Chapter 9 Adam
ADAM
One aspect of my life was perfect. The part that revolved around Ellis. Every time he said he loved me or did something to show me he cared about me, I felt like I was floating on air.
But then the other side of my life was becoming a blur of anxiety and exhaustion. I tried to convince myself I was just being paranoid, and Derek wouldn't actually do anything to hurt me or Ellis. But in my heart, I knew that wasn’t true.
Filing a police report wouldn’t scare him off. It just made him more intent on getting to me.
Everything started to unravel on Tuesday night. My shift started out normal enough. Ellis was on his laptop just inches away from me the entire time. I went through my opening routine on autopilot, and there was a steady flow of customers.
Then, at midnight, the phone rang. I answered it, and there was only heavy breathing on the other end before the call disconnected.
I just held it to my ear, staring into space as a sense of dread filled me.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Ellis took the phone out of my hand and put it on the receiver when he heard a dial tone on the other end. “Who was that?”
"It was him." I sucked in a deep breath and looked out the window. "He was just breathing into the phone, but I know it was him."
Nothing else happened that night, but then on Wednesday, Derek's car circled the parking lot six times between midnight and three. Each time, he drove slowly past the windows and just stared at me.
Ellis stood in front of the counter, blocking his view, but I could still feel Derek's eyes on me.
"He's getting bolder." Ellis had his arms crossed over his chest and his guard up. “We’re sitting ducks here.”
"I know." My voice barely came out at all, but that was okay because I didn’t have much to say.
Then on Thursday night, things finally came to a head.
At one in the morning, a car pulled up to the pumps, and when I glanced out the window, my blood turned to ice.
It was Derek’s black sedan.
He got out and started pumping gas like he had every right to be there. Like he hadn’t been stalking me and terrorizing me for weeks.
Ellis was in the bathroom, so I was alone behind the counter.
Derek looked up and met my eyes. When he knew I was looking at him, he winked and stared back at me.
I couldn't breathe.
My chest got tight and my vision started to tunnel. I had to grab the edge of the counter to keep from falling over because my legs weren't working right. They were like lead and jelly at the same time.
I wanted to scream, but I couldn't pull any air into my lungs. Everything was closing in on me, and I wondered if this was how I was meant to die. Under harsh fluorescent lights in a roadside convenience store.
"Adam?"
Ellis's voice sounded far away. Too far away. I tried to answer him but nothing came out of my mouth.
"Adam, look at me." His hands closed on my face and he turned me toward him. "Breathe with me. In through your nose, out through your mouth."
I wanted to do what he said, but I couldn't. My body wasn't listening to anything my brain was telling it to do.
"You're safe, baby. I've got you. Daddy’s got you." Ellis pulled me into his arms, and I could sense the exact moment he realized why I was panicking. “Fuck.”
A whimper escaped my throat, and I pressed my face into his chest. “Is he still there?”
"He’s at the pump, but you're safe behind this counter with me."
After a minute, my chest unlocked, and I was able to slow my breathing enough to calm down. Ellis held me through it with one hand rubbing my back in even circles.
By the time I could breathe normally, Derek was gone. He'd pumped his gas and left without coming inside.
But the damage was done, and I had to make a change before I completely fell apart.
When my shift finally ended, I could barely walk to the car. Ellis held me steady with one arm around my waist so I didn’t collapse into a sobbing heap.
"You can't keep going on like this." His voice was stern as we drove home. More forceful than I’d heard from him before. "You're running yourself into the ground."
"I know." Tears were streaming down my face, and I didn't even try to stop them. "But I need the money. I have to save up to move somewhere Derek can't find me."
"You’re not going anywhere, Adam.” His warm palm slipped behind my neck and held me. “You live with me now."
"He knows where you live." As much as I loved the idea of staying with Ellis permanently, nowhere felt safe anymore. "It's not safe for either of us there."
He pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine before he turned to face me. "Will you at least quit the graveyard shift?"
"I don’t think there are any day-shift openings." Besides, the day shift paid less, so it wasn’t my first choice.
"Have you asked recently?"
I shook my head.
"Call your manager. Right now."
"It’s too early. I’ll call later."
"Adam, you’re not working another overnight shift with that psycho out there."
I couldn’t argue with that because I didn’t actually want to go back to work at all. “Okay.” With shaking fingers, I pulled out my phone and called the payroll manager.
She answered on the third ring, sounding tired but alert. "Adam? Is everything okay?"
"Not really." My voice cracked, but I cleared it and got myself together. "I need to ask if there are any day-shift openings."
She paused for a moment because she knew how much I liked working overnight. "You wanna switch off graveyard?"
"Yeah. I know it pays less, but I need to change my schedule."
"Hang on." I heard papers rustling in the background and took that as a good sign. "I've got an opening that starts on Monday at the Westfield location. It's yours if you want it."
Relief flooded through me. "I want it. Please."
"Okay, good. I’ll get someone to cover your shift tonight so you can take the weekend off to adjust your sleep schedule. I'll let the Westfield team know you’ll be there Monday morning at seven."
"Thank you so much." My tears were back, but this time, it was from relief. "I really appreciate it."
I hung up and looked at Ellis. "I got it. I’ll be on the day shift at Westfield starting Monday."
"That's my boy." He leaned over the console and kissed my temple. "I'm so proud of you."
"I'm gonna make less money, so I won't be able to save as much." The reality of that was sinking in. “But at least I won’t get an ulcer.”
"You'll be safer, and that’s all I care about. That's worth more than any amount of money."
"I just hope Derek doesn’t find me and start showing up during the day." I couldn’t just keep moving from store to store because of my stalker ex.
"If he does, then we'll deal with it." Ellis cupped my face. "But at least you won't be alone at night anymore. There will always be plenty of people around to keep him away."
I nodded and tried to absorb some of his confidence. "Okay."
"Okay." He pulled up in front of the house and kissed my forehead. "Now let's get you inside and into bed. You need sleep."
We went inside, and I changed into my pajamas on autopilot. My brain felt foggy and overloaded with everything that had happened. But at least I felt some hope that things would start to get better.
I'd actually done something to take control of the situation with Derek. It wasn't much, but I couldn’t stay scared forever.