Penny

My head is still pounding and no amount of water or Advil pills I take is stopping the pain.

At this point, I consider it to be a punishment for how unaware and naïve I was a few nights ago. How stupid I was to wander out into a dark alley by myself and the guilt over Connor getting beat into a coma that has me subconsciously blaming myself for everything that's happened. That guilt has been building steadily all throughout my short stay at the hospital up until now, and I don't think it will be going away anytime soon.

"Hey sleepyhead," A voice sounds from the doorway, I shift on the bed so that I'm facing Brooke who is leaning against the door frame holding a tray with an assortment of different breakfast foods on it.

I push myself up into a seated position and rub the sleep out of my dreary eyes before she sets the tray down onto my lap.

"Hey, thanks for this... really," I say, a small smile pulling at my lips.

Brooke rubs my back, her hand snaking around my shoulder to steal a cube of cantaloupe out of the bowl which she stuffs into her mouth smiling mischievously as she runs out of the room, but not before yelling over her shoulder, "Remember that you promised to come shopping with me later!"

I groan and lean back against the headboard, dragging my hands down my face.

I had totally forgotten. When she asked me last night during our Harry Potter movie marathon, I agreed, without really acknowledging what she had asked. It came out almost like a grunt because I was too focused on what was happening on screen with my favorite characters. We were in the middle of watching my favourite of all the movies, The Goblet of Fire, and she had asked me during one of the best scenes during the final challenge where Harry and Cedric meet up in the maze.

So of course, I was too focused to understand that she had asked me to go shopping with her. That is the last thing I want to be doing right now, I hate shopping, with a passion, but if it will make Brooke happy then I'd do it for her.

She has been my rock these past few days after what happened at The Den, even with my nightmares she's let me stay with her each night, soothing me after I've been pulled from sleep screaming uncontrollably. Even when I run to the bathroom clutching my stomach vomiting up my last night's meal into the toilet, she's been right there next to me holding my hair up, rubbing slow circles against my upper back.

There is no way I can repay her for how much of a support system she's been to me, so to make up for some of the trouble I've caused her, I agreed to go along with one of her favourite pass times.

I consider my meal sitting in front of me and my mouth begins to water as I spot the bacon strips alongside some different piles of fruit and banana pancakes. She really does know the way to a girl's heart.

-

"Okay babes, what about this one?" Brooke calls from the dressing room as she comes out in her outfit.

My jaw drops open wide as I take in what she has on, her skin is thoroughly exposed in a black chiffon two-piece set consisting of a cropped halter top that is tight-fitting and opaque in the breast section but completely see-through as it continues down her abdomen, stopping just above her midriff. The matching skirt makes my eyes bulge out of their sockets, it's stunningly fitted to her curves, hugging her all the way up to just above her belly button, the fabric is a glittering black that shines in the bright spotlights that shine down on us in the room.

"Oh My God," Marlee exclaims from beside me, "You look hot... Like hot, hot."

Like me her mouth is open wide, her eyes mirroring mine.

"You look so good B," I say smiling up at her as she struts around the room like it's her own personal runway.

Her smile is dazzling as she grins back at her reflection in the mirror, turning a couple of times to see all of the angles. She nods to herself before spinning back to us, she bows and then performs a sexy walk back into the changeroom.

Marlee and I clap and cheer from our seats at the bench, giggling the whole time at our silliness.

"I'm buying it!" Brooke calls out from the stall.

"Everyone will be obsessed with you girlie!!" Marlee, calls out while sending me a quick wink.

We fall into a comfortable silence as we wait for Brooke to finish.

Brooke also ended up dragging Marlee to our little girl date and I could quickly tell that shopping wasn't really her forte either. Marlee's favourite way to spend the time would be studying ancient art or going out to a museum for the day, to just sit and admire the beauty surrounding her. I mean she is majoring in art history so she does enjoy the little things like sitting and enjoying whichever environment she's in. Unlike Brooke, she is quieter and more observant.

"How is Jack?" I say breaking the silence.

Marlee looks up from her phone, her lips turn down slightly and she furrows her eyebrows as she considers a response, "he's having a hard time, of course," She pauses, leaning back on both arms while tilting her head up in thought. "He's been distant and he's quiet most of the time now, I think it's still the shock of the whole situation... I'm not sure how to help him through it, or if I even can..." She looks back to me.

"I feel that way... A lot of the time it's hard to even get up and out of the apartment, I think I feel sad for myself but mostly the guilt weighs on me. I blame myself for letting ourselves get caught up in everything," I stop and take a deep breath to steady my swirling emotions, "I think that maybe Jack feels the same, guilt from being meters away and unaware of what was going on, like maybe if he had been there he thinks he may have been able to prevent it?"

I look down at my interlocked fingers sitting on my lap and shake my head.

"Okayyy guys so who's next?" Brooke calls out excitedly, she has her outfit draped over one arm as she walks over to us.

Marlee and I share a confused glance before returning to meet Brooke's bright eyes, her light smile turns into a dark smirk, "The reason I asked you both to choose outfits wasn't just for fun..." She laughs shaking her head, "we're all trying our outfits on... so who's up?"

My cheeks heat up as I look down at the outfit laid out next to me, then I feel Brooke's hand on my arm as she pulls me up to my feet.

