Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Stella couldn’t get her head wrapped around the man who was sitting across the table from her. He was handsome…really handsome. What was a guy like him doing on a local dating site? Surely women were throwing themselves just to be in his presence.

“Everything okay?” he asked with a slight smile on his face.

Stella laughed nervously, “Sorry. I’m just surprised is all. I didn’t know what to expect.”

He smiled and then she said, “My boss is also named Tom. I don’t call him that though. To me, he’s Mr. McDaniels…still you have the same name. Isn’t that a crazy coincidence? You actually kind of look like him. Now I know two Toms. Soon I’ll know every Tom, Dick, and Harry.” Stella couldn’t believe what was coming out of her mouth. Was she really just rambling on like an idiot?

She blamed him for making her sound like a total moron. She was struck stupid by his light blue eyes. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I guess I’m just a little nervous.”

He smiled, “No worries. To be honest I’m a little nervous too and it is a coincidence that your boss and I have the same name. Tom is a pretty common name though.”

Stella felt a little more comfortable because he was trying to put her at ease. “My name is pretty common too I guess.”

“Are you kidding? You have the best name ever. Stellaaaaa,” he pretended to sound like Marlon Brando from A Streetcar Named Desire.

Stella laughed. They began talking about their jobs, their families, and everything else strangers could gracefully share during a first date. Stella had finished her café mocha when he offered to get her another. She smiled and said, “Sure.” When he returned, she saw that her mocha had the shape of a heart drawn into it. She blushed again and took a large sip.

After a few more minutes of coffee drinking and chatting, she cocked her head and scrounged up her lips. “So,” she began. “What’s wrong with you?”

He looked taken aback, “I’m sorry…I don’t follow.” He emitted a nervous laugh.

She motioned her hand as if calling someone forward, “C’mon. C’mon. Tell me what’s wrong with you. You seem too good to be true. You’re good looking, have a good job, seem pretty decent. If I found you on a dating site, something must be wrong with you. Do you secretly have five wives? Used to be a woman? Axe-murderer? What’s the deal?” She was saying this in a joking manner and took a drink from her coffee.

He laughed, “How did you know? Shoot, I guess you’re gonna want to meet my other wives now.”

Stella laughed at his joke and then asked, “Seriously. Why did you have to use a dating site? I can’t imagine that it’s hard for you to find women to date.”

“Thanks for the compliment. I could ask you the same thing you know.”

Stella shrugged, “I work all day and then I have to take care of my baby brother. There’s not really much time for me to do other things.” She took another drink of her coffee and finished it.

He smiled at her, “I think it’s amazing that you take care of your brother on your own. I admire you for that. I’m pretty busy myself and most of the women I meet only look at my appearance without getting to know the real me. I thought I would try the dating site because it was something different.”

Stella yawned and then laughed, “Sorry, I’m not bored. I’m just starting to feel a little tired.”

“It’s okay. It’s getting pretty late. Would you like me to walk you to your car?”

Stella nodded and smiled at his suggestion, “Thank you.” As she got up from her chair, she wobbled a bit. She put her hand to her head and laughed, “I must be a lot more tired than I thought.” He held her shoulder and arm as he walked her out of the shop and to the back parking lot where she had parked her car. As they reached her car door, he held her steady. Stella wasn’t feeling too well.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Stella shook her head, “I’m not sure what’s wrong. I just feel so tired and my eyelids feel so heavy.”

“Let me take a look,” he held her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. “Your eyes seem fine.” He didn’t let go of her face but removed one of his hands. He opened her door with his right hand and kept his left hand around her neck. As she was about to get in her car, she felt him forcing her face towards the hood of her car. She heard the cracking sound of her nose being broken and then it went dark.

~AT EVA’S HOME~

Eva was tired. She had just intended to go to the grocery store to pick up some almond milk but ended up stopping by a sporting goods store to buy some pepper spray for her keychain. She used to own some but it had been a while since she felt that she needed it. With a serial killer on the loose, it would be idiotic to not carry some form of protection. Eva turned into the road that led to her house.

She scanned the street and noticed a black car parked across from her house. Someone was on the driver’s side. She wondered if that person was waiting on the people that lived in the house he was parked in front of. Then she remembered that her neighbors across the street had told her they were going to vacation in Spain that week. An uncomfortable feeling began to settle in her stomach. She looked up at her house and noticed Joelynn’s light was still on. She could see Joelynn’s outline in the window.

Eva drove up to her house and parked in the driveway. She looked in her review mirror and saw a man getting out of the black car. It was too dark for her to make out his face as there were no lights on her street. She cursed under her breath and quickly got her bags. She made a point to clutch her pepper spray keychain and got out of her car.

She could hear him approaching, his footsteps heavy against the paved driveway. She quickly got out of her car. She didn’t want to look back because she was too scared. She could hear him right behind her. As she fumbled with the front door lock, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She quickly held up her car keys with the pepper spray attached and hit the release button. She heard him scream in pain. He doubled over and grabbed his eyes. He was cursing. Eva hit him over the head with her groceries and quickly unlocked her front door. She slammed the door closed and locked it behind her. She stood against the other side of the door taking deep breaths. That’s when she felt the pounding of a heavy fist on her door and someone shouting, “Open the fucking door, you bitch!”

Eva never dialed 911 so fast in her life.