My girlfriend answered a call in the bathroom one night and whispered, “I can't talk now.”
When she came out, she acted like nothing happened.
The next morning, she cooked my favorite breakfast.
I watched her put the plate in front of me.
Me: “Are you okay?”
Her: “Yes.”
She wouldn't look at me.
A few days later, I started noticing things.
She'd leave the house unexpectedly.
Sometimes she'd say she was going somewhere and wouldn't explain where.
One evening, I finally asked.
Me: “Is there something you're not telling me?”
Her: “No. Why would you think that?”
Me: “Because you've been acting differently.”
She kissed me on the cheek.
Her: “You're overthinking.”
But I wasn't.
She had dated another man for years before me. They had eventually broken up because of his attitude, and she told me that chapter of her life was finished.
Apparently, he didn't agree.
He had started calling her again.
Him: “We're not done. I need you back.”
She kept refusing to tell me.
Until one afternoon, I decided to follow her.
She drove across town and stopped outside a hotel.
I watched her walk inside.
A few minutes later, I saw the same man enter.
My stomach turned.
I waited.
@DanisonPatience Fear can make a parent focus on the supernatural when the real danger may be painfully human.
A stranger claiming to be a dead parent and threatening to take a child is a reason to preserve evidence, involve authorities, and protect the child; not destroy the trail.