The morning air was cool as it blew in through the open drivers side window of the car. The soft scent of the new day filled the air, bringing to life everything it touched.
Well, almost everything.
The driver of the car was completely unaware of anything else around him other than his thoughts. It wouldn't matter if a purple people eater jumped out in front of his car, he wouldn't even look.
Well, maybe he would for a purple people eater.
It was almost three o'clock in the afternoon, and although it felt as if this time would never come, now, it felt as if it was coming too quickly.
Justin had woken early that morning; around five a.m. Unable to sleep the majority of the night, he had tossed and turned. Finally, around two, he got out of bed and went down to his basement gym to work off some extra energy.
Erin had decided to stay at her apartment that night, giving Justin plenty of room and privacy to freak out as much as he wanted. He was able to talk to himself as he wandered through the dark halls of his home without worrying about being overheard. He was able to go outside at three in the morning to play basketball without someone asking what he was doing. He even began to write down some of the questions he wanted to ask Trystan, and some of the thoughts racing through his mind at four.
Sliding back into bed around four thirty, he finally fell asleep. But it didn't last long, and before he knew it, he was up again a little after five. Knowing it was pointless to try and sleep anymore, he began to clean his house.
This was something he never did, but for the lack of options, it was his only choice.
He did laundry at six. Dishes at seven. Washed floors, dusted and vacuumed at eight. By ten thirty, his house was sparkling, and although exhausted, he still went out for a run.
Running through the quiet streets of his gated community, he was able to release some of the tension he was feeling. Running gave him a sense of freedom, and was always a therapeutic tool for stress relief.
Arriving back home at close to noon, he had found a message from Landon on his machine.
"J, its me. You said you were going to call and we were going to do something today. Where the hell are ya? Call me."
Calling Landon back, Justin apologized profusely, giving the excuse that he had to do some errands for his mother that morning, then get ready for the dinner at her house that evening. He promised that they would get together the next day, saying that he would treat to whatever Landon wanted to do.
Of course, he knew this was probably not the next idea. Whenever Landon was given this option, Justin usually ended up having to break out his gold card.
After hanging up from Landon, Justin had a long, hot shower. The steaming water slid over his naked back and chest, sliding down his face and falling in droplets from his hair. Almost as if washing away all the worry and regrets he felt, cleansing away more than just the sweat from his run.
Stepping out of the shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and returned to his room. The sliding glass door leaning to the balcony was open, a gentle breeze blowing in through the sheer curtains. The room was filled with the fresh air, and Justin breathed it in deeply.
Falling back onto the bed, he closed his eyes.
It was one o'clock. He had almost two hours before he was supposed to meet with Trystan.
Finally, the exhaustion from his sleepless night and hectic morning overtook him, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Opening his eyes what seemed like only moments later, he was shocked to find that it was already 2:15pm. Jumping up, he quickly dressed and rushed out to his car in fifteen minutes.
He vaguely knew where Olsen street was, but wasn't overly familiar with the area. He knew he was going to have to give himself enough time to find the place, and probably even more to decide how to handle the situation.
Her voice on the phone the night before had been one that he would never have expected from her. Not that he knew her all that well, but this voice was not one that fit her image. Or at least the image he had of her.
This tone was forceful, demanding, and downright scary. This voice was one of anger, and he felt himself grow nervous at the thought of what she may do.
She had already tracked down his home number, and somehow gotten the private cell phone number of his girlfriend. She had followed him to the grocery store, and had even told him that she had followed him one more than just that one occasion.
He had no idea what to expect from her today, and the more he thought about it, the more afraid he felt himself become.
Pulling onto Olsen street, he looked at the first house number. 1004. He still had a short way to go before reaching the desired building.
Looking around, he took note of the area.
It was quiet, mostly small homes and apartment buildings. It was a quiet part of town, on the outskirts of the city. Approximately fifteen minutes from Justins home.
Despite the short distance, the change in the buildings was rather dramatic.
Justins private, gated community was filled with large, expensive homes. Mostly retired couples, preferring the quiet area to those more hectic and noisy that surrounded them.
The homes here were smaller. Most only one floor, built close together. Small yards out front, only a few of the buildings had garages. The apartment buildings were low. Usually no more than seven stories high.
It was a nice area, mostly young couples with young children.
