"Thank you for calling The Leafling. This is Jamie."
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
"Hello?" Jamie tried again.
Click. They had hung up.
"Hmmm," Jamie shrugged and hung up the phone, thinking no more about it.
The next day, it happened again. Jamie still thought nothing of it.
On the third day, Jamie did think something of it.
"Thank you for calling The Leafling. This is Jamie."
Breathing. There was breathing on the other end.
"Look, if you need some help with flowers, just say so. Otherwise, stop calling. I have customers to take care of," Jamie said, hanging up the phone, annoyed.
On the fourth day, Jamie started to feel unnerved. Was this becoming a pattern?
"Thank you for calling The Leafling. This is Jamie."
Breathing.
"Look, you fucker, cut it out. I'm busy," she said, again hanging up before the other person had a chance.
"Stupid kids and their prank calls," Jamie muttered to herself.
That night, Jamie and Dani were having dinner at their kitchen table. Dani had made a wonderful meal of lasagne. Jamie could not get enough of Dani's cooking. Well, she really couldn't get enough of anything pertaining to Dani, she thought, smiling.
The phone rang.
"I'll get it!" Dani said, her tone chipper. "You keep eating."
Dani answered the phone. "Hello?... Hello?... Is anyone there?"
Jamie stopped chewing, put her fork down, and looked up. Something was pricking at the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong. Dani hung up the phone and returned to the table.
"Wrong number, I guess," she said, shrugging.
"Hmmm… probably," Jamie said, troubled.
It happened again that night. Jamie and Dani had been asleep for hours, Dani spooning Jamie.
RING!
The phone startled both of them. Jamie flailed around reaching for the phone on her night stand. Dani reluctantly let go of her so she could reach it.
"Hello?" Jamie said, her voice raspy with sleep.
There it was. That breathing. Again. But this was not at The Leafling. She was at home. And it was the middle of the night. She was instantly awake, gripped by a terror she couldn't name.
Jamie froze, listening to the breathing. It got heavier.
"Say something, you fucker," she demanded in a whisper.
Click. They had hung up.
"Jamie? Is everything okay?" Dani asked sleepily next to her. "Did you just cuss out a telemarketer?"
"Yeah, everything's fine," Jamie lied. "Go back to sleep."
"Mmm-kay," Dani said, turning over on her side.
Jamie put her arm around Dani and pulled her against her body. Dani sighed contentedly. Jamie held on tighter than she normally did. She couldn't shake this feeling. She just needed to feel Dani safe against her body. She didn't fall back asleep. Instead, she kept watch over Dani even though she didn't know why.
In the morning, Dani took one look at Jamie and knew something was wrong. Jamie looked tired.
"Jamie? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just didn't sleep well last night is all," Jamie replied.
"Did I snore too much?" Dani asked, worried she had done something wrong.
"No, Poppins, you know I find your little snores soothing," she said, tweaking Dani's nose in a playful manner.
"Ok, but you would tell me if something is bothering you, right? You can talk to me about anything."
"I know, Dani. It's nothing." Jamie didn't want to worry Dani unnecessarily and Jamie didn't even know what she would tell her. It was just some prank calls. Jamie didn't know why they made her feel so jumpy.
Jamie was on edge every time the phone rang at The Leafling that day. It was almost said the end of the day and Jamie had not received any prank calls. She was starting to think that she had overreacted to the whole thing and was glad she hadn't mentioned it to Dani. She didn't want Dani to think she was paranoid or something.
But then it happened again. The last call of the day. That heavy breathing again. This time Jamie didn't say anything, waiting to see if the other person would. Click. They had hung up again.
Jamie walked home that night with a growing pit in her stomach. She just needed to see Dani. Thankfully, Dani was home when Jamie arrived. Jamie didn't say anything when she came through the door, just walked over to Dani and hugged her. Dani pulled her in close, stroking her hair with one hand.
"Baby, what's wrong? Bad day?"
Before Jamie could respond, their phone rang.
"Dani, wait—" But Jamie was too late. Dani had already picked up. Jamie's whole body stiffened in anticipation.
"Hello?... Hello?... Clayton-Taylor residence…. Hello?"
