“Help! Please help me!” I was crying and could barely scream anymore as my breathing came in rapid pants. Someone grabbed me and started yelling in my face and I finally felt the fog start to lift around me. Through my tear filled eyes I saw Sean staring down at me. He looked terrified and I wondered if he saw the person that was holding me down.
“Did you get him? Is he gone?”
Sean gave me a pitying look and pulled me into his arms. “There’s no one here, honey. You were just having a bad dream.”
“No. He was here. I couldn’t move because he was pinning me down, sitting on my chest. It was real!” I was practically in hysterics as I spoke to him. Why didn’t he believe me? He was here. Someone was here.
“The neighbor called 9-1-1 as soon as they heard you screaming. I answered the call and I saw through your bedroom window. There was no one here. You were just having a nightmare.”
My breath hitched at what he was saying. It had seemed so real to me. I could have sworn there was someone here. I looked around my room and saw that nothing was out of place. I lifted the comforter on my bed and found no bugs that I’d felt crawling on me. I dropped my head into my hands and started crying. It felt like I was going insane. After I calmed down and my crying subsided, I looked back up at Sean.
“I’m so sorry, Sean. I’m so embarrassed.”
“Let me in! Alex! Move out of the fucking way or I will make you move.”
Sean got up and ran down the hall, telling the officer to let Cole in. The moment I saw him, I flew off the bed and into his arms. I wasn’t too ashamed to admit I needed him right now. I was so shaken up and there was no way I wanted to be alone. Sean came back in and spoke to Cole about needing to leave and Cole promised to stay with me. My body was shaking so much my teeth were rattling.
“Come on. Let’s lay down in bed.”
He picked me up and carried me back to the bed, laying down beside me and pulling me into him. He ran his fingers through my hair and it helped to calm my nerves. His leg was draped over my legs, holding me tight to him.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“I don’t know. I guess it was a dream, but it felt so real. I knew that I was screaming and I heard Sean pounding on the door, but I also heard his voice telling me to be quiet. It was like I was in-between dreams and reality.”
Cole was quiet for a few minutes as he continued playing with my hair.
“How did you get here so fast?” I turned to look at his face.
“I was on my way home when Sean got the call. He knew you had moved here and he called me right away. It scared the shit out of me. I thought someone had broken in.”
That got my hackles up. Now he cared? He hadn’t been around for over three weeks and now he was scared? I sat up and pulled away from him.
“I’m surprised it concerned you at all since you seemed to forget about me so easily.” My voice was dripping with disdain. I wanted him here and it was great to hear he cared, but if he did care, where had he been?
“Just because things didn’t work out doesn’t mean I don’t care. I still want you to be safe and have a good life.”
“Ya know? I am safe and I’m doing just fine, so why don’t you go ahead and go home.”
“I want to stay. You know you won’t get any sleep if I don’t stay.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve been alone for three weeks now. I’m sure one nightmare won’t be the end of me.”
I crossed my arms and gave him a look saying that I was serious about him leaving.
“I’ll leave my phone number on the counter. Use it if you need it.”
He got up and left the room and a few minutes later his truck roared out of my driveway. I got up and went to the living room, making sure all the windows were locked and the door was secure. I saw a piece of paper on the counter and stuck it in the drawer so I wouldn’t have to see it. There was no way I’d be going back to sleep tonight. In fact, most nights I had nightmares that kept me from sleeping. I was just sleeping more during the day to make up for what I was missing at night.
I curled up on the couch under a blanket and watched tv until dawn lit the sky. My eyes were drooping and I finally gave in to the temptation to sleep.
The rest of the week was pretty much the same, although I didn’t have anyone pounding down my door to get inside in the middle of the night. Now that I was working, I was even more tired by the time my shift came around. I wasn’t able to sleep very much during the day because I now had responsibilities like cooking, cleaning, laundry, and grocery shopping. I was scheduled to work until close every night this week and that was a relief to me. It was too difficult to be at the house by myself at night.
On Saturday, about 8 at night, Jack and Harper walked through the doors and found a table near the bar. Not long after, the rest of their friends filed in, including Cole. My heart stuttered in my chest as I thought of having to spend the whole night with him in close proximity. Ryan came up to the bar and ordered a round of beers for everyone at the table. I pulled them out, giving him a smile and told him to enjoy his night.
It got pretty busy after that and I barely had time to stop and talk to anyone. A few guys stopped to hit on me, but luckily I was always called away with more drink orders. Harper came up to order more drinks several times and I suspected she wanted to talk to me about how I was doing, but I wasn’t in the mood to get into my state of mind.
Around midnight, it finally started to die down and I was able to start restocking for the next day. I was on my way back to the restrooms when a hand grabbed my arm and spun me around. My heart started pounding, but when I turned around, Cole’s eyes were staring back at me. He had a frown marring his face and he was looking at me with concern. His body was mere inches from mine and I could feel my body start to respond to his.
“How are you, sweetheart?”
“I’m fine.” That had become my signature phrase lately.
“You look exhausted. When was the last time you got more than a few hours of sleep?”
