Chapter I: My Love

She was walking to her car again.

He always loved the way she walked; not like she was in a hurry, but like she knew where she was going. Unless she was taking her time for something, then she would walk around, staring up at things, and pretending that they were interesting. By looking at the expression on her face, someone would think that she was seriously intrigued, but he always knew when she was just acting.

He figured that, since it was too late for her to be going to a late-night movie, she might be going for a last-minute run to the grocery store. It would only make sense, considering that when he had checked her house earlier that day while she was at work, he had noticed that she was out of peanut butter- one of her favorite foods.

She was humming to herself as she hopped inside. Her car started quietly and she began to drive away.

He watched the car turn left at the stoplight, and he smiled to himself. Who was he kidding, he had watched her for so long now, that he could always tell what she was doing or where she was going to go. He knew that she was out of peanut butter. He knew that she was going to the store to get more. He even knew the brand that she would get; Skippy, the creamy kind, not the kind with nuts. She didn't like to eat nuts. He knew this and more, just from watching her.

She was perfect, why wouldn't anyone want to watch her?

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Damn!" Emily said to herself, looking inside the empty jar of peanut butter. Maybe, if she tried hard enough, she could get what was left in the jar to spread evenly over a piece of bread. No, there's definitely not enough. Feeling a little disappointed, she looked at the clock.

12:30.

The grocery store was still open; maybe she could make a quick stop and get some more. It was, after all, only a little ways down the city road. All she would need to do would be grab her keys, wallet, and jacket, hop in the car, and drive the three and a half blocks to the store.

As tempting as it was, she knew it wasn't smart to be on the streets this late, in a car or otherwise. You never know who could be lurking in the city these days, with all those creeps and perverts in the world.

She took another long look at the empty peanut-butter jar in her hand and sighed. "Screw it,” she said. It was worth it.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After tossing his set of spare keys on the counter, he walked around the living room, stopping to pet the cat lying on the table.

"Norma," He said, quietly, soothingly. "Norma dear, you know you aren't supposed to be up here." The cat, Norma, just gave him a small glare, but listened to the chastisement and hopped onto the floor, making her way towards the sofa. “That’s a good girl," he continued. "Promise not to tell your mama I was here again, ok?" The cat just closed her eyes and started to doze off.

He smiled. Emily would never know. She never did.

He started wandering around her apartment, looking in the fridge, and glancing in the cupboards. He had already been there earlier that day, but he didn't get a chance to check everything out; she had been let out of work early… again. Which forced him to leave sooner than expected. He was starting to feel threatened by Emily's boss, Mr. "Call me James!" Markovic.

James had been starting to put the moves on Emily, his Emily. Of course, she always politely ignored his attraction, always acting completely professional, but he was getting bolder in his attempts.

It all started as a simple request to take her out for coffee to discuss "business". But his Emily was smarter than that. She said that she had already made plans to hang out with her friends. It was a lie, of course, but she was doing it to keep her honor, so he never held it against her. Mr. Markovic, on the other hand, just pushed his attempts, buying her huge bouquets of flowers for her birthday, and for Christmas, and for Secretary's Day.

She had started to get funny looks around the office, and he could tell it made her embarrassed. It made him furious when Mr. Markovic would put his arm around her waist, whether it was leading her somewhere, or introducing her to someone, it always made her so nervous. He hoped that “James” would stop soon. He might lose his temper and kill him otherwise.

He took a small look in the garbage, and found a discarded piece of paper.

Call me and maybe we can get together for dinner sometime.

555-2468

James

He was furious, to say the least.

He crumpled the note and released it from his hand, letting it fall lightly into the garbage.

Sighing, he knew what he was going to have to do. He wouldn't kill Mr. Markovic; He would take the higher path. She would want him to.

Of course, it would all be for her benefit.

One hundred percent for her.

He made a few small stops on his way out. One in her bathroom to snag a bottle of her perfume, one in her office area to grab a few books he knew she had wanted to finish, and one in her bedroom to get some clothes for her, making sure to grab the clothes she liked to wear.

"Goodnight Norma," He said to the dreaming form on the couch as he grabbed his keys.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He heard her walking up the four flights of stairs as he was locking the door behind him. He quickly moved towards the next flight. Whenever he was this close to getting caught, he always went up to the last floor until she had entered the apartment. Emily was smart, but she would never stop to think about looking upstairs for someone.

He heard her open the door and go inside, locking the door behind her.

He pressed his ear against the door, listening to her move around the kitchen.

"Farewell, for now, my love." he whispered to the cold wooden door.

He walked out the door of the building, and started to meander towards the grocery store. His car was parked there, it was the perfect place for him to pass the time and wait.