Obsession Footsteps. Behind her.

Kate could hear them sounding out on the pavement, faint but jolting and ricocheting through her body like tiny electric shocks. She looked around, desperate for some landmark or sign that would give her some indication of where the hell she was. But there was nothing. The derelict buildings with their gaping windows seemed to be laughing at her in her stupidity; the few flickering streetlights mocking her need for their light. She was lost: she was alone. She was afraid. Thud. Thud. Kate whirled around, panic making her clumsy as she stumbled sideways. She thought she saw a figure in black disappear off to the side of the pavement, but it was gone by the time she righted herself. After a few minutes of nothing she shook herself off, laughing at her over-active imagination. Of course there was no-one following her it was just the darkness playing tricks. She pivoted back around and strode firmly towards the distant lights on the horizon, heart hammering all the while. A few minutes later she stopped again, ears straining to hear what she could. Silence. But she had thought never mind. Its nothing. Keep going. But theres no harm being certain And so she began walking, but deliberately less cautiously and carefully this time, with a faked air of nonchalance about her: she even whistled. Then suddenly and without warning her head whipped round and this time even in the darkness she could clearly see the tall figure of a man flattening itself against a wall. Her stomach plummeted to her shoes, her heart sped up and her brain began giving off warning signs. She knew who it was, who it had to be. Abandoning all pretence she turned tail and ran, not having to look round to know that the man following her was sprinting after her. She knew he was gaining on her As her feet pounded down on the cold concrete Kate found herself thinking back to that day, the day it had all begun, and she fought to try and stop the memories from overwhelming her. It didnt work. Well, I think I may enjoy working here if all the staff are as dedicated as you. Startled, Kate had spun around in her computer chair to meet the owner of that sarcastic drawl that cut through the everyday hustle and bustle of the office. A man she hadnt known had been standing almost directly behind her: he had looked to be in his late twenties, early thirties, was extremely attractive and had been staring directly at her. Excuse me! Kate had spluttered and she had turned away from his gaze towards the window, cheeks burning red.

Dont flatter yourself dear the man had smirked. I was looking at your screen. Emailing on company time are we? He had paused then and looked her up and down. Not that youre not worth admiring Kate had known she was positively scarlet by then. It hadnt been fair under normal circumstances she would never have dreamed of being that unprofessional, but her therapist had emailed to ask what time she wanted her next appointment. Anyway, she had had no need to explain herself to this stranger. He had been wasting her time. Can I help you, sir? she had said through gritted teeth. Im not sure, the man had replied with a smile. Im Sean Hunter Im taking over from Mr Callahan as of today. Who are you? Oh holy hell, Kate remembered thinking. He was the new boss. What a way to make an impression! She had swallowed nervously. Im Kate Costello. He had grinned at her wolfishly. There had been no denying it, she was definitely attracted to him. There had been a long pause as they held each others gaze. The hum of the computers, the clicking of keys, the mindless chatter of her colleagues and friends, all of it had seemed to fade into nothingness as she felt herself tumbling and falling into those cold blue eyes. Well, Kate Costello, he had said finally. I hope to be seeing a lot more of you in the near future. And then he winked. A sudden flash of light on her left somewhere blinded Kate for a split second, and she was jolted back to the present. Was that a helicopter? She stumbled sideways before continuing down the street, battling against the stitch in her side. The sound of her footsteps pounding out on the cold concrete echoed all around her, but it didnt cover the identical noises from behind her. He was still chasing after her, and he was getting closer. Kates head was spinning and she felt nauseous, but still she ran, fighting against the panic that threatened to overwhelm her whole being. Her eyes spun from side to side frantically, searching for a place, for anywhere she could hide. Alleyways loomed out of the darkness towards her, and strange noises echoed from them that terrified her, but not as much as the man who was following her. She darted down the nearest one and flattened herself the wall, praying that he hadnt spotted her. While she was fighting to control her heavy breathing, Kate was suddenly aware of a noise on her left, away from the main street. It sounded like him but it couldnt be. Could it? No! Silently shivering in the cold night, Kate closed her eyes and thought back to earlier that evening. How she wished she had never left the comfort of her living room

