Have you ever had someone follow you around every day of your life and do nothing but watch you? That’s my life; it doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing. He is always there, and he is always watching.

My name is Olivia Haze; I am 18 years old and a senior at Cardinal Hayes High School.  I don’t know who my dad is, and every time I asked my mom about him she would ignore me and change the subject. It was always just me and my mom up until I was 13. My mother died in a car wreck - her brakes went out and she ran off the road and hit a tree. So now I live with my Aunt Amy in New York City. Or more accurately, I live in a house where my Aunt keeps her things and comes home to check on me every few days.

I don’t really have a lot of friends, probably because of the guys that have been following me my whole life. The first time that I remember seeing a man was when I was five. I was at the park with my mom, and he was standing beside a tree watching us both.

Throughout the years, the men have changed. I guess when a guy gets too old or they pass away, they just get someone else to ‘stalk’ me. The guy that is following me right now has been the youngest out of all of them. He looks like he is in his early 20’s. He’s really tall, and I would bet money that he goes to the gym everyday.  His hair is black, and it’s always styled in that same messy kind of way, and he has theses green eyes that look as if they could look deep inside and take your soul. He has tattoos all up his left arm, and he always wears really dark clothes.  

I want to talk to him; I have wanted to talk to all of them, but they would never let me get close enough. But he is different. He walks closer to me than the others, and when I look at him he doesn’t look away or disappear. I need to know why he is following me--I want to know.

Walking home from school, I decided that I needed to get him alone, so I made my way to the lake that was hidden by all the trees at the far end of the park. When we arrived at the lake I turned to see if he was still behind me, but he was gone.

“Are you looking for me?” a voice said. He was right beside me, breathing on my neck. I jumped back, stumbling over my own feet and falling to the ground. He rolled his eyes and stuck out his hand to help me up. “Are you okay?” he asked with a dull sounding voice.

I pushed his hand away, not wanting to take his help after him being so rude and hateful. I got up and dusted all the dirt off of me. We stood there staring at each other for the longest time while I tried to build up the courage to talk to him. 

“What’s your name?” I asked, not meaning it to come out as nervous as I anticipated. He took a step back and tried to avoid eye contact. I didn’t want him to disappear on me, so I reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him back towards me.

“Please, just tell me your name. I deserve to know who you are and why you are following me.”  I said as I was gripping his arm trying to convince him to stay.

“Noah. . .” he said slowly. He then looked up and right into my eyes and said, “I work for your dad, Olivia. I’m your protector.”