Rylee was startled awake by her phone vibrating on her chest. When she went to grab for it, she missed and ended up accidentally throwing it to the hardwood floor.

"Shit, fuck." Rylee said out loud to herself, sitting up on her elbow.

Her phone laid face down on the ground and she hesitated to pick it up, expecting the worst. She took a deep breath and grabbed it, flipping it over to see the screen completely shattered.

Shit shit shit.

Even turned upwards, the screen remained black.

She laid back down, head plopping on the throw pillow behind her, frustrated. She turned her head to see the clock on the wall read 12:00.

Shit it was already noon. The time change and jet lag had completely thrown Rylee off. There was no way she'd be able to make it out to get a new phone and make it to work on time.

By the time she got up and ready, it was 2:00 pm and she was slipping into her shoes to run out the door.

On her way to the subway platform she envied Alexa. She had taken the day off so she didn't have to go through what Rylee was going through right now. Jet lag. Ass drag. And everything in between.

She eventually got to Ruby's and made a beeline to the kitchen to start a carafe of coffee. A few minutes later, Johnny popped in.

"Hey! Welcome back! What did LA do to you? You look like shit." Johnny laughed.

"Wow. Hi to you too. LA didn't do this, it's in my blood. Obviously." Rylee laughed as she watched the carafe slowly fill.

"Well, I'm glad you're back, we've missed you."

"It's good to be back, and to get back into the swing of things."

"I've gotta go fill out some shit in the back, if you need me you know where I'll be." Johnny commented quickly as he left through the swinging kitchen door with a wave.

——————————

Four hours into her shift, Rylee's coworker, Maggie, yelled down the bar, "Ay Ry! Phone for you!"

"Thanks, be there in a sec!" Rylee yelled back over the banter of the crowd. She finished throwing together a whiskey sour for the customer across from her and then did a quick jog down to the other end of the bar to grab the phone.

"Hi, this is Rylee," she said when she picked up the receiver.

"Hey. Good. You're not dead," the male voice on the other end of the line said, seeming relieved.

"Hey baby! I forgot, I wanted to call you. I accidentally broke my phone this morning." Rylee stated as she took the phone into the kitchen for some quiet.

"Oh no, what happened?" Sebastian asked.

"I fell asleep on the couch when I got home and when I woke up it fell off my chest onto the floor and basically shattered." Rylee pouted into the phone.

"Your chest and I will have to have a long talk when I get home." Sebastian almost whispered. Somehow, Rylee could just hear Sebastian smirk through the phone, but she still stifled a laugh at his comment.

"Isn't it like...noon over there? I thought you had interviews today?" Rylee asked.

"It is, and we do...I snuck out into the hall to try and call you...Not gonna lie. I may have got worried when I didn't hear from you today. I texted Alexa to see if she had talked to you and when she said no...I don't know. My brain just went into overdrive."

"Oh, I'm so sorry babe. I was going to call you when I got here and it got busy as soon as I walked in."

"No need to apologize, love. Just wanted to make sure you were okay...so. How was your flight? Everything go alright?"

Sebastian and Rylee talked for the next few minutes about the trip and what today entailed for both of them. But, soon, she heard Chris in the background, "Seb, Cas is looking for you."

"Okay. I'll be there in a second..." Sebastian replied back, half covering the phone when he did, "Sorry Ryles. I've gotta go. I'll talk to you later though."

"Alrighty, I love you."

"Love you more, bye," Sebastian replied.

"Not possible. Bye." Rylee smirked into the phone as they both hung up.

——————————

The night rounded up and Rylee helped close the bar at 3:30. All the staff walked out together, saying their goodbyes to one another as they all parted down the street.

It was strange to walk down the street with no phone. It was refreshing and scary all at once. It was only a block or so to get to the subway but she was much more aware of the people around her now.

Growing up in Pittsburgh, she walked the city streets often, but never really felt unsafe. New York City has a very different feel though. The night life is constantly abuzz. Whether it's a Saturday or a Tuesday, there are always people milling about. People blur together.

As she got closer to the subway stairs she noticed someone familiar though. Why did he look familiar? She squinted through the mix of dark and streetlights to try to make out his face again. He was standing across the crosswalk in front of her. And he seemed to be looking right back. Sending a shiver down her spine. But why? She couldn't even fully recall this guy. Why did he scare her so much?

She started down the stairs to the platform, but with her last glance through the railing, she saw he had crossed the street, still heading her way.

She still had that awful feeling crawling down her spine. Her train home was waiting and usually she would get into the third car out of habit but a split second decision took her over and when she got down to the platform, she tucked behind a large pillar, hiding from view.

Being almost 4:00 am, the platform was usually relatively quiet, as it was now. People didn't mill about, they just wanted to get home.

Moments later she heard heavy boots coming down the stairs. The heavy steps continued past the first car, past the second car, and made their way to the third car. Coincidence. Right? She couldn't see his face but she knew it was him. He was wearing heavy steel toe boots, blue jeans, and a black zip up hoodie. Of course, the most generic outfit on the planet.

