Forty-Two

We ended lunch early after I made our table aware of the extra set of eyes observing us. Demetri was obvious in his glaring, but Meredith told us not to let him ruin our day and went on as if he wasn't there.

Meanwhile, I was stressing over him seeing me with Demetri. Since Demetri couldn't be identified in any database and had pitch-black eyes, it made it impossible for the police to question him about his connection to me.

Our chairs scraped against the concrete loudly as we stood from the table. I nodded in thanks to our waitress and said goodbye to Meredith before she made her way back down the street to her shop.

As we stood on the sidewalk, waiting for the car, Demetri stood behind me, blocking me from Detective Sullivan's view. The longer we stood there, the angrier I became. Demetri's warm hand settled on my hip beneath my shirt, his thumb rubbing soothing circles as if he could feel how tense I was.

"Fuck this," I said to myself before spinning around, out of Demetri's hold,