Six months had passed since you learned of Benjamin's arrest. They came to tell you in person, Matt came. But, the truth was one: you hadn't been connected to him for much longer than that — since you started to notice everything, when you realized that he let himself be carried away by much more than he told you.

You didn't go see him in court, you never even thought about visiting him in prison, the best thing you could do was just... Forget that you ever tried to help him. Matt had heard that you used to be Benjamin's neighbor, someone really close to him before, and the only person who knew anything about him; you doubted that now, knowing him felt more like a curse after everything.

You moved neighborhoods, changed your number, even changed your job, and started living again, constantly thinking that the man who used to be your closest friend was now nothing more than a criminal. “He's just a friend, forget about him.” That's what your boyfriend told you, which only encouraged you to go ahead and turn that page in your life.

You tried to turn that page, but it didn't turn as you expected to. Five missed calls while you were at work, more text messages telling you that he had escaped from prison, no one knew his whereabouts. Your heart raced, your hands broke out in a cold sweat, and you had to force yourself to use all the locks on your front door.

Did you really think that would stop him from doing anything if he really wanted to?

Maybe, deep down, you even wanted him to show up, even after everything. You still wrote poems about him in secret, hid the book under your mattress, and ignored the way your current boyfriend seemed to look strangely differently at his coworker who he claimed not to care about.

Your thoughts didn't let you sleep, biting your nails and bouncing your leg the whole time. Looking out the window as you waited for something, as if your mind knew something was going to happen even though you knew you were safe, at least a little.

That's when your eyes saw it. In the alley below your window, with a hood over his head and in the rain. That look, you would recognize it anywhere and a shiver quickly ran up your spine as you turned away from the window and closed the curtains, wanting to believe that your eyes didn't see anything.

What happened? Why didn't your fucking legs obey you? You didn't think for more than five minutes before you just walked down the stairs of your building and out into the rain, looking around the alley as if searching for a needle in a haystack.

The thick raindrops falling into your eyes made it a little difficult to see around and you wiped your face, paid little mind to your wet clothes. But, as soon as the mistake of going outside fell on your shoulders, you just turned around and went back to the comfort of your home, feeling like you were delirious again and again.

It couldn't be him, maybe it just wasn't him, but anyone else and your mind was making you start seeing things. How could he find out about your new address and all the changes so quickly?

The front door slammed behind you before you could finish your train of thought. You jumped and turned around the second you stepped inside, the feeling of relief going away. “It's been a while, huh?” If you hadn't held on, your knees would have given out when you realized he was real, and he was right in front of you.

He looked different, more serious and imposing, with a scar on his cheek and his eyes looking darker. You were more frightened than ever by the way he crossed his arms in front of him, preventing you from reaching the only exit from that apartment.

“What?” He smirked. “I thought you would want to see me...” Suddenly, the smirk just disappeared, he looked at you with a bit of resentment. “Though you never showed up.”