Covering his mouth awkwardly with his hand he yawned lazily. It was no fun standing there for hours on end, hoping against hope that she would come out. He glanced at his watch. It was almost 4:30. He had seen no sign of her for the past few days and he had no reason to believe that he would see her today.
He made up his mind to leave and began crossing the street toward her building. His place was just a few blocks away. He has to pass her building to get to his.
He was midway across the street when he looked up and to his surprise saw her coming out of the building. Flustered, he whipped around immediately, trying to make his way back to where he came from as fast as he could. Drivers honked and shouted obscenities in consternation as he weaved his way back to the sidewalk.
Upon reaching safety, he glanced back at her quickly. Thankfully, she had not seemed to notice the commotion. It was as if she was in a world of her own. He watched her carefully as she walked up to the traffic light, pausing briefly before she crossed over to his side.
He held back for a while, silently counting to 15. At 15 he began to trail her casually, pausing ever so often to gaze superficially at a billboard or house along the way. Eventually, she crossed the road again, heading toward a nearby neighbourhood park.
The park was always teeming with people this time of year. A perfect placed for a chance meeting, he mused to himself with a smile. With that though in mind he took off his hat and glasses and threw them into a nearby trashcan.
Jessica walked slowly through the park staring wistfully at a group of kids as they ran around chasing after one another. Her childhood had been nothing like that. She had always been a curious child, eager to explore and try new things. Her mother, however, had strictly forbidden any such creativity or exploration. Jessica was expected to keep to herself and stay up in her room for the most part.
She often wondered just why she had been born in the first place. Her parents weren’t children people at all and were usually far too busy doing something or the other to look after her. Jessica had exhausted the list of possibilities as to just why her parents had brought her into the world. She had finally settled on a scenario that involved a hotel room and an empty mini bar.
With a sigh, Jessica sat down pulling a small rumpled sketchbook from her purse. She fished around for the pencil that she always kept on her.
She gazed around the park slowly, looking for inspiration. At times, even something as small as a flower could spawn endless drawings. Sometimes they were even drawings that had nothing to do with the flower but simply a part of it that reminded her of something else.
As she perused the park slowly, her eyes settled on a man hovering at a nearby park bench. He stood awkwardly almost as if he was uncertain as to whether or not he should keep standing or sit down. She watched him with interest, momentarily fascinated by his apparent discomfort. She couldn’t seem to get over the fact that she felt like she knew him somehow. It couldn’t be though. She didn’t have any friends here in New York except Nick.
She turned back to her notebook, pencil poised above the paper. She tried to focus on drawing, but inevitably her mind kept wandering. She did know him. She had met him somewhere. But where? Maybe he was someone from North Hempstead. Unconsciously her eyes flitted back toward where he was standing. He had since moved away from the park bench and was now walking toward her.
As he approached she was able to get a closer look at his face. She gasped as she realized where she had seen him before. What is he doing here? The last she remembered he was supposed to be off in Africa.
She had only met Ryan’s brother Justin once. He used to live up in Vermont. Ryan often drove up to see him but Jessica never went with him. He had never really invited her and she had quickly learnt that it was always best not to interfere in Ryan’s personal matters.
Justin never came home to visit. Jessica was never quite sure but she always suspected there was tension between him and his parents. Ryan barely ever spoke about him but when he did it was obvious how much he looked up to him.
Looking up Jessica realized that Justin was fast approaching the bench where she sat. Her immediate instinct was to run. Of course he would be mad. Who knows what he would say and do to her? She had killed his brother, surely that was something he wasn’t going to just brush off.
She struggled to get to her feet, fumbling to hold onto her purse and sketchbook at the same time. Her pencil was long gone but she didn’t care she had to get out of there.
She finally managed to make it to her feet, convinced that the second she ventured a step she would fall flat on her face and he would continue approaching. She envision herself lying helpless on the ground as he stood over her pointing an accusing finger at her and yelling “murderer” for all the grubby little kids and their parents to hear.
She dropped her sketchbook just then. She contemplated bending down to pick it up but decided against it. She could live without it. The important thing was that she got out of there right away.
She turned to leave, ready to run for dear life when she suddenly heard her name.
“Jessica? Is that you?”
Shit.