"I know you may never wear it but this is fun so trust me, you only need to try it on, there is no pressure to buy it, or even if you do you don't have to wear it anywhere." She says pulling the outfit up from the bench and shoving it into my arms.

I groan and laugh, "Fineee, but only for you Brooke Halls, naughty girl, how are you always so good at convincing me to do these things," I smile to myself as I run into the changeroom.

I stare at myself in the change room mirror, my cheeks are fully flush as I take in my bare legs that disappear underneath the red silk fabric of the dress that I squeezed into. My figure is hugged perfectly by the soft material as I run my hands over the front to smooth out the ridges.

I step out of the changeroom and turn to face Marlee and Brooke.

When I walk towards them they start whistling  and hollering as I move closer, the material shifting with my movement. They are both smiling as I spin a few times showing them the back which is laced together.

I move the hair away from my face as I stare down at myself.

"Wow... Pen, you look amazing. I don't think it could be possible to look so good," Brooke sighs as she rests her head on her hand and looks up dreamily.

"So beautiful, you need to buy it, Penny," Marlee says, clapping her hands together.

I meet her gaze and she smiles warmly.

I smile back as I turn to make my way back to the changeroom, yeah maybe I will buy it. As Brooke said, even if I don't ever get the chance to wear it, there's no harm in having it in my closet, just in case.

-

We all buy the outfits we tried on and are talking excitedly to one another as we leave the store, that I don't notice the man before I bump into him.

I stumble backward, "Oh I am so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going!" I apologize, as I look up to meet his eyes.

He has a darker complexion the colour of mocha and his eyes are bright as he smiles and steps to the side, "No totally my bad, have a nice day," He says before walking away.

I shuffle closer to Marlee and Brooke who are trying to muffle their laughs, I punch them both on the arm and narrow my eyes at them playfully before we link arms and walk down the bustling New York side walk laughing about me being a total klutz.

Around thirty minutes later we finally make it to The Dark Bean coffee parlor to drop Marlee of for her shift which starts at three.

We all go in, Brooke and I plan to get a cup before heading back to our building. We pay for our coffee and walk over to the many empty tables near the front window of the coffee shop. I sit in the chair facing the window, setting my cup down as I pull the chair out.

My first sip of the coffee is warm as it slides down my throat, my eyes close enjoying the warmth that spreads through me, warming up my fingers. When I open my eyes, I look outside the large window onto the busy Manhattan street.

My gaze catches onto something on the other side of the road, and I squint my eyes to make it out. I almost spit out the coffee from my last sip when I realise it isn't something but someone—who is staring directly at me.

It takes me a couple more seconds until I recognise it as the man I bumped into outside of the store. He pretends to look down at the newspaper her has open in front of him but every few seconds he looks up in the direction of the coffee shop as the door swings shut as more people filter out. He is leaning leisurely on a wall on the opposite side and to any other person walking down the street minding their own business it wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary, except this man seems to be coincidentally everywhere I am.

"What are you staring at?" Brooke catches my attention as she waves her croissant in front of my face. She looks over her shoulder onto the street but turns when she doesn't notice anything unusual, obviously not aware of the strange man.

"Oh um, nothing..." I mumble, taking another sip.

I mean maybe I'm being silly, It could just be a coincidence, maybe this person doesn't know who I am at all. It could really just be my mind playing tricks on me. I've been nervous ever since my interaction with Enzo Bridger, I mean having your life threatened is no small thing, so I'm just a big bundle of nerves wherever I go.

And since I haven't really gotten out in the past few days, I think I'm just a bit on edge whenever I notice something a bit strange.

I take a quick glance over Brooke's shoulder to the spot where he had been standing but he's gone. I shake my head and relax, yes definitely just nerves.

Brooke and I are a couple of blocks away from our apartment now and I'm excited to get back into my comfortable clothing and strip out of these tight jeans.

"Oh shit," Brooke says, looking down at her phone.

I look over at her as we stop on the sidewalk, "what is it?"

"I need to get something out of the pool locker rooms before they lock up for the rest of the night, I totally forgot to do it this morning." Brooke stuffs her phone back into her jean pocket, "Go on without me back home, I'll text when I'm on my way back. Call me if you need anything!" She says as she turns to run back down the street leaving me alone.

I glance around at the empty street and begin walking briskly back towards our building that I can spot in the distance.

As I come towards my building my heart stops in my chest when I spot the same man as before who is now in a car parked a few spaces down on the other side of the road. I can see that it's him although he's wearing different clothes and with the dark shades covering his eyes it make me more suspicious that he must have something to do with the CEO who threatened my life.

My heart rate picks up when I think about my options, I could either; rush home, lock the door, and huddle on the couch watching The Office reruns until Brooke comes back and I feel safe, or I go and confront his ass to see what the fuck he thinks he is doing following me around.

I go with the second option.

Gathering up all of my courage, I stalk towards his black SUV.

It was never mentioned in the contract that Enzo would have me followed and if that is the case then he and I need to have a conversation.

I walk straight up the driver side window and cross my arms over my chest, I knock against the glass with my knuckles and wait. I know he saw me come over here but he takes his sweet time anyway.

The window rolls down slowly and he turns his perfectly sculpted face towards me, flaunting a bright smile, "How can I help you Miss?"

Great just great, he's also a cocky bastard... At this point, I think that anyone who works for Enzo Bridger must be a selfish douch bag.