“I have your things if you want them,” Seff said, reaching into his coat. “I’m not a bad man. We just do what we have to so that we can get by.”
Bella felt sorry for him as he handed her the purse that he and the other man had taken. She somehow felt proud of herself. She had been right about him. He was not bad; he was just trying to get by.
Bella looked at Seff for a few seconds as she took her purse. “Why?” she asked him. Seff just looked back down at his coffee. “I told you, we do what we have to.”
“What does that even mean?” she asked him, confused at his answer.
“It does not matter. I am sorry we scared you. You will find all of your belongings in your purse. I will not bother you again, and you can know that you are safe.”
Bella wanted to scream. Know that she was safe? He had mugged her, he had stalked her, and she was supposed to know that she was safe? What was wrong with this man?
“You know,” Bella began to stand up, “If you needed money, all you had to do was ask. You didn’t need to scare me and take what was not yours. You sure as hell did not need to stand outside of my apartment and try to frighten me.”
Seff opened his mouth to reply but Bella was having none of it. She had gotten what belonged to her and she was not going to listen to what he had to say. She walked away, leaving him to his coffee.
Bella put her purse with the rest of her belongings, and when she returned to the front of the restaurant, she found that Seff was gone. She walked over to the table to found a note that simply said ‘I’m sorry.’
Bella began to feel bad for the man, but had to get on with her work. She stuffed the note in her pocket and went about her day. She was so glad when her shift was over. It had been a very busy day and her feet were killing her. She gathered her things and walked to her car, but as she did, that feeling of being watched came over her once again.
Bella quickly got into her car and locked the doors. She knew she was being silly; no one was watching her. The mugging was over, the man had admitted his wrongdoing and had even apologized. She tried to calm herself as she drove home, but could not shake the feeling that she was not alone.
As soon as she pulled up to her apartment she jumped out of the car and ran into the building. Her fear was growing and she knew she would feel better as soon as she was in her apartment behind locked doors.
Once Bella entered her apartment she began to feel better. She was home, she was safe, and no one could bother her there. She walked to her window and peered out. Seff was not standing on the sidewalk this time.
Bella gave a sigh of relief, undressed, and headed to the shower. She washed away all of the stress of the day and even though she had not fully shaken her fear, she began to relax.
Bella finished her shower and wrapped a towel around her body. She wiped the mirror in the bathroom and took a long look at herself. The past few days had taken a huge toll on her body, and she was beginning to show the effects of it.
She decided to slip into her nightgown, relax on the couch, and watch a few movies. She did not have to worry about going to work the next day and all she wanted was a little relaxation.
Bella decided that it was not the night to be watching horror films, so she turned on one of her favorite comedies, sat back, and relaxed. She must have been more tired than she realized because the next thing she knew she was opening her eyes.
She had fallen asleep but something had awoken her, the feeling as if someone was standing over her. She tried to focus her eyes but she could not see. The room was dark and the movie had gone off. Her heart began to race and she was afraid to move. She gathered all of her courage and sat up. Nothing.
There was nothing there and her eyes finally began to focus. She thought that she had to be imagining things. The stress of the past few days must have taken more of a toll on her than she had realized.
Bella stumbled to her bedroom and all but fell into her bed. Within seconds she was back asleep. What Bella did not know was that she was not alone in her apartment—Seff had been with her the entire evening.
Seff was amazed with this woman and he had been watching her since he had grabbed her in the street. When she looked into his eyes that night, it was not a look of fear that he saw; no, it was a look of interest. He had mugged so many women over the past few years. It was how he and his pack survived. They needed money—they had vowed to not kill humans, and when it was hard for them to find animal hearts to eat, they had to buy them.
They had to make sure they did not kill too many animals, as people had begun to take notice when their pets disappeared. The pack preferred human hearts, of course, but would settle with a cow heart. However, those where getting harder to come by without money. Farmers noticed pretty quickly when one of their cows had been taken, and people began to panic when they found animals without hearts.