Rylee still couldn't place the man, but he still worried her. She decided to get into the first car, the one with the most people in it, and made the choice then and there to get off at Alexa's stop, the fourth stop the train made, instead of her own stop, which was the third.

The doors shut and the train began moving to its first destination. Rylee was on edge the entire ride. What if he switched cars? I mean at least there's a handful of people in here. Witnesses if something were to happen. Why am I thinking like this. What if he's just some guy trying to get home. I'm blowing this out of proportion.

The train stopped at its first platform, one man from her car got out along with a scattered few from other cars. The doors closed and the train continued. Okay. He didn't get off...it's just a coincidence.

A few anxiety filled minutes passed and the train stopped again. Second stop. Again, a few people trudged off the train and on to the platform. But not the man she was looking for.

The lights dimmed for a moment as the train's doors closed and they were set in motion again. Rylee fiddled with her fingers in her lap. There were four other people with her in her train car, all staring at their phones, waiting for their stops.

The train slowed and eventually stopped at the third platform. Rylee's normal stop. But she stayed put, practically frozen. She peeked out the window to the platform and there he was. He stood there for a moment, looking at his phone but he occasionally looked up at the few people around him.

But then he looked at her. Oh shit shit shit. They held eye contact for a moment and then he took a step forward towards the train car he just stepped out of but, thankfully, the doors closed.

He held her gaze until the train pulled away and he was physically out of view. Rylee tried not to panic. But her heart began to race and her chest felt tight. Who was this guy? Why was he following me? Why of all days was today the day my phone broke?

Soon the train stopped at the fourth platform and as soon as the doors opened, Rylee ran out. Already breathing heavily, her heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest. She ran up the stairs and onto the New York street above. Once she got above ground the fresh air hitting her face was surprisingly overwhelming. She thought it would help, but the cold, brisk air contracted her lungs even more than she thought possible.

She tried not to run and attract attention to herself, but she quickly made her way down the next two blocks to Alexa's apartment. She made it inside the apartment buildings doors and immediately leaned against the lobby wall, sliding down it onto the floor, trying to catch her breath, but unable to.

Alexa's doorman, Doug, came up to her, carefully kneeling down beside her.

"Rylee, what happened? Are you okay?" Doug asked, unsure what to do.

"Can...you call...Lex..." Rylee said in between unsteady breaths, hands shaking on the side of her face.

"Yeah...ye-yeah." Doug said as he quickly stood up and called up to Alexa's apartment. It took a minute or so, seeing as it was 4:00 am at this point, but Alexa quickly came downstairs, looking obviously like she had just rolled out of bed.

At this point Rylee was barely catching a breath. Her chest felt like it would implode at any moment. Her eyes were closed and her head was leaning back against the wall. If she opened her eyes the room seemed to spin.

She jumped for a moment at a touch on her knee, "Ryles. Rylee. Hey. Look at me."

It took a moment, but Rylee eventually complied and opened her eyes slowly to see Alexa kneeling in front of her.

Alexa put her hands on either side of Rylee's face to try to gain her focus, "Breathe with me."

Alexa dramatically breathed in and out, stressing the beats. Rylee was surprisingly able to do what her friend said and began taking deep breaths.

After a few minutes, Alexa pulled Rylee in for a hug, and Rylee grasped onto her tightly.

"Can you make it upstairs?" Alexa whispered in her ear as they stayed in each other's grip.

Rylee nodded into her shoulder, and at that Alexa helped her stand up, walking side by side with her to the elevators.

"Thanks Doug," Alexa said as they walked by.

"If there's anything I can do, let me know." Doug replied back.

Alexa nodded as the girls got into the elevator and rode it up to her apartment. Once they got inside they immediately went right to the couch to sit down together.

"Rylee. What happened? What's going on?" Alexa asked tenderly, gently taking Rylee's hands in hers.

Rylee was surprised that, overall, the panic attack had subsided before it had gotten too out of hand. Finally able to breathe and think, she explained the last twenty or so minutes to Alexa.

"And you know this guy?" Alexa asked confused.

"I do, but I can't think of why." Rylee responded.

"Maybe Sebastian would know. You should call him."

"I can't, my phone is-"

"I know babe, Sebastian texted me earlier and told me that he called you at work. I meant you could use my phone to call him."

"But it's like... 1:00 am there...he's probably asl-"

"Girl. Just fucking call your boyfriend. You know he'll be pissed if you don't tell him about this." She already had her hand out offering Rylee her phone.

Alexa's always right. How is she always right. Sebastian would be livid if she didn't tell him about this, especially after the last few months.

She nodded and took the phone out of her hand and dialed Sebastian's number. It rang a handful of times, Rylee felt like if it would've rang once more it would've gone to voicemail, but before it could, Sebastian picked up the phone.

"Hey Alexa. What's up? Everything okay?" Rylee could tell immediately that he was still half asleep but worry had overtaken his voice.

"Hi Seb," Rylee spoke but she started to get choked up, trying to swallow past the lump in her throat.

"Baby, hey, what's wrong?" Worry definitely overtook his voice now.