A car had back-fired outside the window and instantly Kate had sprung out of her chair and peered out through the curtains; but it hadnt been him. When she looked, he was never there. She had known it was highly unlikely that he would turn up outside her house. But then, with Sean, you never knew how far he would go. Or when he would stop. Kate edged along the wall, scraping her wrists along the bricks that jutted out of the wall. She felt blood trickle down her back, but that was nothing, it didnt matter, she just had to get away. It had begun at that party really though, hadnt it? She knew that he had only been pretending he didnt want to talk to her or dance with her. He had spent the entire night standing against the wall. Watching her every move. She had seen him wink at other girls that night, but she knew it wasnt the same what they shared was different. Her infatuation with him had grown stronger each day. As had her fear of him and the way he had come into her life and altered it beyond recognition. Because she was afraid, and that was what it all came down to. She was terrified. And tonight was the night she had decided that something had to be done about it. Sinking back into her chair, Kate had begun to think about things. She had known all along that this wasnt her fault after all, she hadnt asked for any of it. She didnt want to be constantly alert to the sounds of someone outside her house. She didnt want to feel her eyes involuntarily flicking to the side to see if he was there. She certainly didnt want things to go any further this way than they already had. Not now. Not again. Realising something was different, Kate froze against the wall. Silence met her ears she couldnt hear anything but her own heart beat once again. It didnt reassure her that he was gone, but she knew that this might be her only chance to get away. Drawing in a deep breath, she got ready to run again. Staring at the blank television screen in front of her, it had struck Kate how easily things seemed to spiral out of control in her life. What had started out as a bit of harmless flirting had turned into something a lot more dangerous. It was like playing with fire, and Kate had realised then that it was only a matter of time before someone got burned. Someone had to stop it, before it was too late. It would have to be her. She would have to finish this, once and for all, and now was the time it had to be done. Without warning, Kate felt a hand clamp down on her arm and she let out a high pitched scream. As she had locked the door behind her and stepped out into the darkness she had felt a strong sense of relief in knowing that finally, it was going to be over. *

The hand on her arm spun her round, and she found herself facing a man in dark clothes, his face hidden in shadow. Kate swallowed, petrified. But how could it be? It was impossible. Sean? she whispered. The man stepped into the moonlight, and it was instantly clear to Kate that he was a stranger. Her heart sank, and she knew she had been right. Katerina Costello? he enquired, his hand still maintaining its strong grip on her arm. Kate nodded, not trusting herself to speak. My name is Officer Davies. Im arresting you for the murder of Sean Hunter and the harassment of him for several months prior to his murder. Once again, Kate simply nodded. There was nothing more she could say. More officers suddenly appeared around her from the seemingly deserted alleyways and buildings, but Kate did not notice. In her head, she was still reliving the events of the evening, of how things had gone so wrong. She had prepared such a beautiful speech, told Sean exactly how she felt. How she had studied him over the last few months, watched him, fallen in love with him. How they were perfect for each other, how she could tell by the way he looked at her. How she was tired of them just dancing around their feelings. How it was time for him to admit that he loved her too, before she went mad. She had poured out her heart to him. And he had laughed. She shuddered, remembering the horrible things he had said to her. Oh, he knew she had been watching him, he said how it had all been a bit of fun but she had just taken things too far. He found it amusing at first, he said, watching her squirm, but now he had informed the police about the times she sat outside his house waiting for him to leave, and would she please leave now because she was boring him. She was quite clearly mentally unstable, and he didnt want anything more to do with her she was fired. He had reached to slam the door. Blood boiling, she had thrust it back in his face, not bothering to do the breathing exercises to try and control her anger. She had been too far gone for that. The rage had overwhelmed her, all she had wanted to do was hurt him, to make him feel as much pain as she was feeling now. The impact of the door had knocked him to the floor with a crash, and she had kicked him, his stomach, his back, his head, as he had rolled over and over, trying to get up. He had swung his fist, knocking her over and giving him enough time to crawl to the kitchen, pick up a phone. Kate had cut the line with the scissors she had picked up from the shelf. She had moved towards him on the floor, and she had been able to see the fear in his eyes. Please he had said. She had smiled, knowing that now she was the one with the power, that he had nothing over her any more. She was no longer afraid of what she was doing because of him she was in control of her own actions.

Kate ducked her head as she was forced into the police car, gasping as her arms were twisted behind her back by the handcuffs. As the car started she turned to look out of the window, and as strange as it seemed she was amused that the street that had frightened her so much in the black of night now seemed like nothing more than what it was a street. It amused her so much that she began to giggle, then to splutter, and then she simply threw back her head and laughed. She had been surprised how quick it had been. It had not taken long really, for the breath to drain out, for the blood to drip so much that there was not enough left to maintain life. It had not been the blood itself that startled her, but the colour: it had been such a dark, deep red. Almost beautiful. She hadnt wanted to leave, but she had heard the sirens and had known she had to. Sighing, she had reached over and gently used her fingertips to shut Seans eyes for the last time. She had stretched up, walked out of the house and begun to walk, not caring where she was going, only knowing that she had to get away before she was caught. She walked and walked, till she was lost. Footsteps. Behind her.