Daphne
Daphne noticed the bike as soon as her Uber approached the highway. She watched it out of the corner of her eye as they drove, something about the blood-red motorcycle settling uneasily in her stomach. At first, she thought she might just be letting her paranoia get the best of her, but she was so furious with herself for getting involved with Xander again that she was on high alert. After all, the whole reason why she’d left Xander was to protect their child from his dangerous and violent lifestyle.
She looked again once the Uber pulled onto the highway, sighing with relief when she saw that the bike was gone.
I’m just frazzled, she thought. And this hangover isn’t exactly making me think anymore clearly.
About a half hour later, she was back home and at Amy’s door.
“There’s my man!” she said as Jack ran up to her and threw his little arms around her legs.
“Good night out?” asked Amy, a sly smile on her lips.
“Too good,” said Daphne, her face reddening a little.
“Say no more,” said Amy, holding up her hand. “No judgments here; if us single moms can’t get out and blow off some steam every once in a while, well, let’s just say it’s not pretty.”
“Thank you so much again,” said Daphne, running her hand through Jack’s hair. “You have fun, little man?”
“Uh huh!” he said, his big blue eyes widening with excitement. “We played video games and ate pizza and …”
He went into more detail about his evening, and Daphne said her goodbyes to Amy as he did.
“You ever need me to watch Jason,” said Daphne, “just let me know.”
“Oh, I’ll definitely take you up on that,” said Amy. “You’re not the only mom who needs to have a glass or five of wine every now and then.”
Daphne chuckled at the joke and gave Amy a hug goodbye while Jack bid Jason a goodbye of his own. Once back at the apartment, Daphne chugged another glass of water along with another pair of aspirin in an attempt to keep her headache at bay.
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” asked Jack. “Are you sick?”
“I’m a special kind of grown-up sick,” said Daphne as she smoothed down Jack’s hair. “A special kind of sick that grown-ups get when they don’t make good decisions.”
“You shouldn’t do that, then,” said Jack.
“You’re telling me, kiddo,” said Daphne.
She glanced at her phone and saw that it was still early in the day. Today was her day off, and she planned to use it to catch up on odds and ends around the house, along with getting errands taken care of. Walking into the living room, she watched Jack plop in front of the TV and turn on the kids’ show that he was currently obsessed with, which was some program about farm animals who solved mysteries.
“You hungry, kiddo?” she asked.
“No, I had breakfast with Jason,” he said, his big blue eyes fixed on the TV. “We had pancakes.”
“Mmm, sounds pretty good to me,” Daphne said, her stomach growling.
“They were. They had bananas mushed up in them.”
“Lucky you,” she said, mussing his hair playfully as she walked by him on her way into the kitchen.
Once there, she made herself a quick meal of sliced fruit and toast, eating it at the small table by the window that looked out over the street of the apartment complex. Daphne allowed herself to relax, happy that the headache that she’d worried might put on her the couch all day was finally beginning to fade.
But as she stared off into the distance, something caught her eye. She squinted, making sure that it was, in fact, what she thought it was. She bolted out of her seat and pressed her hands against the glass as she leaned forward.
Sure enough, parked on the corner of the nearest intersection was that same blood-red and chrome bike she’d spotted following her home.
Daphne’s heart began to race. Her eyes stayed fixed on the bike, her body perfectly still. She watched the bike for several minutes, waiting to see what it did. Finally, after about five minutes, the bike roared to life, turned around, and drove off away from the apartment.
Daphne was gripped with fear. Her mind raced as she tried to come up with an explanation of just who this menacing biker was.
It has to be someone in Xander’s gang, she thought. It has to be. He’s probably been tracking me for a long time; I doubt it was a coincidence that he just happened to be at the same bar as me last night.
She shot up from her seat and dumped the rest of her food into the trash.
And now he’s pissed because I left him this morning without saying a word, she continued, the words frantic in her mind. I can’t believe that fucker thinks he can intimidate me. Well, I’m not going to let him.
This was the worst outcome she could imagine for her mistake of sleeping with Xander. Daphne knew that she’d done so much to keep Jack safe from violent scum like Xander and his gang, and now she realized that she just might’ve ruined everything by getting drunk and stupid.
Daphne busied herself with chores, trying her best to keep her mind off of the situation. At around noon, she decided that it was time to run some errands.
“Jack, baby,” she said, entering the living room where Jack was now playing with some action figures. “Want to go with Mommy to the store?”
“Yeah!” he said, dropping his figures and getting up right away.