Jamie took the phone from Dani's hand and held it to her ear. Yes, it was the same breathing. She could no longer try to tell herself this was a coincidence.
"Don't you fuckin' call here again!" she yelled, slamming the phone down on the receiver.
Dani looked shook. "Jamie?" She asked, tentatively.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, Poppins. I think we best have that talk now."
Jamie told Dani about all of the calls over the past week and Dani listened with growing concern. Thankfully, Jamie thought, Dani did not give her a hard time for not telling her sooner.
"So, who do you think it is?" Dani asked.
"I've no idea," Jamie said. "It's like I feel I should know, like it's just right there, but I can't quite puzzle it out. I keep thinking about my customers, but I don't think I have any disgruntled ones."
"Is there anything we can do about this?"
"I'm going to unplug the phone tonight. We don't need this creep disrupting our sleep again. Tomorrow I'll have our number changed. I can't really change the number at work though. Too much hassle. But, it's a start," Jamie said, resigned.
Dani reached over and rubbed Jamie's knee supportively. "Whatever this is, we'll handle it together. Ok?"
"Together," Jamie confirmed, placing her hand over Dani's and squeezing.
The next day, Jamie had their number changed as discussed. She gave Dani the new number that night so she could give it to the Wingraves, as well as her mother, on the rare occasion Dani's mother actually called.
The calls at the Leafling continued sporadically over the next week, but the phone calls to their home had stopped. Jamie was starting to feel better, if only a little bit.
Dani and Jamie were watching a movie, a bowl of popcorn between them.
"Hey, pause the movie," Jamie said, "I've just got to run to the restroom."
"Oh, sure thing," Dani said, pausing the VCR.
No sooner did Jamie close the bathroom door than the phone rang. Dani got up to answer it.
"Hello?"
Breathing.
Dani's blood turned to ice. This couldn't be happening again. Then something clicked in Dani's mind.
"Eddie?" She whispered.
Click.
Jamie emerged. "Did I just hear the—"
She saw Dani frozen in place, still holding the phone. She moved quickly to her and covered Dani's hand with her own to gently hang up the phone. She put her hands on Dani's face and looked right into her eyes.
"Dani, what just happened?"
"It's him, Jamie. It's him." Her voice was a whisper.
"Who, Dani?"
"Eddie."
Now it was Jamie's turn to freeze as her thoughts struggled to assimilate this new information. That was it. That was the missing piece, what she couldn't quite put her finger on. It all made so much sense. She should have seen it. She didn't even ask Dani how she knew. Jamie knew Dani was right. She knew it with absolute certainty.
Jamie finally found her voice. "That little shit. That little fuckin' shit," she muttered.
Dani had picked the phone back up and was dialing.
"Dani? What are you doing?" Jamie asked, not sure at all who Dani was calling.
"My mom," Dani mouthed. Jamie nodded. Of course.
"Hey… yeah, Mom. It's me… Yeah, I'm fine… I just need to know if you gave Eddie our new number… Ok well, have you seen him?... Mmmhmm… And was my number just laying around somewhere?... On the fridge?... No, I don't want to talk to him!... No, that's not what this is about… Look, just tell him to leave us alone… I have to go… Ok. Love you, too."
"Your mum unwittingly gave Eddie our new number, didn't she?" Jamie surmised.
"Yeah, she had it on the fridge. Eddie and Judy came over for dinner at her house last night. He must have written it down. I'm so sorry, Jamie."
"You have nothing to apologize for. That was unavoidable. It's not your mum's fault either. At least we know what's going on now."
"I mean, my mom told me he was struggling, but I didn't think he would do something like this, you know?"
Jamie pulled Dani into a hug. "I know, baby, I know," she said gently. "It's just phone calls though. Nothing we can't handle. He's an ocean away."
Inexplicably, the phone calls stopped. It had been two weeks and nothing. No calls to The Leafling. No calls to the flat. With each passing day, Dani and Jamie felt more at ease.
They had gone out to dinner that night with the Wingraves. Miles and Flora thought Jamie was "the coolest" and loved getting to see her any chance they could. Dani pretended like it bothered her that they thought Jamie was cooler, but really she loved it. She loved watching others discover how special Jamie was, too. And, she probably was cooler than Dani anyway, Dani mused.