As Sebastian listened carefully, Rylee described what had happened in detail. Once she got a few sentences into her story she had become surprisingly calm.

"So someone was trying to follow you home?" Sebastian asked.

"I would say more than follow. He got off the train at my usual stop. He knew I should've got off there. But then he saw me still on the train just as the doors closed. It's like he knew where I was supposed to be going already."

"What did he look like?"

"He was tall...like 6'. I think brown hair...he was wearing a hood up though. He had a muscular build, maybe like 225 lbs. He had some kind of neck tattoo. I couldn't tell what it was though. He wore steel toe boots, blue jeans and a black hoodie.

"Rylee."

"Hmm?"

"I think that's him...."

Rylee was lost for a moment, "Him who?"

"The 'self-named' Kevin McGrath."

As soon as Sebastian said it, it clicked for Rylee. Of course it was him. That's exactly why she knew him. She had never seen him in real life. But she remembered him now from the footage they had witnessed at their meeting. She felt like she was going to puke on the spot. Her heart started to race again.

"Are you and Alexa okay? Are you safe?"

I can't believe it was him. He was right there. He already knew my usual routine. The train I take. The fucking car I ride in. My stop.

"Rylee?"

Rylee was brought back to herself for a moment by the sound of her name. Sebastian had said something. What did he say?

"Huh?" Rylee asked, confused.

"I said are you and Alexa safe?" Worry dripped off of every word Sebastian spoke.

Rylee looked at Alexa, who's back was to her at the moment, making them both a cup of coffee. "Yeah, I think so." Her breathing was picking up, and Sebastian could hear it over the phone.

Shit, she was okay. He needed to try to do damage control...

"Good...Good. Just...try to take a breath."

Rylee's heart beat was echoing in her ears. Her breath catching. She just couldn't quite get a deep breath, that lump in her throat returned.

He's out there. He knows where we live. He knows where I work. What if he's at our apartment right now? Waiting. What if he knows where Alexa lives? Was coming here a mistake? What if this just put Alexa in his sights?

"Ryles!"

Rylee jumped at her name being shouted. She wasn't sure who did it... Sebastian, Alexa, maybe both of them?

"Breathe! Rylee look at me!"

Why are they yelling? Its so hard to focus. It's just...so...-

——

"Sebastian. It'll be okay. It was just for a minute...I know...she's okay. She's coming to...I'll put you on speaker..."

"—esus Christ. Alexa...Fuck. Give me one reason why I shouldn't be on a plane right now."

"Sebastian...I- Rylee. You with me? Hey..."

Rylee tried to sit up in her spot on the couch, disoriented and lost, but Alexa gently guided her back down.

"Just lay down, Ry, you're okay. Take a second."

"Is she like, actually okay? Alexa...?" Sebastian spoke over the speaker on the table.

"She is, and Sebastian needs to remember that he is on speaker...and to calm down...please."

"What..-" Rylee didn't even get the chance to ask before Alexa responded, handing her a bottle of water, though Rylee almost thought she was going to drop it with how clammy her hands felt right now.

"You fainted. I'm guessing from hyperventilating..."

Rylee took a sip of water, but it felt like it was hitting an empty stomach, making her feel queasy. She set the bottle on the table and shut her eyes for a moment, finally feeling her lungs expand how they should.

Rylee felt a flow of embarrassment rush over her. She had hyperventilated and fainted. She couldn't remember the last time she had ever had that happen.

"Someone fucking talk to me please...I'm helpless over here..." Rylee heard Sebastian's frantic voice and remembered then that he was on the phone.

"I'm fine. I just need a minute..." Rylee replied quietly.

"It's not fine! None of this is fine!" Sebastian practically yelled into the phone. "Fuck this tour and f-"

"Sebastian!" Rylee jumped slightly at Alexa's tone. She could barely recall Lex ever yelling at anyone, let alone Sebastian, "Enough! It's not helping! We're okay. We're safe. We're all in one piece."

There was an extremely long pause on Sebastian's end of the phone. Rylee was pretty sure, if Sebastian was doing what he usually did on calls, he had muted himself so he could freak out in private.

Soon the normal background noise of the phone call returned and so did Sebastian's small but heavy voice, "I'm sorry...I just...I don't know what to do."

Rylee's heart shattered into tiny fragmented pieces at the sound of his voice. Her stomach felt like it had fallen to her toes. He sounded lost and broken. She just wanted to be there with him.

"We're going to call the police and update them in a few minutes...I know it's hard Sebastian but just hang tight okay? As soon as we're done talking to them Rylee will call you back. Right?" Alexa finished, looking at Rylee.

Rylee nodded but realized Sebastian obviously couldn't see her so she said "Right."

"Okay, just. Please don't forget to call me back." Sebastian practically pleaded.

"I won't. I love you." Rylee answered.

"I love you more." Sebastian responded easily.

"Not possible." Rylee smirked slightly.

They both said their goodbyes and hung up with one another. Everyone seemed to take the same deep breath at the same time, hoping this would get sorted out, as Rylee dialed the police department.