"
"He knows you're a dancer, right?"
"He does, but..."
"Sofia, you can't be suspicious of every man. Also, I'd know if it was him"
"How?"
"The stalker attacked me that night, remember, he stood in front of me. Obviously, I couldn't see his face, but I would remember if he had Daniel's physique"
"You would?"
"A hundred percent, how often do you see a man that looks like Daniel?"
"But you said the attacker was very tall and strong"
"Yes, but not this big," she shakes her head thoughtfully, "no, I'm sure he wasn't this big" she repeats, almost to herself.
"But what if it is him somehow?"
"Why would he come here for everyone to see him? Literally the whole theatre knows we're going home with him. How stupid would he be?" she asks.
There you go again. Logic. I need to stop looking for reasons to accuse him. I nod to Lara, wordlessly agreeing with her assessment. She squeezes my hand reassuringly. I know if she even had the slightest doubt that he was the attacker she wouldn't be going with him now. I have to trust her. I have to trust logic. As a precaution, my fingers go to my purse, checking that I have the switchblade there. Just in case.
We walk out and see Daniel leaning against his car, he waves us over when we exit. We both sit at the back, and Daniel starts the car,
"What's the address?" he asks, Lara types it into her phone GPS, then passes it to Daniel. He starts driving.
"You're also a student, Lara?" Daniel asks,
"Yeah, I'm in the performing arts" she says, "first year"
"Performing arts, that's for actors?" he asks,
"Can be. It prepares you for acting, dancing, singing, choreography, the list goes on"
"You're doing it for the dancing?"
"I have a double major, dance and music theatre. So yeah, pretty broad at this point" Daniel nods and goes silent. Lara's phone rings, she looks at the screen,
"It's my brother," she says, picking up. I can hear Elias on the other side, asking her who's dropping her off. She assures him she's safe. As she speaks, my eyes clash with Daniel's in the rearview mirror. Can he tell I am tense? I try to relax my shoulders, act calm. Once Lara hangs up, she continues chatting with Daniel. She tells him about the photos she's been receiving, the messages. I feel the pain in her voice as she speaks. I hate that our new life is overshadowed by some creep. Daniel questions her about the encounter, about the envelopes. She details everything.
Eventually we arrive to her apartment, Elias is waiting for her in front of the building. When Daniel parks she thanks him profusely, gives me a hug and exits the car. I watch her as she crosses the street to her brother, Elias waves his hand at us and encloses his other arm around Lara's shoulders.
Daniel reverses out and drives towards our apartment. We're both silent. When Lara was here, they spoke nonstop. They bounce off each other. For the second time I wonder if she is his type. I think she is. Don't be so tense. I tell myself. You have a knife, you're fast. If he comes at you... I bite down on my lip. Why am I still doubting him?
"What's wrong?" he breaks the silence, I glance at him from under my eyelashes,
"I'm sorry I was, uh, well... accusing you" I say,
"Don't be"
"Everything seemed to add up"
"I get it"
"Sorry" I repeat, his eyes meet mine in the rear-view mirror, there's a playful glint in them,
"I said don't apologise" he says, I smile briefly and look out the window. We drive quietly again.
"How long have you been dancing?" Daniel asks,
"Since I was little" I say, "I started at around seven, did it everyday. It became my life. Then I stopped for a few years. I started dancing again about a year ago"
"Why did you stop?"
"Just normal life stuff got in the way. Mum had to quit for family reasons, dad lost his job... we didn't have the money..." I shrug, "what about you, how long have you been boxing?"
"Professionally, less than a year" he says, "but I've been training for a long time"
"Do you like it? Boxing?"
"Yes. Especially when I'm having a shit day" he smirks,
"So, you let out your anger at whoever you're fighting?"
"There's no better way to let off steam" he confirms. I can't help but picture a shirtless Daniel from this morning punching some poor soul in their face. I wouldn't want to be them, especially not when he's having a shit day as he described. Like that day in the kitchen, when he was furious, when he came at me...
"Dancing does that for me too" I say, clearing my mind of such thoughts, "calms me down. All the stress I might have just disappears"
"You're good at it" he says, I bite my lip, stopping a blush. What sort of reaction is that? He's just being polite. What else was he meant to say?
"How long were you there, watching the dance?" I ask,
"The last thirty or forty minutes"
"I didn't see you until the end"
"I know"
"Then you must have noticed when I stumbled"
"When you saw me? Yes, I noticed"
"I wasn't expecting to see you there"
"And when you did, you thought I was the stalker, didn't you?"
"Well, no... I mean, yes, but just for a split second"
"You still think I might be the stalker"
"No" I say quickly, "no, I know you're not. Otherwise, I wouldn't be in the car with you right now" he shrugs, I have a feeling he doesn't believe me. I don't fully believe myself.
When we arrive, he pulls into the curb in front of our building but doesn't turn off the car. I glance his way,
"You're not coming?" I ask
"No, I have a fight tonight"
"I thought you said you didn't have one"
"I don't have a tournament, just a regular fight"
"Oh. Okay. Well, thanks for the drive. I really appreciate it" I say, getting out of the car, he just nods in response. I feel his eyes on me all the way to the door.