Upon returning home Eva forgot all about the black car. She hurriedly made the dinner whilst the girls watched cartoons. She felt guilty that she let them watch tv but she needed dinner ready as soon as.
They ate the dinner together, then she helped with their bath and bedtime. And once they snored lightly, Eva sat down and took her laptop and a pile of paperwork out of her bag. She started working again, rubbing her eyes which barely stayed open.
She was exhausted and now she needed to do an all-nighter to keep a job which she desperately needed to prove that she was able to provide a stable household for the girls.
"Evaaa…" a quiet voice sounded in the dark.
"Oh, Suzie, is everything okay?" Eva got up quickly.
"I had a nightmare and I can't sleep."
"I see. Would you like to sit next to me while I'm working?" Eva offered. "I'll make you some hot chocolate and we can put a tv on."
"Yes, please." Suzie agreed eagerly, holding onto her plushie bunny.
Eva quickly prepared yet another cup of hot chocolate and soon she sat with her laptop on a sofa whilst Suzie snuggled up to her.
"Would you like to tell me about you nightmare?" Eva asked as she caressed Suzie's head.
"It was the accident." Suzie answered.
Eva's chest tightened. The accident. The night that Suzie and Emmi lost their parents. It came to haunt them all every once in a while. Some days and nights were better than others.
"I'm so sorry, Suzie. It must've been a difficult dream." Eva's soft voice was comforting to the girl who nodded and then focused on the cartoons. Eva gave her a few more minutes before she continued on with her work. She didn't know how to comfort her.
Eva remembered that night clearly. It was a miracle that she was on that bridge when the car crash happened. A miracle that saved her. And a miracle which let her save the girls. She still remembers pulling them out of the car, frantically calling for an ambulance and police. She still remembered their parents bodies, clearly malformed - unsavable.
As Suzie fell asleep, Eva moved her to bed and then she started sobbing when she sat alone in the living room. The dreadfulness of the past was haunting her in the dark of the night.
The next day was quite similar, and the day after, and a day after that. Some days they've stopped at the park, and some days they went straight back to the apartment. Some days it was sunny, some days it was raining.
But it was the third day in a row that she spotted the black car when she was certain.
Once Suzie and Emmi were in bed that night she called her friend, Donna.
"Hi, Donna." Eva said quietly as to not wake the girls up.
"Hi, Evie. How are you?"
"I'm okay. Busy and all." Eva replied with a smile that Donna couldn't see.
"What's going on, Evie?" Donna still sensed her uneasiness.
"Look, it's going to sound ridiculous but…" Eva took a deep breath in. "I think I have been followed. I know how it sounds and all but I am pretty sure that I am followed."
"Oh God, why do you think that?" Donna's worried voice didn't put Eva at ease.
"I've noticed a car some time ago. Tinted windows. All windows. I was sure that someone was inside. But obviously I couldn't see them. But I could feel it. It was that burning feeling."
"Okay." Donna sounded less convinced.
"Then saw the very same car again, and again. The first time was next to the school, then by the bus, then by the park. And today it was by the supermarket when I stopped by to get some milk because you know that the girls drink it by the gallon. And… I am pretty sure it's the same car. I've started looking at the reg plate and it is the same one. I am feeling very uneasy about it."
"But who would follow you?"
"Honestly, I don't know."
"Peter?" Donna suggested the name of Eva's ex-boyfriend.
"I am not sure if he would be capable of stalking."
"Looking at what has happened and what he did, I wouldn't put it past him."
"Maybe."
"If you're worried, come over here tomorrow night. With the girls. We can have a sleepover." Donna suggested.
"I don't want to bother you."
"It's not a bother. We can have pizza and mini spa with the girls, and some Prosecco once they're asleep."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, of course. I haven't seen you in a while."
"Okay, yes." Eva agreed.
They spoke a little longer before they disconnected. And not long after they did, as Eva just finished tidying after the dinner, the knock sounded on the door.