Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Seraphine
My phone has been dead for a few days now.
Three, I think. Maybe four, I can’t be sure.
When the situation with Harrison and Elliot first went down, I was angry enough to stay away from Elliot but not angry enough that I was incapable of doing things.
I went out for walks, to get some groceries, for dinner, and even met up with Gia.
But then suddenly, for no reason I can think of, everything changed.
It all hit me like a smack in the face and I’ve been doing nothing but living in my apartment in a daze.
The weight I feel on my shoulders, not only about this but everything that’s happened to me in the last couple of months, is crushing the life out of me.
I know it isn’t healthy, and I know I need to get over it.
After my dad killed himself, I went through something similar.
Hiding myself away, shutting down, not wanting to be bothered.
But I eventually got over it and I assume the same will happen this time.
So, when there is knocking at my door, I ignore it.
Until the knocking doesn’t stop, and I’m forced to get up and open the door.
My mistake is not checking who is on the other side before doing so.
But I’m not in my right mind, so there’s that.
When I see Harrison on the other side, I jolt back, feeling more awake than I have in a long time.
“What are you doing here?”
He stares at me, with no emotion on his face. He just stares. It’s kind of creepy. But also, it annoys me because how dare he act like this is something I did wrong. Like I’m at fault and he’s the one who’s hurting. He’s the one who messed this up from the very beginning.
He cheated on me—with his stepsister! That is the biggest issue, not to mention all the other things that happened too.
“We need to talk,” he finally says.
“No, Harrison. We don’t. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
“Oh, but you want something to do with my father?” he barks.
I sigh, running a hand through my hair.
“I haven’t talked to him.”
“Well congratulations for that.”
“You need to go,” I say, closing the door.
He slaps a hand against it, pushing it open.
“I said we need to talk,” he growls.
For the first time since knowing him, a flick of fear spreads through my chest.
Harrison is angry, and he’s forcing his way into my apartment.
I step back, my body not reacting the way I want it to. Like to shove him out. Yell. Scream. Slap him maybe. I just stand there like an incapable little child, waiting for the angry man to come at me. He closes the door while keeping his gaze on me.
“How dare you do this to me?” he says. “How dare you make me look like such an idiot, Sera.”
“You? What about me?” I ask. “You cheated on me, Harrison. What about that?”
“This is way worse than that!”
“How is this worse than that? I’m single, and so is Elliot.”
“Because he’s my father!” he shouts, moving even closer toward me. I step back, but there isn’t much room left to go. My apartment suddenly seems so small. “And now, thanks to you getting in the middle of it, he’s no longer paying my bills.”
I want to tell him he’s a grown man and he can figure it out like the rest of us do. He can get a job and get some damn responsibility, like I’ve been doing for years. Or maybe he can ask his precious sister to pay his bills for him now. Why is he making this my fault?
“So now what am I supposed to do, Sera, hm? How am I going to finish school if I have to get a job?”
“Plenty of people do that, Harrison.”
He scoffs. “You’re fucking kidding.”
I frown and take another step back when he keeps moving toward me.
“I’m not going to end up like you,” he seethes.
“Like me?”
“At a dead-end job, so desperate that I fuck my ex’s father just to get a decent paying job.”
My jaw drops open at his words. That was a low blow. One that stings and has tears forming in my eyes.
“That’s not why—”
“That’s not why I did it,” he mocks me in a high-pitched voice. “No? Then why did you do it?”
He’s stalking closer, his voice getting a little manic. His eyes are wild. Fear crawls up my spine, settling in the base of my neck.
“I-I don’t know.”
“Bullshit,” he spits just as my back hits the counter. “Bull fucking shit. You did it because you’re a desperate little whore who wanted to get back at me for cheating on her. You did it to get revenge, and good fucking job, Sera, because it worked.”
A tear slides down my check, dripping off my chin.
“Of course,” he mutters. “Of course, you’re going to play all innocent now and cry as if you give a fuck.”
“Get out,” I croak out.
“Fuck you, Sera.”
“Get out!” I scream, putting my hands on his chest and shoving him.
Harrison grabs my wrists and tugs me to him.
“You are going to pay for what you did to me. You ruined my goddamn life, Sera, and I will not let you get away with it,” he growls under his breath.
Not knowing what else to do, I jam my knee up, hitting him right in the balls. He keels over, letting me go, so I run to the intercom by the door. I’ve never used it before, always preferring to call, but I’m glad it’s there now, when I need it.
“I need help. Call the cops!” I shout into the speaker, then jolt out my door and toward the stairs.
I hurry down them as quickly as I can, knowing if Harrison comes after me, he’ll catch me in a matter of seconds.
He’s much bigger than me and much faster too.
Plus, he’s angry and clearly on a warpath.
I burst out of the door when I reach the bottom floor, bumping into someone who grunts and I shove them out of the way, hurrying toward the security office, heaving for breath.
Never did I think I’d be put into a situation like this with anyone, never mind Harrison.
As I’ve looked back on our relationship, there were a lot of things I see now that I didn’t notice while we were together.
Some serious red flags that I was blind to.
But he was never a scary person. Never someone I thought I would have to be afraid of.
“Miss Sinclair,” the guard says as he gets to his feet, his walkie talkie in his hand. “I’ve just called the police. What is going on?”