They were walking arm in arm up the stairs to their flat, laughing at some inside joke. At the top of the stairs, Dani rested her head on Jamie's shoulder while Jamie unlocked their door. They walked in and Jamie flipped on the lights. But, Dani's foot caught something as she walked in.
"What the—" Dani said, surprised, which caused Jamie to turn around.
Dani leaned down and picked up an unmarked manila envelope that had been slid under their door.
"What-cha got there, Poppins?" Jamie asked, heading towards the kitchen.
"Not sure yet." Dani closed and locked the door behind her and then carried the envelope over to the kitchen island.
Jamie was putting their leftovers in the fridge. Dani opened the clasp on the envelope and pulled out the contents. Jamie was saying something, but Dani couldn't hear her anymore. She was frozen in terror, staring at the contents of the envelope. Jamie still had her back to Dani, unaware.
"Jamie…" Dani whispered.
Jamie stopped talking and spun around to process the scene in front of her. Dani's voice, terrified. Dani standing perfectly still, paralyzed. Dani holding something. Dani's lip starting to tremble. Jamie closed the gap between them in two strides, coming alongside Dani to see what she was looking at and instinctively putting her arm around Dani's shoulders. Jamie used her other hand to gently take the contents of the envelope out of Dani's hands so she could look.
Jamie's heart felt like it stopped. Fear instantly had her in its icy grip. Jamie dropped the photographs on the counter. They were 8x10 photographs. A lot of photographs. Of them. Of Jamie and Dani. Jamie and Dani walking down the sidewalk, holding hands. Jamie and Dani at various restaurants. Jamie and Dani at a café, Dani laughing at one of Jamie's jokes. Jamie and Dani in their favorite booth at the pub, clinking their glasses together. Jamie and Dani at The Leafling. Jamie walking out of the Leafling. Jamie picking up take out. Jamie and Dani at home…sitting on their couch, Jamie's head resting on Dani's shoulder. All the photos were from the last two weeks.
Jamie moved immediately to the windows and closed every curtain, her heart racing. She returned to where Dani was still standing over the counter. Dani was pushing the photos around on the counter, looking at all of them, horror etched all over her face. Dani leaned into Jamie, pulling her into a tight hug as she started to cry.
"Jamie…. Jamie… Jamie," she just kept saying her name like it was a prayer. "Why is he doing this? I'm scared," she added.
"Me too," Jamie confessed. Jamie didn't like admitting weakness, but she was rattled. Her own tears mixed in with Dani's.
Once the initial shock wore off, Dani pulled back from Jamie's embrace. They both wiped a few tears from each other's eyes.
"He's here, Jamie. In London. He's watching."
The way Dani said it sent a shiver down Jamie's spine. Jamie felt a rush of emotions— fear, anger, sadness. But most of all, an overwhelming need to keep Dani safe. She had vanquished Dani's beast once before; she would vanquish him again.
"We're going to get this sorted, Dani. I've got you," Jamie said, trying to project more confidence than she felt. In truth, she didn't know what she was going to do.
That night, neither of them slept. They clung to each other all night, silently sharing in their fear. At some point, Dani finally spoke, startling Jamie from her thoughts.
"This is all my fault. I'm so sorry. You wouldn't be involved in any of this if it weren't for me. I've put you in so much danger. I would understand if it's too much for you," Dani said, each word wracked with guilt.
"Shhh, shhhh," Jamie said, stroking Dani's hair. "Not another word of that. I'm right where I want to be. Where I've chosen to be. I would be a shite girlfriend if I bailed only because your psycho ex is stalking us." She tried to make her tone light.
"Jamie, it's not a joke. I'm being serious. I can't live with myself if something happens to you."
"And I'm being serious, too, Dani. Because I can't live without you. Did you really think I would walk away because of this?"
"Well, I mean, I hoped not," Dani said sheepishly, "But I thought it was only right for me to give you an out if you wanted it."
"Well, I don't want an out. Because. No. One. Is. Going. Anywhere." Jamie said it with such certainty that it did make Dani feel better. Jamie brought her hand up in front of Dani's face and offered her her pinky finger.