“I get plenty of sleep. It’s just been a busy night.”
He stared at me for a minute, not believing a word I said. His hand came up and he swiped his thumb across my cheek lightly.
“I’m worried about you,” he said, though it was no more than a whisper. I had to step back from him. His intensity was getting to me and I felt like at any minute I would give in and beg him to take me home. That wouldn’t solve anything though. He wanted to help me, but he didn’t want me anymore. I needed to learn to stand on my own and falling into his arms because I wasn’t sleeping would not help me any.
“Like I said, I’m fine. I have to finish stocking the shelves.”
I turned and went into the bathroom, hands shaking. I walked over to the sink and splashed some water on my face and looked at myself in the mirror. He was right. I did look exhausted. My face was pale and there were dark circles under my eyes. I pinched my cheeks, hoping to bring some color to them, but the red faded after a minute and I knew it was pointless. I used the bathroom and then got back to work. When I was all done, I glanced around the bar and saw that Cole and his friends had left already. Everyone else was done cleaning up for the night and we all walked out together. I headed towards the bus stop and swore I heard footsteps behind me, but when I looked, no one was there. I chalked it up to my imagination and went on my way.
I followed my usual routine of collapsing in bed as soon as I got home and promptly woke up an hour later from nightmares. Per my usual, I went to the living room and grabbed a blanket from the couch, staying there until morning light filled the living room.
I started seeing Cole more often around town, which I thought was unusual. He had told me that he liked the solitude of the country and didn’t go into town often. I wondered what had changed that he was spending more time in town. Jealousy had me thinking that maybe he had started dating someone else. One time he ran into me at the grocery store. Another, he was at the bank at t
he same time as me. He was always polite and asked me how I was doing. He showed up every Saturday night at The Pub and hung out with his friends, but I felt his eyes on me the whole time. I didn’t understand why he was watching me when he already told me he didn’t want to be with me. Then, after I left the bar, he would follow me home. I never saw him, but I heard his footsteps behind me. He would follow me to the bus stop and then I would hear him again following me from the bus stop to my house.
My days were pretty dull and lonely. I mostly stuck by myself, taking care of errands and hanging out at my house. I had made a few friends at the bar, but we were more work friends than friends that hang out outside of work. Nights were equally lonely and I found myself wishing that Cole were here with me. Nightmares plagued me over the next couple of months and I was really dragging most days. I still didn’t remember anything from when I was kidnapped or my time with Cole. I still didn’t know if my nightmares were reality or not and it didn’t trigger anything in my head.
Jack and Harper stopped by several times a month, claiming that they needed to do repairs on the house, though I never called them to fix anything. Jack would disappear around the house and Harper would sit and chat with me. Christmas would be here in a few days and I hadn’t done a thing to decorate. Jack pulled into the driveway with a small tree and Harper started to unload decorations. They brought everything into the house and helped me move furniture and set up the tree. Harper told me that the decorations were ones that she and Jack didn’t use anymore.
It was a sweet thought, but it made me sad. I didn’t have anyone to celebrate with and no presents to put under the tree. Still, I smiled and thanked them for the kind gesture. They stayed for a cup of cocoa and we played Christmas music as Harper helped me decorate the tree. Jack had brought wood in for the fireplace and showed me how to light it and gave me instructions for taking care of it. The next day, a truck arrived and placed firewood on the side of the house under a tarp.
I found that when I got home from work that week, I would light the fire and go right to the couch and sit in the dark with only the Christmas lights on. It was peaceful to sit in the dark that way. I wasn’t scared to be alone then and I sometimes put on Christmas music to sing along with.
On Christmas Eve, I worked the night shift. I didn’t have any family or friends to spend the evening with, so I volunteered to take the shift from someone who had family. It was slow in the bar and we closed at nine that night. I restocked the bar and helped the others with clean up, then headed home. On the way to the bus stop, I heard the footsteps behind me again and I decided to confront Cole. I’d had enough of him following me around. I turned and called out for him.
“Cole, you can come out. I know you’re following me.”
I got no response which I found odd since Cole didn’t seem like the type to hide if I knew he was there. He would know it would scare me and he wouldn’t want that. My feet told me to run and get home as quickly as possible. I turned and started sprinting for the bus stop, but I was tackled to the ground after I made it a block. My forehead smacked the ground on the left side of my head. I had turned my head at the last second to try to protect my face. I felt my hands scrape against the concrete and pain shot up my hand as I felt one finger bend at an awkward angle.
Images started flashing in my mind of me trying to make it to a door and someone grabbing me from behind. They were flashing so quickly that I had forgotten to fight back against my attacker. My hands were yanked behind my back and a scream tore from my throat. I felt hot breath next to my ear, his foul breath turning my stomach. My heart pounded in fear and my body shook under the weight of the large body covering me.
