Fear.

Julian was familiar with that word but never submitted to it. All he went through from his years as a kid till the present hardened him and thought him how to deal with fear. He had seen all sort of horror films.He had read all sort of horror books. Horror and thriller were basically his field of enjoyment. But yet as he sat across the beautiful parapsychologist, he couldn't focus on anything at all. Despite the cool air that wafted around the restaurant, he was sweating. His movements were jittery as his fingers kept drumming on the table. His eyes darted left to right at intervals. Earlier that day, he had taken permission to close from work early. He barely had the chance to speak to Nancy throughout. Even if he did, he wouldn't know how to give an explanation for his actions the previous day. He knew Nancy had her own disturbing thoughts:Cheryl. As nice as she was, adding his 

Julian stared at his phone as he drove along the road. Ten missed calls. All from Nancy. How did he not see them? He sighed as he remembered that he put his phone on silent mode during his date with Loretta. He felt a twinge of guilt fill his heart as he knew he inadvertently ignored Nancy. The same Nancy who was responsible for the meeting with the parapsychologist.

Speaking of whom, Julian could still not understand Loretta's strange personality. She intrigued and confused him at the same time. What was the whole idea behind the dinner between them. Their relationship was supposed to be strictly professional. What she told him at the restaurant was what she could have just done at the office. And then came her actions at the apartment. Why invite him over to the apartment only to seduce him? She claimed she was trying to help him but it just didn't tally. The more he thought about it,

The cell phone rang on the desk as Julian was typing away on the laptop screen. It was a very early morning and he was one of the first few to arrive at the office. He picked up the phone and saw Randal's name across the screen. He clicked the answer button.

"Hey man," Randal's loud, excited voice almost made Julian drop the phone. "Happy Birthday!"

'Birthday?' Julian thought. He checked the calendar on his PC. He slapped a palm over his forehead as he realised his friend was right. Today was indeed his birthday.

"Thanks," He responded. "You wouldn't believe I forgot."

"Actually I would," The mocking tone was clear in Randal's voice. "You were never keen on things like this."

" Quite so."

" So birthday boy, how are we celebrating? "

Julian sighed heavily as he rubbed his forehead.

"Randal, you know I don't celebrate birthdays. They are a constant reminder that I'm getting closer 

Fear.

Julian was familiar with that word but never submitted to it. All he went through from his years as a kid till the present hardened him and thought him how to deal with fear. He had seen all sort of horror films.He had read all sort of horror books. Horror and thriller were basically his field of enjoyment. But yet as he sat across the beautiful parapsychologist, he couldn't focus on anything at all. Despite the cool air that wafted around the restaurant, he was sweating. His movements were jittery as his fingers kept drumming on the table. His eyes darted left to right at intervals. Earlier that day, he had taken permission to close from work early. He barely had the chance to speak to Nancy throughout. Even if he did, he wouldn't know how to give an explanation for his actions the previous day. He knew Nancy had her own disturbing thoughts:Cheryl. As nice as she was, adding his problem to hers wasn't a logical thing to do. Besides, the solution was sitting in front of him. Lit

Chapter 9