I don't really – or rather, can't really – consider this outing a 'date' as Gray keeps calling it. To most outsiders – Gray included – this is one. But not to me. I've been taking loads of extra precautions since the... Incident... Well, I guess one could call it that. Or put it that way.

"What do you want?" Gray's voice travelled through my thoughts and dragged me back into the real world.

"Umm..." I scanned the menu card that was laid right in front of me, as quickly as I could. "Grilled chicken salad," I said the first meal that sounded appealing to me out loud.

He shot me a questioning look almost immediately after those words left my mouth. "Seriously? That's it? You've barely eaten all day. You've got to be hungry," he protested.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm not hungry. My appetite's failing me. It's not like I can help it," I replied in a matter-of-factly tone of voice.

He sighed, defeated. "You heard her," he started, probably talking to the waiter or waitress or something. "She'll have a grilled chicken salad and a..." he trailed off, and was also probably looking at me right now.

"I'll have a diet Coke with it," I answered him absent-mindedly before he could even ask his question.

 I saw him, out of the corner of my eye, nod in reply. "And a diet Coke as well. Well, I'll have a..."

I tuned out the rest of the conversation – as well as all other noises in the restaurant – between him and the waiter or waitress. I simply leaned my head against the cold window – wet on the outside from the rain that has been pouring since three in the afternoon – and stared outside.

There was a street lamp flickering on and off every so often. I watched as the weak light did its work, a little too hardly. On, off, on, off, on, off. And it stayed at that. The bulb had fused. And it will stay dark, until someone comes along and fixes it.

My eyelids felt so heavy. You know, the way your eyes feel when you've stared at a near-distance object for too long at a time? My eyes feel exactly like that. And it's not because I was reading or playing the computer. It's because I am tired.

I've been stressing myself out way too much recently. Since reading the letter – and Gray telling me, more straight to the point and face-to-face – I've been a lot more paranoid. And by 'a lot', I mean, a lot! I only say that because I have never been a paranoid kind of person.

"Willow tree? Oh, Willow tree?" Gray called out teasingly and childishly.

"Hmm?" I replied groggily.

"Tired are we?"

"Maybe..."

"What's with the sudden change in behaviour and attitude? You're normally a lot more cheerful... Even for your standard. And you've also been eating a lot less recently."

I sighed and closed my eyes, my head still leaning against the window. "I don't know... I guess I'm just..." I trailed off, trying to find the right word to describe how I feel about the whole situation. "Worried..." I concluded carefully.

Gray chuckled. "It's okay. It's not your fault. And besides, you are not even in harm's way all the time. You're almost never in harm's way."

"Uh-huh," I replied sarcastically.

Thanks for the vote of confidence! Note the sarcasm. But of course, I didn't say that. I would be very rude of me. So, I just left that part out. Simple right?

I resumed my activity of 'looking out the window'. I'm staring outside. Staring into the dark. Staring into the blank void of darkness... Of... Emptiness... Nothingness. It almost feels as if I'm staring into my own heart. My own heart which feels empty and... Well... Nothing!

Which begs the question: Who is the crazy psycho who wants me dead? But then again, he is a psycho. And how does Dad know about this guy? He died three whole years ago. How can he know about this when even I don't?

Maybe those creeps are looking for him, and not me. But how would I know? Some people would hunt for their victim's child – or children – for revenge. It's just... Sick! I do not understand, at all, how all these murderers – and psychos included – can stand to kill people.

But then again, they're psychos.

There's nothing I can do about it, can I? It's not like I am Superman who can 'save the day'. So, there's obviously nothing I can do. Unless there is some sort of special machine or gadget or device that can change people's way of thinking – or thoughts. You know, like a brainwashing device.

But that's impossible. There is no such device available on the face of this Earth.

Honestly, there is only one thing I can do. One thing that is in my power to do. One sane and logical thing to do. One obvious thing to do. And that is, to be careful.

"Earth to Willow tree. Earth to Willow tree. Come in."

I giggled, knowing that the childish statement was made by our very own Gray Lopez. "L-O-L...?" I spelled out questioningly.

He chuckled at my reply. "Well, you were spacing out. I wanted you to 'teleport' back here," he said, using the air apostrophes when necessary.

"I was?" I asked, curious.

He nodded calmly. "Yes, yes you were. It was like you were there but not really there if you get what I mean. There was this blank look in your eyes, and it was quite obvious to anyone who's observing you."

"Oh." There was nothing else I could think of saying. Nothing else I can say. There's nothing else to say.

Gray must've either read my mind or thought of the same thing as I did because after that, no one said a thing.

I just stared out of the window the whole time while I wait for my meal to arrive. Just staring... Into nothing in particular. And all of a sudden, I heard a soft beeping sound coming from my pocket. Well, my phone to be exact.

I pulled it out. The words '1 new message' were flashing on the screen. It was from an unknown number. Though there is a saying that goes 'curiosity kills the cat', I don't care if the cat is killed. I was just way to curious for my own good.

I opened the message and skimmed through it. Not aloud though, of course. I gasped silently in shock after reading the message. I had reread the message a couple of times to make sure that my eyes weren't deceiving me. And they weren't.

There was no name. Nothing. No contact information – besides the number of course – at all. Sure I could trace the signal of the phone and everything, but that would be very impossible for me because a) this all takes too much work and b) I'm not a computer genius.

I looked up, just to see Gray texting away on his iPhone as well. Who could he be texting so keenly? He barely ever uses his phone when we're together.

"Who are you texting?" I inquired.

He looked up, and I swear I could see panic flash through his eyes for a split second. But I can't be sure, because it was gone the second I blinked my eyes. "Err... Someone...?" he stuttered.

I scoffed ad rolled my eyes. "It's obviously someone. Anyone can tell that it's someone you're texting. How about telling me more specifically who that 'someone' is?" I snapped, slightly annoyed.

He sighed. "You don't know who it is. It'll be useless even if you knew."

I sighed as well. "Fine."

I looked back down to my phone that I was still holding. It beeped once more, vibrating a little in my hand at the same time, indicating that I had just received one new message. I scanned the number quickly. It was the same unknown number as fifteen minutes ago.

But this time, it wasn't as creepy as before. It wasn't just a simple question. A simple 'who are you?' like before. No, this time, it's a little more... What's that word? Threatening?

When I say 'threatening', I mean it in the sense that it was making me really nervous and worried and afraid. But after all, that is what the word 'threatening' is all about, isn't it? If not what? Making us so happy that we'll vomit rainbows? If that's the case, the whole word has interpreted the meaning of 'threat' wrongly.

My heartbeat started speeding up due to anxiety and fear. Fear? Did I just thought of that? But that's not what I usually have. I am not fearful. Honestly, I never am. But for some odd reason, the person who sent me this message – whoever it may be – makes everything sound so ominous. So... Dark.

"I'm coming to get you. So, watch out."

___________

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