“Did you think you could get away with it?” The voice was raspy and sounded like he was a pack a day smoker. “You’ll never escape me until you’re dead.” I felt saliva dribble down my face and I cringed as it made its way towards my mouth. Then I felt my head being yanked back and my head was slammed back into the ground. My vision grew blurry and I tried to get up as I heard my attacker running away, but my limbs felt like lead weights and I couldn’t move. Fear overtook me as memories started to assault me. I remembered how I ended up in the cellar the last time I was attacked like this and hoped to God that I didn’t end up there again. Then the world went black.
I didn’t know how long I had been out, but when I came to, there was no one around me. I gingerly got to my feet and brushed off my hands. My head was pounding and I felt something warm trickle down my face. I swiped my fingers across my cheek and stared at the blood on my hand. My mind must not have been processing any more tonight because I wasn’t freaking out at what had happened to me. I just felt numb. I finished the walk to the bus stop and waited for the next bus to come by. When it appeared some time later, I got on and ignored the stare of the bus driver and took my seat. When he pulled up to my stop, I walked to the front and was stopped by the driver’s arm.
“Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?”
I looked at him in confusion. “Why would I need to go to the hospital?”
“You have a nasty gash on your head. Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”
“No. I’m fine,” I said matter of factly. I stepped down and began the trek to my house. It had gotten quite cold out and my breath puffed out in front of me as I walked. I put my hands in my pockets, remembering too late that one finger was injured. It hurt, but it was better than being cold. The snow started to fall and it gave an eerie feeling to the dark night. Normally I would love to walk in falling snow, but it was deadly silent and after the attack, it gave a hint of danger to the night. I walked up to the house and should have felt unease at going into a dark house, but I strangely didn’t.
It was chilly in the house because I always turned the heat down before I left and then turned the fireplace on to warm it up when I got home. I walked inside and sat down on the couch and stared at the walls the rest of the night. I didn’t even turn on the fire or the Christmas lights. My brain had shut down and I couldn’t even manage to take off my coat. As the night passed, dread filled my thoughts and cold seeped into my bones as I contemplated what my attacker had said. You’ll never escape me until you’re dead.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Cole
I had been doing my best to stay away from Alex. I knew that if I saw her too often I would try to talk to her and get her back. It seemed that she had wanted to get back together when she was at my house the night Harper brought her over. It would be so easy for me to go to her and beg for her to take me back, but I needed to give her a chance to move on with her life. The only way she would be doing that is if she never remembered the horrors that she had gone through over the past year.
I had Harper go over and get her out of bed and motivated. Mom had called me and told me that Alex was lying in bed all day and was barely eating. I didn’t expect that from her, but I knew that she could get through it. I called Jack and asked if his renovated house was ready to be rented yet and he told me he had a few things left to finish. So I volunteered to help him out and then I started renting it from him for Alex. I brought in all the furnishings and made it comfortable for her to stay in. I watched from the street as Dad dropped her off that morning. She looked excited, but I was sad at the fact that she only had a small amount of stuff with her. I had contacted her old apartment manager a few months ago to find out what happened to her stuff and sure enough, he had sold it when she didn’t pay her rent and didn’t answer his messages.
Harper helped her get a job at The Pub and I hung around every Saturday to see how she was doing. She looked awful and I could tell that she wasn’t sleeping. I wanted to go to her house and demand that she let me stay with her, but that would confuse things, especially for me. The first night she was in the house and had the nightmare, I saw the terror on her face and wanted so badly to stay with her. She made it clear though that she didn’t need my help after I cut her from my life. So I made myself more availab
le for her to ask me for help. I ran into her in town and stopped to talk to her, but she never asked me for help. She seemed to be moving on and that was the only plus side to this whole situation.
I’d had Harper and Jack bring her a Christmas tree and I bought all the decorations and put them in Christmas storage boxes so it looked like they weren’t new. I watched from outside as they put the tree up and decorated it. I wished it was me in there, but she wouldn’t like it if it had come from me. Now it was Christmas Day and I couldn’t stand the thought of her being alone anymore. I had spent Christmas Eve with Mom and Dad, but the whole time I had been wishing that I was with Alex. They asked about her and said they had wanted to get ahold of her, but they didn’t have her number. I didn’t have it either, so there was no way for me to call her up. I knew she was working at the bar, so I told them she probably wouldn’t be in the mood to get together after her shift, but promised to check in on her on Christmas Day.
I pulled up to her house and walked up the steps to her door, carrying a casserole Mom had sent me with. I was excited to see her again and knocked a little too eagerly when I got to her door. She didn’t answer so I knocked again. I finally heard movement and hoped that I hadn’t woken her. When the door opened, rage took over my body and I had to clench my fists and take deep breaths to keep it bottled up inside.
She had a gash on the left side of her head with blood that had dripped down her face and was now dried there. There were scrapes down her face and her eyes looked haunted. Dark circles surrounded her beautiful eyes, but there was no life in there. When she looked at me, her face was blank as though there was nothing going on inside her head. I spoke to her as calmly as I could so I didn’t scare her or get myself thrown out.
“What happened, sweetheart?”
“Huh? What are you doing here?”
There was no heat behind her words. It was if she was completely confused as to why someone would be on her doorstep.
Cole: A Romantic Thriller Novel (For The Love Of A Good Woman Book 2) Page 21
