Xander POV
School and work was exhausting. However, not as exhausting as having to understand why a strange man just showed up in between I and Methis trying to claim her. This man in question went by the name Jamal Kunis as I had heard Methis call his name before. I could not tell what exactly their connection was but I had a bad feeling about him. There certainly was something that Methis was trying to hide from me. Not just from me but from everyone possible.
“Do you know anyone called Jamal?” I asked Sophia my sister one time.
“No. Who is it?” she asked back.
“I don’t know. Never mind.”
It turned out not even her best friend Sophia was spared from being kept in the dark about this strange man. Though it was unlike me I went in further search of this man and off I went to the city’s library to find anything on this Jamal Kunis of which I found none. I used the internet and every means assessable but still found nothing. It was now beginning to creep me. A man who just happened to show up to claim Methis to be his. A man with no record anywhere not even a social media profile. If this did not spell creepy, I did not know what did.
Throughout the next day I had tried to avoid Methis. Until I could get enough information about this man as I could, then I had to assume the worst. However, I did not push Methis far away from me. I still needed her.
I desperately wanted to run into this man again. Have a go at him to know who he really was. All my instincts were pointing towards something far more ominous than what met the eye about him. He was muscular, handsome and had a very nice build but if this man had lived in this city then it would not have been hard to notice him. He looked to be in his thirties though it was not overly obvious but still, none of that came close to fulfilling my deepest concern. So why drive around in an SUV stalking a girl all day? There was no explanation to that that could possibly satisfy the question. All I could tell was both this man and Methis were hiding something and I intended to uncover the mystery.
***
Today I was at IT in the stadium having just concluded a press conference when Methis walked up to me.
“Hi, Xander.” She waved and smiled.
“Hello, Methis,” I replied coldly. I do not know if she had noticed the distance that have grown between them.
“Can we talk?” she asked.
“OK, what’s up?” I dragged a chair and sat gently on it. Methis did the same.
“Why are you avoiding me?”
“I do not know if you have noticed,” I begun sarcastically, “but there is a muscular bloke that follows you now. Shadowing your every move, threatening every man that dares to near you.”
Methis rolled her eyes. “Don’t pay attention to him. He is just an obsessed ex.”
“That’s twice your age. That story doesn’t check out.”
“What do you want from me?” she asked. “What do you want me to tell you?”
“What really happened that year you disappeared.”
I was not a fool. I believe Methis should know that too. While there might be elements of truth in her story of sickness and the man could be someone she met while abroad for treatment who had come all the way down here to take her home, it was very unlikely that she would be telling the fact on this one.
Methis looked a little upset but she kept her cool. “I’ve told you the truth, Xander. That was it.” Methis stood and after a pat on my shoulder, left the room.
I thought of leaving the case and letting it slide but that would not help my relationship with Methis. It could but only for a short period of time. Most importantly, it would not make Jamal disappear. I hated seeing Methis like this. She looked confused. And it all started when Jamal showed up. The man even had the guts to threaten me.
If only he knew who I was. If only Jamal Kunis knew who the hell I was.
***
Later that day, I was sent to the parking lot to fetch a tripod stand from the boot of one of the producer’s cars. The garage was underground the stadium so if it was not for the lights that shone through the blubs, even in day light, the place would be in utter darkness. It was evening time so there was not much light coming from outside through the tiny windows in the garage so while passing through places with no bulbs, I strained my eyes but saw clearly nonetheless.
I arrived at the car and opened the boot where I found the stand lying in a black camera bag. I took the entire bag with me just in case they needed something else from it. I searched the boot for anything of interest to me – not that I planned on stealing something but it was a habit of mine to observe in case they called in anything missing I would know just how to defend myself.
Just when I had finished my look, the boot jammed shut on its own. The hair at the back of my neck stood high. I felt a presence behind me. I side-eyed the boot of the car to see a muscular right hand pressing against the boot.
“Jamal?” I made a guess.
“Xander,” Jamal responded.
I took a loud deep breath of frustration. “Do you enjoy stalking?”
“I am here to see my girl.”
“Love the dominant attitude but when you mean your girl you mean Methis, don’t you?”
Jamal did not answer. I think he knew what I was doing.
I turned around to face him. “What is it that you want?” I asked.
“Stay away from Methis.”
“She’s my co-worker.”
“The one you take on fancy dates?”
“It’s called enhancing co-worker relations so yes, the one I take on fancy dates.”
“Do you think this is a joke?”
“Yea. I think it’s an absolute joke that an elderly someone with no history all together and no trace on the internet who is able to afford a luxury SUV shows up for a teenage girl four years after she mysteriously disappears.”