That night, Darcy did not return to her dorm. She went straight back home. It was getting dark when she took the bus, so she made sure to sit next a girl; it was reassuring in a way. She thought about Quinn the whole way back. Through the bus window, people seemed to be moving on with their lives, as though a college kid was not abducted two weeks ago, as though Quinn did not avoid her, as though she was not being followed, as though she was not feeling dreadfully lonely and insecure. The girl next to her was talking to someone on the phone cheerfully. She was twirling a hair strand around her finger. Darcy guessed that her interlocutor was a boyfriend of some sort. Sighing, she took out her own phone, and saw that she had several texts from Quinn. She felt secretly happy but kept a frown on her face. Yeah, fuck him. Ungrateful piece of shit. She hurriedly opened his messages:

‘Hey Darcy.’ Sent 18:45

‘Are u okay?’ Sent 18:46

‘??????’ Sent 19:00

‘Where r u?’ Sent 19:10

‘R u still being followed?’ Sent 19:11

‘ik u hate me but plz answer me m worried sick.’ Sent 19:13

He was typing another text, but apparently stopped when he saw that she had seen his messages.

‘m ok.’ Sent 19:13

Whatever, she thought to herself as she stuffed the phone back into her pocket. She was going to fix this on her own, like she always had, always on her own. Darcy’s throat started to burn, but she distracted herself by looking out the window again. Her phone rang. It was probably Quinn calling, but she didn’t want to answer. Now he wants to talk, huh? Bitch. She reached her station after ten minutes later. Once she came out of the bus, she found her dad waiting for her. He smiled his usual wide smile that he always made when he missed her. Darcy felt emotional. She hugged him, surprising both herself and him. When was the last time she had hugged him, or anyone in her family? He hugged her back. They both silently walked together to the house. Darcy slept well that night.

The following morning, she had breakfast for the first time in a long while, then headed out to a private detective agency. Once there, she was told to wait for a moment in a room that only had a desk and two chairs in it. Not the best first impression, she thought. A couple of minutes later, a man in his early thirties walked in. He was dressed casually in a long-sleeved T-shirt and ripped jeans. He had a decent face, and short dark hair that was pushed back. Overall, he looked like your average Joe, the face you’d see anywhere and everywhere, which was ideal for Darcy.

“Good morning. Miss Darcy, was it?”

“Morning. Yes.”

The man sat on the chair across from her and placed some files on the desk. He smiled professionally.

“So, you’re hiring a private detective?”

“Yes. I want someone who can follow me as much as possible.” The man seemed surprised.

“Follow you?”

“Yes. I think someone is following me, so I want to hire someone to do the same and tell me if they notice anything suspicious.”

He nodded in comprehension. “Ah, I see.” He opened the file and began writing something. “And, do you know anything about this person who’s following you?”

“No. But I think he’s a man. It’s just a hunch, though.”

“I see.” He scribbled another line on the white sheet. He reached out his hand towards her: “I was told you already paid the advanced payment, so I’ll start working immediately.” She shook it and nodded: “Please report to me anything suspicious, like someone looking at me, or anything that might seem trivial.”

“Certainly.” The two exchanged their contact information. “My name is Joe, by the way.”

“It suits you most perfectly.” Darcy commented, smiling politely.

Now reassured, Darcy took the evening bus back to her dorm. She had hugged her dad especially tight when he saw her off. He had caressed her hair in return. It reminded her of Quinn. This scene, of course, was seen by the detective Joe. He took the same bus as her, and sat way behind, looking out for anyone who could be watching her. Once they reached the campus, Darcy walked directly towards her college, sparing no glance to her right or left, lest she would accidentally make eye contact with Quinn. She had the feeling that she had seen him from the corner of her eyes. Joe, meanwhile, was about thirty feet away from her, looking in every direction that she had avoided. He was dressed casually, and let his hair fall on his face so he would look younger and more like a college student. His eyes fell on a manly-looking girl with beige hair and blue eyes gazing at Darcy’s back; she was somewhat blushing. The two then made an unexpected eye-contact, and kept at it for what felt like an eternity.

Joe felt some kind of hostility from this person. Could she be the one following Darcy? But the latter said that she felt it was a man following her. She could be wrong, though. Besides, this woman felt more like a man than a woman anyway. Although her features were feminine, her body was quite masculine. Joe walked into the college, and, finding Darcy at the end of the hall, followed her. But before he took a turn, he was pulled back from his collar and slammed against the wall. It was the same person from before.

“Are you the fucking psycho following her?” Quinn hissed.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Joe was calm. Hearing the woman’s voice, he was now certain that ‘she’ was a man. These situations happened from time to time. A weirdo following another weirdo, and thinking it was okay because they’re both weirdos.

“Don’t play smart with me, asshole. Who the fuck are you?” Joe’s calm demeanor only ticked off Quinn further. A lot of eyes were already on them, which was somehow to his disadvantage since he looked like the bad guy in that position. But he couldn’t help himself. This man was following Darcy the moment she stepped out of the bus. He even followed her into her college. He had to be the one she told him about. He had to be the one who sent him that letter. Leaning closer so he wouldn’t be heard, he added in a grave voice:

“Where is Karl? What did you do to him?”

Joe looked at him curiously. He realized immediately that this case was much more complicated than he thought it out to be. Then, from the corner of his eyes, he noticed a figure run away. His professional instincts ushered him to push away Quinn and follow after them. Naturally, Quinn ran after him as well.

While all this was taking place, Darcy was day-dreaming during her Classical Literature lecture. She was thinking of the man smiling in the rain from her dream. From that her mind drifted to “Distance”, and how similar its plot was to that same dream. Then, before she knew it, Darcy was thinking about Quinn and how he had ruffled her hair once.