“My ex—Elliot Caldwell’s son—he forced his way into my apartment.” I pause to catch my breath. “He-he—”
“Okay, it’s okay,” the guard says, moving to me and leading me to a chair. He presses the button on the walkie-talkie, bringing it to his mouth. “Gary, keep an eye out for Harrison Caldwell. Detain him if you find him. I want a sweep of every floor.”
“Will do,” comes back, and then the guard takes a seat beside me.
“Are you okay? Do you need medical attention?”
“No, nothing like that. Just keep him away from me.”
He nods, then gets up to shut the door and turn the blinds so they’re closed.
He goes to the small fridge in the corner and brings me a bottle of water.
I don’t have my phone with me, but I wish I did so I could call Gia to come pick me up.
I don’t want to stay here. Not just now, but at all.
Harrison acting like this is scary, and I don’t want to be somewhere he knows. How quickly will I be able to move?
I have a decent amount of money saved from working at Caldwell Enterprises. I could at least put the down payment on another apartment, but I also need a new job. They’ll probably need proof of that before they give me an apartment.
The office door is open, and it startles me. I panic for a split second when I see Elliot. The way he and Harrison have similar features tricked my mind into thinking it was Harrison.
“Christ, Seraphine, are you okay?”
He kneels in front of me, hands on my arms.
“Why are you here?” I ask with wide eyes.
“It’s my building. I’m alerted any time there is an issue.”
Right. That makes sense, but all I can say is, “Oh.”
It hurts to see him. He’s so handsome, and the way he ran in here like a superhero ready to save the day... To save me. Like he usually does because that’s what he’s been doing for the last few months. But he too had to go and ruin it… guess it runs in the family.
“Where is my son?” he asks, looking up toward the security guard.
“We haven’t found him yet.”
“You better tell me when you do. I’m going to kill him.”
Part of me thinks he may be telling the truth.
“Are you okay?” he asks me again.
I nod and he lets out a sigh of relief. He squeezes his eyes shut, and I take the moment to watch him.
I hate what he did but I’ve missed him. Still, all this wouldn’t be happening right now if he hadn’t done what he did. If he would have just listened to what I said and not put on a show in front of Harrison, I wouldn’t be here right now, terrified out of my mind, my whole life getting violated.
“I’m so sorry, Seraphine. This is all my fault.”
“Sir, the police are here,” the guard says just before there is a knock on the door.
He pulls it open, and there are two men dressed in police uniforms on the other side. Elliot stands up and goes to them.
“I expect my son to be found immediately,” he says.
“Let’s just start with what happened,” the officer says.
“Seraphine Sinclair resides in the apartment Mr. Caldwell forced himself into. Harrison Caldwell, not this Mr. Caldwell,” the guard clarifies.
“How about you tell us what happened,” the cop says, moving toward me and pulling out a pad and a pen. He’s a middle-aged guy, balding and with glasses. Looks like he’s been doing this job for a long time.
I get into the story, telling him what happened, but leaving out some minor details because I don’t want to get into it.
Besides, Harrison’s reason for breaking in, his specific reason, isn’t quite need-to-know just yet.
First they need to find him. Everything else can be worked out after.
Once I can breathe knowing he’s detained.
“So, Harrison Caldwell is angry because you’re seeing someone else?” the cop asks.
“Well, I was. I’m not now, but yes. That’s why he’s angry.”
I feel Elliot’s gaze on me but refuse to look at him.
“And has anyone seen him?” the other cop asks the guard. He’s been standing off to the side, listening to what’s going on. He’s a little younger, with blond hair.
“We haven’t found him yet. I let my team know to keep looking, and I also have someone checking cameras.”
“You have cameras?” the cop near me asks. I glance at his nametag—Birch.
“In the hallways and main lobby. Nothing that sees into apartments,” Elliot explains.
“And who are you exactly?” Birch says to Elliot.
“I own this building.”
“Do you know where Harrison would be, Seraphine?” Birch asks me.
“I have his address,” Elliot adds. “I’m sure that’s where he is going. And if not, then he’ll likely be with his stepsister. I’ll give you her address too.”
He gives the information to the cops, then they chat with the security guard who eventually takes them to the other room so they can look over the security footage.
I don’t know what, if anything, they will be able to see, but hopefully it’s something.
I don’t want them to think I’m lying or that I’m being crazy.
I’m suddenly aware that it’s only Elliot and I in this room.
“I’m sorry, Seraphine,” he says, sitting beside me on the couch.
“Are you though?” I say.
“Of course, I am.”
“Why?”
“Excuse me?”
“Why are you sorry? Is it only because I got angry about it? Or is it because you started this terrible chain of events? What is it you’re sorry about, Elliot?”
His mouth opens and closes like a fish, brow furrowing. Until finally he speaks, giving a small shake of his head.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t respect your wants.”
And those words… those words have the tears flowing because I hadn’t expected him to say that.
I thought he wouldn’t understand why I’m upset.
That he’d make me feel like an idiot for being mad about that exact thing.
I thought he’d apologize for what he did, the face value of it.
But Elliot Caldwell has surprised me from day one, so maybe I shouldn’t be too shocked that he understands this now.
But if he’s so understanding of it, why did he do it in the first place?