Page 28 of Black Wave

Unknown number

‘Watch until the end.’

My finger hovers over the video as I hesitate to hit play.I’m sure it’s nothing. Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”will probably come on shortly after; I chuckle out loud. I click on the video, and a familiar scene appears on the screen. I see Val, Ainsley, and me around the corner of the bathroom while we recorded Brodie with that Alexis girl.

Someone was recording us. Mesmerized by the video from a couple of months ago, I continue to watch and remember the night we sent this to Liv. Instead of getting Rickrolled, I see a familiar face move across the screen. I can’t believe what I am seeing.

“No. No. No,” I chant. I drop my phone on the floor and sit on my bed, cradling my face with my hands. “Julian.” I whisper his name as if conjuring an apparition. I pick up my phone and immediately dial my cousin Adrian.

He picks up after two rings. “Hey, prima. How?—”

I cut him off before he can continue his salutations. “Adrian,” I choke on a sob.

“Emma. What’s the matter? What is it?”

“He’s found me, Adrian. He was around when I was out one night. He was there.” I walk in circles around my bedroom,biting on my nails. I feel light-headed, like I might pass out. “Oh, god. What am I going to do? He can’t find me, please, Adrian.”

“Em. I want you to take some deep breaths.”

I do as he says and tell him about the video once I am calmer. “You know, Adrian, I felt like I was going crazy. I felt like I was being watched and thought it was just me being paranoid.” I guess I had reason to be.

“What? When?” he asks, getting angrier with each question.

So I tell him about the times at the club and the beach. Even when I walked out of work, I felt someone was watching me. Luckily, security walked me out whenever I asked, claiming I was afraid after watching too many true crime shows and listening to podcasts on the way to work. Too bad I lived it.

“Where are you now?” he asks earnestly. “I want to ensure you are safe.”

“I’m in my apartment. I am off today. Oh, Adrian, what do I do.” I sink onto my knees on my bedroom floor.

He is talking to someone in the background—a woman. I hear a door close and a car starting sound shortly after. “Emma, I am on my way to my father’s house. Stay put, and I will grab a bag and come to you. I should be there by tonight. Do not leave the house. Do you hear me? Do not leave the house.”

I’m shaking my head, realizing he can’t see me. Instead, I answer, “Okay. I’ll stay here and wait for you.”

“Okay, I’ll call you when I get close to town. Stay calm, prima.” The line goes dead.

I sit up with my back against the bed and sob. I know that I am supposed to be strong, but I let myself have a false sense of security. And I almost had an everyday average life for a while, but that isn’t in the cards for me. I will never have a normal life while Julian is alive. After I have plenty of time to feel sorry for myself, I start to get angry.

I ensure everything is locked and search all my belongings for anything that can be a potential bug or camera. When I feel that I have looked through everything satisfactorily, I sit on the couch and pull up social media feeds on my laptop. I no longer post on my account, but I decide to look for someone in particular. Someone I have put out of my memory for a long time.

I hit my Spotify playlist, and “Willow” by Taylor Swift plays on my Bluetooth speaker. I hesitate for a moment but then type in his name.Eduardo Ruiz Houston Texas.There are a few hits that are not him. Then, in one of the hits, I click on the profile.

Sure enough, I see the face of a boy who is now a man—and he isallman. I begin to Instagram stalk him. I see his club, and on the opening night he is so handsome in a suit. He was so stocky when he was little, but that stockiness turned to pure muscle. He is a vision standing in front of the club and inside under the lights all around, hitting him at different angles.

One picture in particular draws me in. I notice a tattoo curling up through his white shirt, escaping up onto his neck, but as mesmerizing as that is, that isn’t what gets my attention. I enlarge the photo of his knuckles, where a word is tattooed across. I gasp when I see what it spells out. EMMA.

Oh, my. I stand up abruptly, and my laptop hits the carpet with a soft thunk. I grab my necklace and pace the small living room in my apartment, wearing a path back and forth. Taylor Swift continues with her song, the lyrics sounding out. Taylor Swift sings about wrecking plans and telling someone that he’s her man. I think how true that is—the complexity that goes with loving someone.

I continue looking through social media post after post, until I hear my phone chime with an incoming message. It’s Adrian.

“Oh, thank goodness,” I say out loud because he is finally here. I must have been stalking him more than I thought,because the time flew by. I look out the window and see my cousin outside his truck, stretching as he slides out of the driver’s seat.

I close the blinds and put away my computer. I hear a knock at the door, but I still check to ensure it’s him. I look through the peephole and see Adrian smirking at me on the other side. I unlock the double bolts and let him in.

Adrian steps through and wraps me in a hug. He closes the door with his foot and locks it with one hand, not letting me go. I break down and cling to him like a lifeline. He holds me without saying anything and allows me to get out my emotions. After, I sniffle for what I hope is the last time.

He pushes me back. “Emma, it’s going to be okay. I’m here to protect you, and we’ll figure it out. My father is coming up with a plan as we speak. He told me to get here and he will call us tonight to let us know. Have you eaten?”

I shake my head no. “I could eat,” I say, biting my lip.

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