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Sophia
“She’s right here, Bubby. Geez, keep your shirt on.”
Bobbi turns and holds the phone out to me. I don’t take it right away. Not out of fear or worry. It’s more like I can see her. I can see everything but it’s foggy and slow. The phone seems to be a mile away while my stomach twists and turns. It’s like an out of body experience.
Gage leans over and whispers, “Don’t mention the nickname. He’ll go on a rant.” It isn’t his words that have me floating, it’s the way his warm breath tickles my ear.
“Are you okay, honey?” Bobbi’s worried voice pulls me from my haze and I smile up at her and take the cell phone.
“Hello?”
“Sophia.” Detective Randel sounds relieved as he says my name.
I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear his voice. Any voice from home. My emotions are high today and I do my best to push them aside and focus on the call. I can break down—again—later.
“Hi, Detective.”
“Kiddo, it’s good to hear your voice. How are you doing? My hometown taking care of you?”
“I’m doing okay. Actually”—I look at Gage sitting on the couch across from me—“today was a good day. A great day in fact. How are you?”
Detective Randel sighs and the line goes quiet. Dread settles in my gut. I close my eyes and brace myself for what he’s about to tell me.
“Is Gage with you?”
“He is. Do you want to speak with him?”
Gage leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees. His eyes are fixated on me. We sit looking at each other while I listen to the man on the other line. As instructed, I tap the speaker phone icon and set the phone on the table in front of me.
“Hey, Gage. How’re you doing?”
“Fine. What’s going on?” Gage rises and moves to my side of the room.
When he settles next to me, I relax and let out a breath. My hands are clammy and I begin rubbing them on my shorts. I look down and see that they are shaking. It’s something I should feel but don’t. Overall, my body is numb. Until Gage places his hand atop mine. Everything in me calms at the sensation of his skin on mine.
“Sophia, I wish I had more news for you. Unfortunately, this asshole is five steps ahead of us.”
“Wha... wha... what does that mean?”
“I sent a team to your apartment after you left. They did a thorough sweep and didn’t find any cameras. Not physical ones.”
“What does that mean?” Gage barks into the phone as his hand releases mine and he pulls me closer to him, his arm around my shoulder.
“Since you don’t have a smartphone, he wasn’t able to do anything through that device. In an abundance of caution, I had Morgan’s phone checked for spyware. We found two different apps that can allow someone to read texts and emails as well as track the phone’s movement.”
My heart drops and my mouth has gone dry. This isn’t only about me. He’s been tracking Morgan too. Guilt overwhelms me as I try to process everything the detective is saying. How will she ever forgive me for this? She’s sacrificed so much for me these last three years and in the end it was for nothing. Now she’s as much a victim as I am.
“There’s something else.”
Of course there is. Why wouldn’t there be more than my best friend now a stalking victim. Gage’s hold tightens and I let him absorb some of the anxiety I’m feeling. I’ve never been more grateful for another person as I am for this man beside me.
“Sophia, he hacked the webcam on your laptop. That’s how he’s known things happening in your home.”
My webcam. On my laptop. The same one I take to the office. The one I use to work from home. To communicate with my parents. This entire time I thought I was being careful. No smart phone and no tablet. My e-reader isn’t connected to the internet. I use public transportation instead of having a car that can be tracked.
All for nothing. He’s been watching me. In my home. My room.
The familiar humming starts in my ears. I knew this was all likely. Probable. Yet, hearing the words and having confirmation is overwhelming. Flashes of private moments he may have seen fill my mind. One of the ways I dealt with this was routine. I became almost obsessive about never changing it. For some reason, in my mind, if I didn’t stray from my norm, someone would know if I was in danger.
