Chereads / Whelve Love / Chapter 24 - The paranoid me

Chapter 24 - The paranoid me

Adelaide's P.O.V

I didn't know what had happened to my senses. I could be completely paranoid right now after all. Cause like, WHO? and for WHAT joy?! would tail me with any murderous intent. I recall being a great citizen ever since I stepped foot into Amalfi, besides some dangerous thoughts, I doubt I showed any ill intentions towards others. Should I scream just in case? People on the other side should be able to hear me right?

Bringing me out of my endless thoughts was the same voice that had spoken before.

"You work at Tackles right?" -came the deep, eerie and oddly raspy voice which for very odd reasons didn't feel completely new to the ear.

Did I possibly get a stalker? No, No that's impossible. I mean it's possible but-

"You there miss?"

I flinched when I heard the voice speak again. Carefully I took a step forward and turned around to face the person behind me at the same time instinctively bringing my arms closer to myself. The man was quite tall. His face and attire weren't quite well shown in the dimly lit street but I could see his beige coat's outline.

"H-how may I help you?" -I stuttered even after gathering my composure in an attempt to be casual.

"Do you possibly work at the cafe 'Tackles'?" -his sentence hinted his impatience.

"Why do you ask?"

The moment I said it I regretted it. My brain had started scolding me for not saying a direct 'no' and moving far away from this place and man.

"Because I need help from a person who works there and you look a lot like her." -He replied and ended up confusing me even more than I already was.

"Help of what sort?" -I didn't know why but I took a step back while speaking.

"Do you work there or not?"

As he replied I took a glance behind me. I wasn't too far from the end of this alley which luckily ended at a brighter and well-lit road.

"What if I did?" -I replied with more confidence as I had my chance to escape. If needed of course.

"So you do work there!" -the man exclaimed which creeped me out.

"I'm so relieved I found the right person. Can you do me a favour, please? It's urgent and important." -while speaking he took a step closer to me while I took one back like some sort of a reflex reaction.

I was almost ready to fly my way out of there until he continued.

"I'm sorry if I alarmed you." So the man had finally realized that he was creepy. I still was ready to run away just in case he did something suspicious but then he sighed and continued explaining himself.

"It's just that I left some important documents of mine in the cafe and I need them at the moment."

I couldn't understand what I felt when he said those words. There was some relief that washed over me but at the same time my mind refused to completely let go off the possibility of any danger or threat that I might have to face.

While we walked back together he told me of how he had dropped by in the evening and left in a hurry as a result of which he left behind those documents. When he came to realise that he was missing his documents he quickly came back to the cafe only to see it closed and my retreating figure walking away from 'Tackles'.

I told him I didn't see any any documents while wrapping up and he reasoned by saying that they possibly fell near the picture windows where he was seated.

Now knowing his situation I willingly led him inside the cafe after unlocking it with the spare key I received from Mr Riccardo. As I went on to switch on the lights I tried not to lose sight of him. The man surely looked familiar. Ever since I got a proper look at him, I remembered his features and attire. He surely was our customer today but his documents were still not guaranteed.

The man directly went to the table he sat on in the morning and bent down. He turned his head to the left and within two second he turned it to the right facing the wall. What surprised me was the fact that I saw a beige rectangular paper tilted on the wall when the man turned. I don't recall it being there when I arranged the chairs on the table but then, it truly was in an open and yet missable spot. I only stared as the man exclaimed and hugged his envelope of documents.

After a series of thank you's the man finally left with his precious documents where as I double checked and locked the cafe before heading home.

Dylan's P.O.V

I was about to head home when I noticed a figure creep up and looking at the cafe and more specifically the two people who left the shop. I considered it to be any other passerby until he started following in the footsteps of the part-timer. They could possibly be living in the same neighbourhood was my thought process at first but then the part-timer was headed in the direction of the uncanny Dooms street. No one in their right mind would go there even to use it as a short-cut and it never gave the safe vibes and people naturally avoided it.

I stopped myself from following them at their tail. Instead I watched from afar to the best of my ability, just in case something were to happen. The person seemed to be suspicious but they soon started retreating and walking towards the cafe and so I decided to stay put at a distance.

As I watched them, it seemed like the man had to do something with the cafe and the issue was wrapped up soon. The part-timer started off on her usual way and this time didn't enter the Dooms street while the man walked away in the opposite direction.

Author's P.OV

Dylan assumed that there was no threat and that was solely because he hadn't waited long enough to see the man, who had now walked away from tackles, halt in his steps and glance back at Adelaide who was now hopping her way home.

Once Adelaide was done with her night routine she lay down on her bed and recalled how paranoid she had been today. When she spoke to Benjamin about it he had advised her to stay away from the murder mysteries that had been piled up in her bedroom while laughing at her paranoid mind. But his last words stuck to her.

"That doesn't mean you keep your guard down at any point of time. Be careful and call me as and when you suspect something." -He spoke in all seriousness until, he continued to lighten the mood.

"I'm only one call away." -he continued while laughing.

And just like that Adelaide slept peacefully with Benjamin's cringey lines and actions supressing the scarier aspects of the day.