Soon, the two of them were on their way to the grocery store. Daphne tried to allow herself to enjoy her Sunday afternoon off; after all, the weather was beautiful, and she appreciated how well-behaved Jack was being. But she couldn’t help but look in her rearview mirror constantly, each time expecting to see that blood-red bike in the distance behind her.
Daphne and Jack stopped at the store, and once done there, they headed to the mall to pick up some clothes for Jack. But even as they made their way through the aisles of the department store, Daphne found herself continually checking over her shoulder.
What the hell is wrong with me? she thought. What am I expecting, that I’m gonna turn around and the bike’s going to be parked in Menswear?
She allowed herself a small smile at that ridiculous idea, but she still felt tense. Really, she realized, she was worried that Xander might show up with a few of his thug friends in tow, ready to intimidate her.
Once done with their shopping, the two of them went to one of the restaurants near the mall to grab a quick bite to eat. But as soon as Daphne allowed herself to calm down and enjoy her meal, she saw it once again. Off in the mall’s parking lot, only a stone’s throw away from her car, was a blood-red bike. And seated on top of it was some grungy-looking man, his eyes hidden behind a pair of dark, wraparound shades. Once he noticed Daphne had spotted him, he gunned the engine and tore off, disappearing into the distance.
“Jack, let’s go, baby,” said Daphne.
“But Mo-om,” he said, “I’m still eating!”
“You can finish at home,” she said, flagging down the waitress for the check.
Once back home, Daphne locked the door behind her and closed all of the blinds of the apartment. She didn’t want that biker to spy on her any longer, and she didn’t want to see him if he was nearby. The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully, and once it was time for bed, Daphne slept deeply, her body needing the rest after the previous night’s activities.
The next day, Daphne was eager to get Jack off to school, where she knew he’d be safe.
I can’t live like this, she thought as she watched her son toddle up to the school and disappear into the crowd of children. I have to do something.
“Call the cops the next time you see him,” said Amy a little later, the two of them having lunch at Amy’s place.
“Are you sure?” asked Daphne. “I mean, what if they think I’m just being paranoid?”
“Who cares?” asked Amy. “I’d rather risk that than whatever else might happen. Just do it; you’ll feel better.”
Back at her place, Daphne got ready for work and headed to her car. Right as her hand clasped down on the car door handle, the back of her neck began to tingle. Looking up, sure enough, she spotted the biker once more. This time, he didn’t stare; he simply revved the engine as loudly as it would go, and took off.
Her heart pounding, she called the police. They told her that they’d send a squad car to search the area, and fifteen minutes later, one pulled up in front of her apartment. She told the police what had been going on, and they told her to stay put while they took a drive around the area. The car returned a bit later, the cops letting her know that they hadn’t spotted a bike like she described, but to call them again if he returned. She thanked them for their time and hurried off to work.
The workday passed as normal. Mondays weren’t the busiest days at Hendrick’s, and Daphne was glad for that; she didn’t want any more stress on top of everything. Once the day was done, she walked out to her car in the parking lot. About halfway there, she realized that she’d unconsciously put her keys between her fingers, like some kind of makeshift brass knuckles.
But once she found her car, her blood ran cold. The tires had been slashed.
Daphne crumpled into a heap, tears forming in her eyes as she looked over the damage. She felt sick and scared and helpless.
After having her car towed to the nearest tire store and the tires changed, Daphne picked up Jack from Amy’s and brought him home. She closed the blinds to her apartment once again, her eyes flicking over to her phone as soon as she did.
I have to call Xander, she thought. I have to tell him to cut this shit out; I won’t take it any longer.
Summoning up her courage, she picked up the phone and found his number in her contact list. The phone rang, and soon it took her to his mailbox. Daphne took a deep breath and spoke.
“Listen, asshole,” she said. “I’m already really fucking pissed about what … happened the other night. And now you’ve got one of your low-life friends following me around? This is a new low, you fuck. I never want to see you again, and I figured leaving you made that abundantly clear. So leave me alone, or I’ll have the cops on your ass. And I know the kind of shit you get into; the cops sniffing around is the last thing you want. And you owe me for the fucking tires. I guess you know my address now, so send me a goddamn check.”
Once she was done, she tossed the phone across the counter, surprised at how much rage had been in her voice. But they’d threatened her son, and she knew that all bets were off.
Jack … she thought, realizing that the whole point of leaving Xander was so that he wouldn’t know about Jack.
She rushed over to her son on the couch and held him close. Daphne swore that she wouldn’t let anything happen to her son, no matter the cost.
For the first time in years, her future was filled with fear and uncertainty.