Chapter Sixteen – Abbey
I hummed to myself as I fed Cinnamon, a lightness filling my chest. God, I had been so paranoid yesterday, but now, I was feeling so much better.
That’s what happened when you had the right kind of guy on your side, huh? Everything seemed a little easier. And Chuck had made it clear that he was willing to do anything it took to make sure I was doing okay. I had come to him in such a state yesterday, certain I was being watched, but after he had walked me home and kissed me goodnight, I had slept like a baby.
Maybe because he’d made sure I was well and truly exhausted, but still.
I was planning on heading out to a nearby coffee shop for something to eat this morning, just to get a change of scenery; I had plans to sift through some more news stories in the hopes of finding something I could work on. I still hadn’t figured out what I was going to focus on next, but I wanted to get back to something a little more normal, and work was a comfortable place for me. The more time I had to myself to think, the more likely I was to wind up lost in the midst of this overthinking that would have me running to Chuck every other second just for some comfort.
Anyway. That wasn’t what I was trying to focus on today, no way. I just wanted to relax. Cinnamon rubbed around my feet as I fed him, and I grinned and leaned down to drop a pet on his head. He was such a sweetheart; maybe I would get him a little buddy to hang out with one of these days. I knew it would double my chances of getting busted by the landlord, but I didn’t care...
And then, all at once, Cinnamon glanced towards the door and let out a long, low growl. I frowned. He wasn’t normally vocal like that. Something must have really freaked him out.
”What’s up, sweetheart?” I murmured, and I looked over at the door. He made his way over to it, his back arched, a low hiss escaping his mouth. My heart began to beat a little faster in my chest. What was going on...?
And then, I heard the creak of something outside the door. Movement. Someone was out there. Someone who was just...just standing there, by the sounds of it. My heart began to pound against my chest, my palms starting to get sweaty as I tried to pull myself together. What the hell was going on? What was happening?
It could have just been someone dropping off a package, though I didn’t have anything ordered, anything that I was expecting to receive anytime soon. I stared at the door, wishing that I had a peephole, something I could look through to reveal what was on the other side.
I chewed my lip. Fuck. Did I open it? Cinnamon lifted his paw and scraped his claws down the door, his back still arched, his tail all puffed up like he was ready for a fight. Like he was ready to take on anything that walked through that door.
I didn’t know what to do, what to think, what to feel. I should have just waited and listened to whoever was out there, waited until they were gone, and I could relax again. But I had a horrible feeling that I already knew he was on the other side of that door, and my heart was slamming against my ribs as I tried to pull myself together and figure out how to handle it.
I couldn’t hide from him. If he was there, then I needed to face it. It was my apartment; I could just slam the door in his face and tell him to leave, then call Chuck and get him to lock him down and take care of him.
I put my hand on the knob and inhaled a long, deep breath. It was fine. I could do this.
I threw open the door. And my stomach twisted into a knot as soon as I saw who was on the other side.
Franco. It was him.
I tried to slam the door in his face, but he stuck his foot out, pushing his way into the apartment. Cinnamon tried to attack his leg, but he kicked the cat off, sending him crashing painfully into the couch opposite us.
”Cinnamon!” I yelled, distracted as I dropped down to my knees and went to check on him – and Franco took the chance to dive into the apartment, pushing the door shut behind him and locking it. I lifted my head and looked at him, sheer terror gripping every inch of me.
”What are you doing here?” I whispered. I could hardly get the words out. But I knew the answer to that question – like I even had to ask him that. What else would he have been doing here? I knew why he had come all this way to get to me, I knew why he had pushed himself through the door of my apartment – it was because he was determined to get me back, one way or another.
Determined to make me his.
I stood up, backing towards the kitchen, reaching for something I could use as a weapon – but he cut me off before I could make it, grabbing my wrist roughly.
”Let go of me!” I ordered him, but my voice was shaking so much, I knew I couldn’t have convinced anyone right now. His eyes were nearly black as he glared at me, and he still hadn’t said a word.
He didn’t need to. It was obvious what he was here for, and nothing was going to get him to drop his pursuit of what he thought I was owed.
”I’ve been waiting so long for this,” he murmured, tightening his grip around my wrist. ”You have no idea, Abbey. I’ve been leaving you all those messages. I know you saw them...”
I wanted to throw up. So, all of that had come from him? He had been the one who had left those graffiti pictures on the side of the apartment? The thought of me trying to go about my life, while he was watching me from afar...God, it was enough to make me want to scream. I parted my lips, about to cry out, hoping that one of the neighbors could hear me, but he clamped a hand over my lips before I could. I wanted to wrench myself out of his grip, but I knew he wouldn’t let me slip through his fingers, not again – not after so long. He had been waiting a long time to get his hands on me. Now that he had me, he wasn’t going to let me get away.
I felt something drain from my body, some of the fight that had been filling me before giving up on me all at once. I had been trying to resist him for so long, and now, even despite all of that, he was here. Even after everything I had done, everything I had tried, all the help that had been poured into this, he was standing here, hanging on to me, holding me and making it so I couldn’t get away. This was everything I had been dreading.
But at least it would be over if I let this happen. At least I wouldn’t have to be scared anymore. He slowly pulled his hand back, as though he could sense that a part of me had given up.
”You’re going to come with me,” he told me, his voice low, threatening. My legs were trembling, the corners of my vision clouding with panic as I tried to navigate what I was going to do next.
He moved in close to me all at once, his face just a few inches from mine. I could smell him, the thick scent of him making my stomach turn. He inhaled deeply, as though he was gorging himself on the scent of me.
”I missed you so much, Abbey,” he told me. But it wasn’t affection in his voice, no – it was a threat. It was a warning. As though he had a whole lot of lost time to make up for, and he was going to do everything in his power to make me pay for it.
I didn’t know what happened next. But, as he pulled me towards the door, my head swam with all the possibilities, and I knew I was going to have to face the music.
One way or another.