The imposing stranger stood unmoving at the pub entrance as he stared Thomas down. Keeping one eye on the suspicious man, Thomas split his attention to Sandra sitting across from him in the booth. His probing eyes implored Sandra to finish her sentence.

"That guy's a teacher from the school,” Sandra said in a hushed tone, her voice carrying a slight tremor.

“Really?” Thomas voiced incredulously. He watched the stranger stalk towards them, never breaking eye contact. He couldn’t tell if the man was packing heat - both hands were tucked into the pockets of his oversized jacket.

“What does he want with us then?” Thomas whispered, his eyes never leaving the man.

Sandra placed an elbow on the table, her hand cupping the side of her face in a failed attempt to hide from the stranger. She hissed, her voice tinged with a mixture of fear and anger. “I don’t know. He’s a damn pervert, that’s all I know.”

Shit. He had a feeling he knew who this guy was. There were complaints about harassment in the past, but he had never dealt with him before. He took a deep breath and exhaled. Sparing a glance at Sandra, he gave a stiff smile. “Just remain calm and act normal. It’ll be fine.”

He turned his gaze back as the man reached their table. His grip tightened around the knife.

“Look who we have here,” the man crooned, his gravelly voice causing the hairs on Thomas’s arm to raise. “Sandra, fancy seeing you here with a young boy.”

The man’s emphasis on the word ‘boy’ had Thomas clenching his jaw as he shot a glare at the tall stranger.

With reluctance, Sandra lowered the hand shielding her face. She cleared her throat and looked at the man with a tight-lipped smile. “Bartley, this is Thomas. He’s a policeman.”

“Is he now?” The man called Bartley sniggered and looked Thomas up and down. “I don’t see his gun.”

Thomas summoned his most menacing voice as he fixed Bartley in a blistering stare. “I’m officially off-duty but that doesn’t mean I won’t enforce law and order where necessary.”

Laughing, Bartley took his hands out of his pocket - causing Thomas to lift the butter knife - and held them up in mock surrender. “Hey chill, man. I’m not here for a fight.”

No gun. Thomas relaxed a little. His hand lowered but he kept a firm grip on his weapon.

Bartley tilted his head towards Sandra. “I happened to know that Sandra was here.”

Her eyes widened. She stuttered, a hint of panic lacing her words. “H-how did you find out where I was?”

A low chuckle rumbled Bartley’s chest. He dug a hand into his pocket and Thomas tensed, bringing his knife closer and ready to strike.

As Bartley drew out the object in his pocket, Thomas’s heart thumped furiously in his chest. Adrenaline surged through him. He may be smaller in size than Bartley but his speed would at least catch the man off guard.

The tip of the object came into view. Thomas held his breath. The glint of the screen had him blinking his eye and it took him a second to realize it was only a phone. Relieved, he loosened his grip on the knife.

Bartley tapped on the screen and turned the phone to face Sandra. He wiggled it in front of her, taunting her. When she took a closer look, the color drained from her face. Seeing her reaction, Bartley sneered. “If you don’t want people knowing where you are, then don’t geotag your pictures.”

Thomas sneaked a glance at the phone. It was the picture of chicken chop that Sandra had snapped not more than thirty minutes ago. A wave of anger lanced through his body. He shot out of his seat, the metal legs of the table screeching against the floor as he did.

Thomas was a head shorter than the man but that did not stop him from shoving his face into Bartley’s. Furious eyes burnt into the lecherous man as he snarled. “For that, I can charge you with stalking. You won’t even be able to hold down a job in this town with another mark on your record, you hear me??”

Bartley’s cheeks puffed out as he held back his anger, knowing better than to start a fight with a policeman. He held his ground in the staring contest for a little longer to soothe his ego. Then, he gave a disparaging nod. “You think you’re the boss here eh? Prove it then.”

When Thomas didn’t back down, Bartley deflated. His eyes flitted around to find an excuse and he made a sweeping gesture at the bar. “Can’t I be here to grab a beer?”

The deadly silence that greeted him served as an answer. Bartley took a step back in defeat. “Fine, whatever.”

His shifty eyes swiveled back to Sandra and he threw a smirk. “See you around, Sandra.”

Thomas’s gaze followed Bartley until the man had exited the pub. He huffed, ran a hand through his hair, and turned back towards their table. He plunked down into the seat and whistled. “Wow, that was intense huh.”

When he looked up, the expression on Sandra’s face shocked him. Her face was pale, her eyes unblinking and unfocused. Her bottom lip trembled as she wrung her fingers in her lap. In an instant, she transformed from a confident, sexy woman into a small, scared girl.

“Hey, it’s okay. He’s gone now,” Thomas comforted as he reached out to touch her arm.

His fingers had barely skimmed her skin when Sandra recoiled in fear, a whimper escaping her lips. Hurt and worried by her reaction, Thomas withdrew his hand and murmured an apology.

“I… I’m sorry, Thomas. I have to head home now.” Sandra mumbled as she gathered her belongings and got up.

Hurriedly getting to his feet, Thomas said, “Let me send you back. It’s not safe with Bartley somewhere out there.”

Sandra gave a small tilt of her head as she slung her bag across her shoulder and rushed towards the entrance. Before she could leave without him, Thomas took out his wallet, fished out a fifty-dollar note, and threw it on the table. He caught up to her before she walked off elsewhere and directed her back towards his car.

The drive back was blanketed by a total silence that hung over them like a thundercloud. He tried many times to start a conversation but all he could get out of her was a hum of acknowledgement. When he pulled up to her doorstep, she didn’t even look at him as she said “Thank you for the ride.”

He watched her enter her house and when the lights came on upstairs, he finally let out a sigh of exasperation. So much for his date. Yet more than that, he worried about Sandra. Sure, Bartley was an ass, but her reaction to his advances was even more concerning. She wasn’t letting on much, but he could tell she was hiding something.

Something had traumatized her and he only wished he knew what it was.