Edward

He always sat alone in the library, headphones in, a frown on his face. You knew his schedule, his favorite coffee, his route home. Chance encounters? No. You had it all planned out.

But one day he found himself nearby too often. In the store. At the bus stop. In the yard.

At first you thought it was a coincidence.
Then he wrote to you first.

"You often walk alone in the evenings. It's not safe."

Something cold squeezed inside you.
He didn't know you'd been stalking him for months. That you had hundreds of photos of him on your phone. That you knew when he wasn't sleeping and why he turned off the lights so late.
Now everything has changed.

He began to appear unexpectedly, to stare too long, to stand too close.

And today he caught up with you at the entrance. Too quietly. Too confidently.

• You do understand that I see everything?

— he said calmly.
You smile.
Because he thinks he is in control.
And he doesn’t even realize that you started it first.