Looking to his left, Justin grinned at the sight of three young girls playing jump rope on the sidewalk. Through the open window of his car, he could faintly hear their chants as one girl, with long, blonde pigtails, jumped happily over the rope as her two friends twirled it around her.
Looking up at the closest house number, he sighed. 1745.
Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, Justin continued down the quiet street.
A young boy ran down the road across from Justin, his large black dog pulling him behind him. The boys laughter could be heard through the window as the dog continued on its way, oblivious to the squeals of his owner.
Justin remembered what it was like to be that age. To be free of all worry. To be able to have that sense of safety that came with knowing that your parents were there to protect you.
He grinned as he remembered being that age. All he wanted then was to grow up. To be an adult, and to be able to make his own decisions. To be able to stay up as late as he wanted, to be able to go wherever he wanted, and be able to do whatever he wanted.
Now, he was an adult, and he wanted nothing more than to be that child again.
Looking to his left, Justins eyes widened at the sight of the number on a light blue house. 2549. Only a few houses to go.
Watching the numbers of each house as he drove past, Justin felt his stomach muscles begin to tighten the closer he got to 2569. When his eyes hit the number, his mouth immediately went dry.
It was a small, one level home. The light tan siding was a contrast to the dark, rust color of the roof. There was no garage, as a small car sat in the driveway.
Pulling his car over to the side of the road, Justin turned off the engine but made no attempt to get out of the vehicle. Glancing at his watch, he frowned. 2:54pm.
Justin raised his eyes to look at the house again.
He stared hard, looking for any sign that Trystan was aware that he had arrived. Any movement of a curtain, or shadow across the window.
He saw nothing.
A large pine tree sat in the front yard, moving gently against the pressure of the wind outside. He could hear the chirping of birds as they sang happily in the trees, completely unaffected by the stresses of everyday life.
Raising his wrist to his face, he looked at his watch again. 2:56pm.
Looking back to the house, he studied it again for any sign of life.
But again, he saw nothing.
Sighing loudly, he pulled the keys from the ignition and put them in the pocket of his jeans. Opening the door, he slid out of the drivers seat and shut the door behind him. But he didn't step away from the car. Instead, he watched the house as if he was waiting for it to move. For legs to grow beneath it and rise above the rest of the street.
It didn't move. And neither did he.
Looking at his watch again, his stomach jumped. 2:59pm.
Gently pushing himself away from the car, he looked down the street on either side of him. There were no children, no cars approaching. There was no one around.
Slowly, he made his way across the street and to the sidewalk in front of the house.
Looking down he saw that some of the local children had drawn a hopscotch on the concrete.
He found himself wondering if Trystan had played that game as a child. Did she go to parties in high school? Was she a cheerleader? What did she do for a living?
Even though he was aware of it before, it never really struck him until that moment.
He really knew nothing about her.
This woman who had become such a huge part of his life, he knew nothing about.
Not that he felt he should know such intimate details about her, but still he felt a touch of guilt at the thought.
She had entered his mind almost every day for the last month and a half. And he knew nothing about her other than her name.
A gentle beep sounded in the quiet air, and Justins attention was brought to his watch. 3:00pm.
It was time.
Looking up at the house, it suddenly appeared much larger to him at that moment than it had a little while before.
Crossing the grass on front of the house, he felt the soft feeling of the ground beneath his shoes and he slowly made his way to the door.
Stepping up onto the small porch, he raising his hand to the door. But just as he was about to knock, his hand lowered on its own accord.
What was he doing? What the fuck was he doing here?
Here he was, at the home of the woman he had an affair with over a month and a half ago. The woman who was now not only haunting his dreams, but doing everything in her power to haunt his reality as well.
He had no idea what to do, or even how things had gotten to this point.
A year ago, he never would have thought he would be at this point in his life. He never would have thought that this would be a reality for him.
But who really did? Who every really thought that something like this would happen to them?
This like this never happened to real people. They always happened to someone else. Never to you.
But this time, he was that someone else.
Lowering his head, he closed his eyes painfully.
He had to do this. He had to talk to her, and somehow end all this before it went any further.
Looking back to the door, he raised his hand again.
Just as he was about to knock, the door quickly pulled open, causing Justin to jump back.
Immediately, at the sight of the woman on the other side of the door, he wished he had never answered that cell phone the night before.