Dani smiled and linked her pinky with Jamie's, a silent promise made between them. Dani kissed their hands while Jamie gazed upon her, her eyes alight with a fierce love for Dani.
They finally fell asleep, exhausted. When they woke up, their little fingers were still intertwined.
Jamie insisted on driving Dani to work the next morning, and Dani did not protest. Jamie put the truck in park outside of the Wingraves' house. Dani started to get out.
"Wait just a moment, Dani," Jamie said.
Dani turned and stared at her, waiting for her to continue. Something about Jamie's tone told Dani that she wasn't going to like what Jamie was about to say.
"There are some things I need to do today. I don't think you'll approve, but I won't keep secrets from you," Jamie said directly.
Jamie told her what she planned to do.
"Absolutely not," Dani said when Jamie had concluded.
"Dani, I can't just do nothing! Not when he's out there watching you. I'll be fine, I promise."
"At least let me go with you," Dani pleaded. She couldn't bear the thought of Jamie doing these things alone.
"No. You're safer here."
"And what about your safety?! Doesn't that matter?!"
"I'm not the one he's after," Jamie said matter of factly.
"Fine," Dani huffed. "Then will you at least take Owen with you? You know you wouldn't let me do this alone, so you can't ask me to be okay with it either. I go with you or Owen does. End of discussion."
Dani had used her teacher voice on Jamie. It was very intimidating. And Jamie knew Dani was right.
"Ok, I'll ask Owen to accompany me," Jamie said. She added an eye roll for good measure though.
"Thank you," Dani said, leaning in and giving Jamie a long kiss. It left Jamie speechless. It was worth giving in to Dani if she was going to kiss her like that, Jamie thought.
"You'll pick me up at 3:00?" Dani asked, getting out of the truck.
"I'll be right here waiting for you," Jamie said, still savoring the taste of Dani on her lips.
Once Jamie saw Dani safely enter the Wingraves' house, she drove away. But she didn't go to The Leafling. She had other work to do. Keeping her promise to Dani, she went to Owen and Hannah first. She told them what happened with the photographs and asked Owen if he would go with her. He, of course, agreed without question.
Their first stop together was the police station. As Jamie suspected, a stalking case was not high on their list of priorities, but she felt like it was important for there to be a paper trail nonetheless.
Their next order of business was to retrace Edmund's steps. Using the photos, they revisited each location, trying to ascertain where he had been and looking for any clues. Jamie felt if she could only understand how he was watching them, she could be more vigilant, maybe even catch him. The whole time, she felt like she could feel his eyes on her. She was constantly looking over her shoulder. She never saw him though and started to think she was just being paranoid. After all, she was not the focus of his attention. Dani was.
With one stop left, their quest had yielded nothing thus far. Not that Jamie thought it would. She just felt like she needed to do something. The last stop was the one she was dreading the most. She had to find where Edmund had gotten the shot into their flat. Judging by the angle and assuming he was using a telephoto lens, Jamie narrowed it down to a tall building two over from their flat. Jamie stood at the bottom of the building and stared up it, her resolve wavering. Owen looked similarly apprehensive next to her. The building was residential and they couldn't get in without a key. The only way up for them was a rusty old fire escape snaking its way along the side of the building. It must have been the same method Edmund used. She took a deep breath and began to climb the rickety fire escape. Jamie hated heights and the stairs felt like they could give way at any moment. Still, she climbed. She was out of breath when she reached the top, more from nerves than physical exertion though. Owen was not far behind her, also out of breath.
"You owe me a drink," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "And not from my own pub either. That doesn't count."
"I'll buy you a bottle of the good stuff," she said, trying (and failing) to sound anything other than worried. "Thanks for coming with me, mate."
Owen nodded in acknowledgment. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"
The rooftop was deserted. They walked around all of the mechanical equipment until they reached the side of the roof that faced Jamie and Dani's flat.
Jamie gasped as the saw the scene in front of her. She felt like the breath had been knocked out of her lungs. There were torn up flowers strewn across the roof. That sight alone was offensive to her. But, in the middle of it all, in red spray paint, were two words: SHE'S MINE.