Chapter 6

The day went by and I got dressed for the medical appointment today. Grabbing the keys on my nightstand, I headed out of the room and sauntered downstairs. Just in time when I reached the bottom of the stairs, Aunt Odessa appeared in front of me and gazed. I halted, putting the keys inside of my pocket before gripping the strap of my bag.

“Where are you going?” Aunt Odessa asked.

“I’m gonna go to my doctor for an appointment,” I immediately answered.

“You mean your therapist?”

“No. I need to get a medical report for the job I’m gonna apply for.”

“Oh, take care.” She caressed my shoulder as I nodded in response. 

After I bid Aunt Odessa a brief goodbye, I went out of the apartment building and strolled along the sidewalk. Tucking my hands inside the pocket of my coat, I fastened my pace and tilted my head down. The stench of smoke had entered my nostrils, and the honks along with people’s chatter resounded through the vicinity. 

I was quietly walking towards the bus stop when I suddenly felt a hand laid on my shoulder that made me jolt. I halted, glancing at the back, and saw no one. My heartbeat was tremendous as I tried to peer through the throng of people behind me. I saw no one, but I was convinced I felt something. The hand was large, warm, and even gave me shivers. It wasn’t anything daunting, but it was foreboding and it left me feeling unsettled.

I convinced myself that it was just probably my anxiety playing tricks on me so I continued my way down the slabbed sidewalk. But the unnerving feeling that kept bugging me like someone was trailing behind was making my mind went on a spiral. When the paranoia hit me, I took long strides so I would get to the bus stop quicker and almost had a heart attack because of the discomfort. Despite all of these people surrounding me and a bunch of cars that were passing by on the road, I still feel like someone would suddenly pounce on me. 

As soon as I reached the bus stop, relief washed over me and I began to roam my eyes around the vicinity. There were only three people in this shed and the worry I had constantly vanished. Shaking my head, I averted my attention to the bus that was nearing us, as I moved closer to the road. When the bus stopped in front of us, the door slid open and we all stepped inside. I settled on the seat beside the window before pulling the earphones out of my bag and plugged it inside my ears. I was about to focus my attention outside the window when I felt someone sat on the seat next to mine. I immediately averted my gaze to the person only to recognize his familiar face.

He beamed at me, and I started to realize that he was the guy I’d seen at the park yesterday while I was jogging. Now that he was closer to me, I got to notice more of his features. His jaws were sharp and chiseled, specks of freckles were laid atop of his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose. I gave him a sheepish smile in return before awkwardly clearing my throat and noticed how weird it was that we’d met again so spontaneously.

“We’ve met again. It’s a coincidence to see you here,” I started, a little creeped out by his sudden appearance.

“Oh,” he mumbled. “You’re the girl in the park yesterday.”

“Yup,” I shortly responded, pursing my lips and unplugging the earphones.

“I never knew we’d meet again, to be honest,” he said with a chuckle.

“Me too.” Since my social skill was close to non-existent, I began with a very basic question that wouldn't hopefully prolong this conversation. “What’s your name, by the way?”

“I’m Tobias,” he responded, extending his hand out for a handshake. “And you are?”

“Portia.” I clasped his hand and hid the blush that slowly crept across my face when I noticed how warm his hand felt. “So where are you going right now?”

“I will go out to meet a friend,” he responded as I nodded in response. “How about you?”

“I’m going to a doctor’s appointment.”

“Doctor’s appointment?”

“Yeah. I need to get a medical record for my job so I might have to see a doctor for a check-up.” I tugged a forced smile, fidgeting my hands on my lap.

“That’s great. Are you signing up for the werewolf hunting thing?” he asked with a chuckle.

I raised my brows in surprise and shook my head reluctantly.

“Actually, I’m not. I’m gonna be applying to a company that my friend’s currently working in. I don’t wish to involve myself in nonsense stuff,” I lied, hiding the hint of suspicion in my tone.

“That’s good to hear.” He nodded and I didn’t speak after that to end the conversation.

I felt a bit unsettled by Tobias’s sudden appearance on the bus. A few moments ago, I was worried about someone following me and I also felt a hand grasped my shoulder. I didn’t want to think that he was stalking me because I knew it was just my paranoia. But the possibility wasn’t slim and if he was really here to follow me around, what was his purpose?

I shook off all these nagging thoughts and plugged the earphones back in my ears to let the music dominate the noise in my head.

~*~

The guard of the hospital swung the glass doors open as I stepped inside and walked towards the counter. The nurse who was sitting in the middle of the wide counter flitted her dark eyes towards me. Her lips were stained with gloss and her hair was tied to a low bun. Her eyes trailed from my head down to my toe before uttering, “What’s your appointment?”

She sounded like she wasn’t too fond of my presence and because I just came here for the first time, she wasn’t as friendly as I thought she should be when welcoming new patients.

“I’m here for a check-up to get a medical record,” I apathetically answered.

She rolled her eyes, causing me to furrow my brows in confusion. She faced her monitor, typing something on it before asking, “What’s your name?”

“Portia Laurent.”

“How old?”

“Twenty-three.”

Then after a few aggressive clicking on her keyboard, she handed out a piece of paper and motioned me to move aside.

“Fill this form.” 

I took the paper, as I drifted to the side and grabbed the pen. I wrote down on it and after I finished filling up the form, I handed the paper to the nurse in which she took immediately. As I waited for the nurse to finish it up, I looked around the place and glanced behind me.

My eyes widened and my mouth almost gaped when I saw Valerie, strutting inside the hospital with a huge grin plastered on her face. She was wearing a bodycon dress that was cloaked with a coat and a handbag that was swinging on her side. What was she doing here?

My mind was on full alert and all I could think of was hide away from her. She shouldn’t see me here or else she would question what I needed the medical record for. Since I was suddenly glued to the ground while my mind went on panic, I just followed my eyes to her. When I noticed Valerie approached a guy that wrapped his arms around her shoulders, my mouth parted and the last thing I heard was the nurse calling my name out loud because I had gone into a haze.

And her voice was also loud enough for Valerie to know that I was here.

Shit.