Grocery shopping was never the highlight of Jamie’s week. She dealt with it by putting herself on automatic pilot, powering up and down the aisles with her trolley and grabbing things off the shelves according to her list.

Sometimes when she got home she could hardly remember being in the shop at all.

But today, the knowledge that a maniac with a severe personality disorder could be following her around was ruining her concentration. She loaded three boxes of automatic washing powder into her trolley before remembering that she’d stocked up the week before. She took them out again, cursing under her breath. Then she had to go back down the same aisle to pick up the furniture polish she’d forgotten.

This was getting ridiculous.

She needed a Twitter break to clear her head. Pushing her shopping out of the way of other shoppers, she reached into her bag for her phone.

Jamie Burchell @jamieburchell

My nerves are shot. It’s taking me twice as long as normal to do the weekly shop.

I’m seeing stalkers behind every bush now.

Jamie Burchell @jamieburchell

Doesn’t matter that I’m in a safe, public, well-lit space in the middle of the day. Just can’t get rid of the feeling I’m being watched. #stalker

She leaned against her trolley, already feeling calmer for having shared her worries. As the notification light on her phone began to flash, she relaxed even more. Twitter was her sanctuary. It always made her feel less alone.

The Tenant @squatter

@jamieburchell It’s normal to feel that way after everything you’ve been through.

Just be sensible and stay away from dangerous situations.

Tumi Boapi @tumiboapi

@jamieburchell Maybe you should shop online until this is all over? At least that way you won’t have to leave the house.

Jamie Burchell @jamieburchell

@tumiboapi Online shopping too expensive. Can’t justify extra expense.

And realistically, nothing’s going to happen to me in the grocery store.

Elsje Steenkamp @newbiemama

@jamieburchell @tumiboapi Friend of mine was being stalked by ex-boyfriend.

He tried to stab her in Pick ‘n Pay once. Security guard stopped him.

Jamie Burchell @jamieburchell @newbiemama That’s very comforting, thanks! 😉

Elsje Steenkamp @newbiemama

@JamieBurchell Just don’t want you getting a false sense of security!

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The man pressed back against a display of dried fruit. Why wasn’t she moving? Why had she stopped like that and taken out her phone?

It was very annoying of her. It was easy for him to stay unnoticed as long as she kept moving, because then he could keep moving too. A man walking up and down the aisles with a basket on his arm attracted no attention, but a man standing still would soon be noticed.

Frustration shook him. What was wrong with her lately? First she attacked him online, and now she stopped to dither in the middle of her grocery run. Was she trying to irritate him? She’d be sorry if she was.

He turned and stared at the display of chips and popcorn. Okay, sometimes people couldn’t make up their minds. Sometimes it took them minutes to decide what brand of salted snack they wanted. He wasn’t one of them, but he could pretend to be. He could blend in with the idiots.

He counted to thirty-two and then shuffled sideways to look at Jamie again. She was still standing, typing on her phone. What could she be texting that was so urgent?

No, wait. He knew that smile. She wasn’t texting, she was tweeting.

He took out his phone and opened Jamie’s Twitter stream.

“I can’t get rid of this feeling that I’m being watched,” he read.

Panic crowded into his chest. She’d seen him. She’d noticed him.

She was calling the police. He would be arrested.

He ran for the door, dropping his basket as he went.

“Excuse me, sir.”

He looked up, ready to kill anyone who got in his way.

It was a shelf-packer.

“You dropped your basket.” The packer pointed at the scattering of items on the floor. “Do you still want those things?”

He took a rasping breath. “Yes … okay. I still want them. Excuse me. I’ll pick everything up.”

He bent down and picked up the items he’d dropped into his basket at random. This didn’t have to be a disaster. He didn’t have to abort his mission.

Jamie wasn’t calling the police. Of course, she wasn’t. She was jumpy because of him. He was the one. He had the power to make her feel afraid – to rip aside her illusion of security and leave her vulnerable.

The pleasure of this awareness blended with the adrenaline still coursing through his body. This was what he lived for. This feeling of fear and triumph combined. It was better than anything. It made him feel alive.

He looked at his phone again. Jamie had stopped tweeting. She was on the move again.

Jamie Burchell @jamieburchell

I can’t live my life in fear. I will finish this shopping trip and go home. If I stop now because of him, he wins. I won’t let him win.