Page 90 of The Guru: Shadow

The daring of him! He fucks Sami the whole time, and now he is making me the villain. Gods, this man is lower than low.

And in her mind, she would love nothing more than to strangle him and throw him into the ocean, visualizing it was quite satisfying. Although his reaction showed everything she needed to see. Him belittling her was a strategy of a crushed ego trying to get the power back. And the thought left her with satisfaction.

She closed the app, unable to stand any more of it. Her battery was low anyway.

Staring outside the window into the darkness, her mind wandered.

Fuck!

My phone. Deis is tracking it! How could I be so stupid!

She immediately turned it off. And while she sat there in the rattling subway, she glanced around, trying to sort her thoughts. The New York City subway was a different universe, where you could become everything and nothing.

And then she saw it. One of the women a few feet away giggled and pointed at her; the other took out her phone.

Could it be? People recognizing me in the sub?

But when the woman took a photo of her, it needed no further explanation. She had to get out of here. The next station was Times Square. People, many, many people. Exactly what she needed, to blend in with the masses.

The moment the subway came to a halt, she sprinted out of it.

When she reached outside, her glance wandered over the people walking by, a feeling of hiding spread in her. She was so exposed.

Sunglasses.

Slipping into the first souvenir shop, she got herself a ‘I Love NYC’ hooded jacket and the biggest sunglasses she could find with the last money she had. She needed something that did not look like her. So, she just put the hooded jacket over her hoodie and went to the first place possible to get a break and in desperate need of a bathroom – a McDonald’s to her right.

What the hell am I doing?

I feel like a criminal on the run.

I must get home.

Get into the apartment.

Get my stuff and leave.

Maybe I can visit mother’s best friend Annie in Maine and stay with her for a week or two until things calm down a bit, but I won’t run from it.

And then a sensation crawled up on her, like the foreboding of nothing good. She glanced around, but nothing was there. Only other guests, all of them eating or chatting.

But then, why do some of them glance over to me?

Do they recognize me, too? Or is it normal behavior? Why is it that I feel somehow watched?

Maybe I am getting paranoid.

Yes, sure that’s it.

Get home, sleep, and afterwards, it will be a new day.

And with that, she stood up, glanced briefly behind her and went for the door.

“Oh my god!” she heard an excited voice her, making her stop in her tracks.

“You’re Emma, the girl fucking Deis!”

She just stood there, frozen to the spot, while her mind was empty.