I tell myself I’m being ridiculous.
That it was one truck.
One moment.
Nothing more than a coincidence that I let get under my skin because I was already off-balance to begin with.
Still, my eyes scan the lot the second I clear the doors.
Automatically.
Without thinking.
It takes less than a second to find it.
The same truck.
Parked in a different spot now, closer than it was earlier, angled just enough that it faces the exit instead of the building this time. It shouldn’t mean anything.
People move their vehicles all the time, coming and going, picking up kids, running errands, living their lives without any reason for me to pay attention to it.
Except I do.
Because I recognize it.
Not just the color or the tint on the windows, but the way it sits, the way it doesn’t quite blend into everything else around it the way it should.
My steps slow without me meaning them to, my grip tightening around the folders in my hands as I keep my expression neutral, forcing myself not to stare even though every instinct I have is telling me to look closer.
There’s still no movement inside.
No door opening.
No engine turning over.
Just… waiting.
A cold thread slips down my spine, subtle but sharp enough that I can’t ignore it this time. I hate the way my body reacts before my brain catches up, the way awareness sharpens, senses pulling tight like something just shifted from possibility into something a little more real.
You’re overreacting.
That’s what I tell myself as I keep walking, steady pace, no sudden movements, nothing that would give away that I’ve noticed anything at all.
It’s a small town.
People sit in their trucks.
They wait for someone.
They take calls.
There are a hundred normal explanations. None of them land.
I reach my car and set the folders on the passenger seat before sliding in, closing the door with a quiet click that sounds louder than it should in the stillness around me. I lock the doors. My hands rest on the steering wheel for a second, fingers curling against it as I force myself to breathe evenly.
Don’t panic.
There’s no reason to panic.
