Somebody's Someone - Chapter Five

The boutique door clicked shut behind Yennia, and the crisp fall air wrapped around her like a breath held too long. She glanced down at her phone, scrolling with purpose as her heels tapped against the pavement toward her car.

Her remote start beeped softly, and the headlights of her sedan blinked on, parked beside another sleek vehicle. But it was the man sitting on the hood of that neighboring car, head down and focused on his phone, who truly caught her attention.

As her car hummed to life, he looked up, and their eyes locked.

"Oh shit! Yennia? I can't believe this!"

Her stomach dropped, and she slowed her steps. "Khand?! What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?"

Khand smirked, eyes still glued to his phone. "Pssh! Seriously? You wish. You shouldn’t think so highly of yourself, Yen," he retorted, a petty edge creeping into his tone.

"Then why are you here, parked next to me, acting like this is just a coincidence?" Her voice rose, sharp and incredulous.

"What I'm doing here is none of your business," he replied flatly. "I don’t owe you an explanation. Just move on."

"Oh, yes, you do," she shot back, stepping closer. "You show up at my job, park beside my car, and now you want to pretend this is casual? Khand, I’ve seen the fake social media accounts. The burner troll pages trying to follow me and tag my boutique? You’ve been stalking me, and I won’t let you play dumb."

Khand scoffed, sliding his phone into his pocket. "That’s not me. I don’t make fake accounts or any of that nonsense. You’re exaggerating!"

"Really?" she said, crossing her arms defiantly. "One of those accounts had my picture in the bio. You think I wouldn’t notice? You've been lurking, and now this? You expect me to feel safe?"

"I don't care about how you’re supposed to feel," he snapped back. "I have better things to do than watch you. I didn’t even know you worked here or that this was your car. I don’t need to explain myself to you."

"Oh, really?" she replied, pulling out her phone. "You’ve made this official. Explain it to the police, then. I told you when you messaged me on that fake account, I’d call the cops if you didn’t leave me alone."

Khand rolled his eyes and leaned back against his car. "Do what you need to do."

Her heart raced, and she paced the sidewalk, her voice ringing out clearly as she dialed. "Khand, you need to leave now, before the police arrive!"

"I don’t need to do anything but exist," he said nonchalantly. "Screw you and your cops!"

At that moment, the boutique door swung open. Jamila and Zahra stepped out, still chatting about their trip. But Jamila spotted Yennia and immediately changed direction.

"Hold on," she said to Zahra, heading toward Yennia. "What’s going on, Yen?"

Yennia pointed toward the parking lot. "You remember the guy I told you about? The one I blocked? The one who created those troll accounts to harass the boutique and kept acting like we were meant to be?"

Jamila’s smile faded, her expression turning serious.

"That’s him," Yennia said firmly. "That’s Khand. He’s out here pretending he doesn’t know me, but he’s parked next to me like it's nothing. He’s stalking me, and I won’t tolerate it!"

Jamila turned to face Khand.

In that instant, Khand pushed off the hood, arms outstretched, meeting a woman mid-stride—Zahra.

"You got everything you needed, babe?" he asked casually.

"Yeah, I’m good," she replied softly, wrapping her arms around him, still unaware of the heightened tension radiating from Yennia, the strong woman she had just met in her friend's boutique.

Khand kissed her gently and then turned toward Yennia and Jamila. "Say, you remember that girl I told you about back when we first started talking? I had a thing for her a while back?"

Zahra narrowed her eyes. "Your ex?"

"Yeah, well, no, not my ex. Just a girl I told you I had strong feelings for. That's her right there," he said. "And she just called the cops on me."

Zahra turned, her expression confused. "Wait, what? For what? What did you do?"

“I didn’t do anything, Mama!” Khand protested.

Jamila instinctively stepped forward, positioning herself between the escalating tension. "Alright, everyone breathe! This doesn’t need to blow up."

In the background, Khand yelled out, "Her dumbass already blew this whole thing up!"

Yennia’s voice was tight. "No, because this is insane. I’ve been dealing with burner accounts tagging me and the boutique for weeks, trying to follow me under names that trace back to him, and now he’s parked next to my car acting like it’s just a coincidence?"

"Girl, I told you I didn’t even know you worked here," Khand replied, his voice rising. "What the hell are you even talking about?!"

"Stop playing stupid, Khand!" she snapped. "I saw those usernames. I know your initials. One of those accounts even used a picture of me."

"And that has absolutely nothing to do with me," Khand insisted. "Real ones don’t do all that fake profile stuff. That’s not me, and it never was!"

"Then why did you park beside me?" Yennia asked. "What are the chances of that?"

"I didn’t know that was you, delusional girl!" he yelled.

Zahra stepped forward, her eyes steady. Her tone was calm, but it held no softness. "So, you really called the cops on my man?"

"I met you tonight," Yennia replied bitterly. "You followed me on social media. I opened up to you, and now I find out you’re with him?"

"Um, not sure what that has to do with my question," Zahra said coolly. "You were a stranger to me until about ten minutes ago… but so… you really called the cops?"

"Yes, I called the cops on his stalking ass!" Yennia shot back.

Jamila gently touched Yennia's elbow. "Yen, listen. You called the cops because you felt unsafe, and that’s fair. But this might be something else. Maybe someone else entirely is behind those accounts."

Khand interjected from the background, "Yeah, like that guy who threatened me that one time—where is he?!"

Jamila continued, "You’ve been dealing with a lot, but I don’t think that was Khand."

Yennia stared at the pavement, her breath uneven. "I didn’t even recognize him at first. Not until he said my name."

"Exactly," Khand said. "I didn’t even notice it was you until you walked toward your car."

Zahra chimed in, "He didn’t know you worked here, and I didn’t know you were the ex until he mentioned it. I mean, he told me about you before, but I didn’t know you worked for my best friend or anything! He has never even met Jamila in person yet!"

Silence hung heavily for a long moment.

Yennia exhaled sharply. Her grip on her phone loosened. "If what you’re saying is true… then I might’ve overreacted."

"You were protecting your space," Jamila reminded her softly. "And that’s valid. But now you have new information. Decide what comes next."

The soft sound of tires on pavement broke the tension as two squad cars turned into the lot, their lights flashing but sirens silent, casting red and blue glows across the storefront.

Yennia stepped forward slowly. Her chest rose and fell, as if she had just come up from deep water. Her hands shook, but her feet stayed planted. Jamila was behind her, steady as a breath.

She raised a hand toward the approaching officers. "It’s… okay," she said. "I’m fine. It was a misunderstanding."

Her voice trembled, but her posture remained firm.

Jamila remained beside her, steady and warm. Zahra stood next to Khand, a quiet source of strength.

And just for a moment, under the lantern-lit sky, beneath a swirl of amber leaves, the chaos bent back into order.

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🖊️ *Author's Note:*

I deeply appreciate you taking the time to read Chapter 5 of this multi-chapter series.

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