April 29, 2023

Queen

I scurried out of the restroom and walked towards Xoe. Her arms were crossed as she was looking around suspiciously and I raised a brow at her. "What's going on?" She jumped at the sound of my voice but when she saw me, she laid a hand over her chest and shook her head.

"You scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry," I said cautiously as I eyed her body language. "Are you okay?"

"Umm, I think so," she said unsurely as she looked around again. "There was just some guy following us."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, he was literally on our asses this entire time."

"I didn't notice," I muttered as I glanced towards the trail. I was usually a lot more on guard. How was it that I didn't notice we were being followed?

"Well good thing you have me." I laughed softly at her comment before shaking my head and sighing. "I told him to leave and I think he did...but he said 'see you around'."

"Damn," I mumbled as I toyed with the necklace around my neck. "Was he at least cute?"

"Queen," she warned.

I shrugged and gave her an innocent look as she began walking back down the trail we came from. I jogged to catch up with her and laughed when she gave me another disappointed look. "What? Maybe I know him."

"Fine, he was pretty handsome." She finally gave in and I smiled in victory. She glanced at me and I urged her to continue, making her sigh once again. "He was like...'break your neck to look at him' tall. I couldn't see much of his face, but his eyes were bright as shit."

I laughed as I kicked a small rock out of the way. "What color were they?"

"Green for sure." Chills ran down my back at her description, but I kept my steady composure and cleared my throat. "Anything else to describe him?" I questioned.

"Not really..." She tapped her chin in thought as she looked up at the dark sky and I waited anxiously. "Oh! It's not an appearance thing, but he said that the only reason he wasn't going to hurt me was because 'of my association' with you."

Syn.

"Do you know him?"

"No, I don't think so." I looked down at my hands as I absentmindedly fiddled with them, and Xoe stopped walking. I stopped walking in turn and faced her to see her hands placed on her hips, looking straight into my eyes. "What?"

"You're lying to me."

"What—"

"Are you with this guy?" She questioned. "It's none of my business, but that's pretty fucked up if you're seeing—"

"It's not official. I'm single."

"So that guy who followed us is what? A fling that's now stalking you?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"He's my ex-husband."

"The one that—" Her words were cut short by heavy footsteps in the distance. The trail was unusually quiet, but the sound of shoes hitting the gravel trail was pronounced. A large man rounded the corner wearing a dark hoodie and sweat pants. Oddly enough, he seemed to be coming straight towards us. "Queen, that's him! That's the guy!"

My brows raised and he almost ran past us until Xoe moved her leg in front of him and he crashed onto the floor with a loud groan. "What the fuck bitch!"

His hoodie fell from his head and I looked into the deep green eyes that Xoe had described to me. The only thing was...it wasn't Syn. The man on the floor glared up at us and I studied him carefully. "This is the guy you saw, Xoe?"

"I...I think so. I didn't see his face, but this is what he was wearing and he has the same eyes...and voice I think. This is for sure him," she said adamantly as she pulled out her phone.

"You guys are freaking insane!" The man said as he stood up.

"You're the insane one still following us," Xoe argued. "I'm calling the police." The man scoffed at us before speedrunning in another direction. Xoe cursed under her breath as she put her phone away, and she ran her hands through her hair. "That was your ex?"

"No, your description reminded me of him though."

"Well shit."

"Let's just go home." I sighed. "We've had enough excitement for tonight."

She laid her hand over her forehead and nodded slowly. "Okay," she said weakly. I locked arms with her and she smiled slightly, but I could still feel her uneasiness radiating off of her.

I rustling in the bushes made me turn my head into the deep forest area near the restroom. I didn't see anyone there, but I'd have to be an idiot to not know the danger that was lurking nearby.

I didn't know how he managed to do it, or why he did, but regardless...

Well played, Syn.

"What was that?" Xoe questioned in a frightened tone as she looked where I turned.

"Probably just the wind."

꧁꧂

"Mama," Saint yelled as he jumped around in his bed. I wrapped a towel around my wet hair and sat on the edge of his bed. He tended to be the most hyper right before he was sleeping and I had no idea why.

"Come here." I held my arms out for him, and he jumped twice on the bed before giggling and laughing himself into my arms. "Oof, you're getting heavy."

He nestled into my arms and I kissed him on the forehead before rocking him slightly. He looked up at me with his big brown eyes and raised his small finger to point it at his closet doors. "Dada."

"What?" I frowned as I glanced at the slightly ajar wooden door.

"Hi, dada!" He yelled.

What the fuck?

"Can I say hi to him?" I whispered cautiously, keeping my eyes on the door.

"No," Saint growled in a deep voice that still managed to shock me. It was longer fear of it that startled me, it was the fact that he did it so rarely now.

"So...yes?" I set him down on the bed and he watched me stand up and walk towards the closet. When I reached the doors, I opened them and was met with nothing besides his shoes and clothes. I turned back to him slowly and shook my head. "You miss your dad?"

He nodded as he rubbed his eyes and yawned and I closed the doors before going back to him. "You'll see him soon, okay?" Sooner rather than later if he keeps stalking me.
I didn't doubt that Saint may have truly seen him in here, but where he was now was a completely different question.

For all we knew, he could still be in the house.

"I love you," I whispered as I laid another kiss on his head.
He mumbled a line of incoherent words that I could only assume was "I love you too" as he closed his eyes. I lifted the blankets over his small body and turned off the lamp in the room.

"What the hell are you doing, Syn?" I whispered to myself as I walked out of the room. I had no true evidence he was here besides my gut feeling and a tug in my heart that I always used to get when he was around. I felt guilty including him in a sentence with my heart considering I had moved on, but it was the truth.

A part of me was still in love with him.

꧁꧂

Author's Note

Well shiz, I don't know about y'all but I'm feeling like it's about to go down😭 and wow, Queen is still in love w- I can't😭.
Lmk your thoughts ✨