17. Grace
17
GRACE
T he air in the room feels thick, like it’s pressing in on me from all sides. I sit on the edge of the couch, my fingers picking at the hem of my sweater as I wait for Theo to return.
I know Tad went up to see him, and I’m sure that he’s been talking to Devon. I’ll just wait for one of them to tell me what they’ve been discussing for the past hour.
They’ve been huddled in the office, their voices low and tense, leaving me here to stew in my own anxious thoughts.
I can hear their footsteps now, coming down the hall. Theo walks into the room, his expression serious. He sits across from me, his eyes locking onto mine.
“We know who it is,” he says, gesturing to his phone.
My heart skips a beat, and I swallow hard. “Who?”
Devon clears his throat from Theo’s phone, stepping forward slightly. “Grace, it’s your former manager. Andrew.”
I blink, stunned. For a second, the name doesn’t even register.
Andrew? No, that can’t be right. I haven’t seen him in over a year, and he was… he was nothing like this.
“What?” I shake my head, my hands gripping the couch. “No. That doesn’t make sense. Andrew wouldn’t—he’s not like that.”
Theo leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s him. We’re sure of it.”
“No, you’re wrong.” My voice rises, frustration building in my chest.
“It can’t be him. I knew Andrew. He was harmless—a little bitter after I fired him, but he wasn’t...
This doesn’t make sense.
I’ve seen my stalker. I would have recognized Andrew.”
“It’s him, Grace,” Tad says softly as he walks into the room. “I know it’s hard to accept, but people change, especially when they’ve been holding onto anger for a long time.”
I shake my head again, my mind racing. The image of Andrew from a year ago flashes in my mind—overweight, scruffy beard, always wearing wrinkled clothes.
He was far from intimidating. He didn’t have the kind of presence that would make someone think he was a stalker like this.
He was extremely disorganized and flakey when he was my manager. My stalker is organized and calculated. It can’t be the same person.
“It doesn’t look like him,” I say, my voice shaking. “The man who’s been following me doesn’t look anything like Andrew.”
Tad exchanges a glance with Theo before turning back to me.
“He’s changed.
We’ve seen recent pictures of him, and he’s almost unrecognizable.
He’s lost a lot of weight, shaved the beard, and cleaned himself up.
But it’s him.”
I stare at them, my heart pounding in my chest.
Could it really be Andrew? Could he have done all this just because I let him go? It doesn’t seem possible. It doesn’t feel real.
“I just… I don’t understand,” I whisper. “Why would he do this? Why go to all this trouble?”
“From what we’ve gathered, he took the firing harder than anyone realized.
He felt like he’d lost everything—his career, his reputation. He spiraled after that, and it looks like he’s been fixated on you ever since,” Devon says.
“I talked to his landlord. Andrew was gone for a while, got evicted, and when they went to clean out his apartment...
They found pictures of you taped all over a whiteboard.”
“Why didn’t they report that?” I gasp.
“He says they did, and the cops brushed it off.”
I sit back, my mind struggling to process everything they’re telling me. It still feels surreal, like I’m hearing about someone else’s life, not mine.
Andrew? Andrew was just… there. He wasn’t a threat. He wasn’t someone I even thought about after I let him go. How could I have missed this?
Theo reaches out and takes my hand, his touch grounding me in the moment.
“The authorities are already on their way to his last known address. They’re going to arrest him, Grace. This is almost over.”
His words should bring me comfort, but they don’t. Instead, they leave me feeling hollow.
Could it really be that easy? After everything, after all the fear and sleepless nights, is it really going to end like this?
“Are you sure?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. “Are you sure he’s the one?”
Tad nods, his eyes full of certainty. “We’ve traced his movements. He’s been in the same places as you on multiple occasions. We have enough evidence to bring him in.”
I stare down at my hands, my fingers trembling slightly. It doesn’t feel real.
Tad’s phone buzzes, breaking the silence in the room. He glances at the screen, his face lighting up with something I can’t quite read.
He answers the call, stepping back slightly as he listens.
I watch him closely, my heart thudding in my chest as I wait for him to speak. Finally, he turns to us, his voice calm but firm. “They’ve got him.”
The room is silent for a moment, the words hanging in the air like a weight.
Theo’s hand tightens around mine, and Devon lets out a slow breath through the speakerphone. But I just sit there, frozen, unable to fully grasp what’s happening.
“They’ve arrested him?” I ask, my voice wavering.
Tad nods. “Yeah. He’s in custody. It’s over, Grace.”
It’s over. Just like that.
But it doesn’t feel over. It feels like there’s still something lingering like the fear hasn’t left my body yet. I don’t feel relieved, or safe, or… anything. I feel numb.
Theo squeezes my hand, pulling me out of my thoughts. “You’re safe now,” he says softly, his eyes full of reassurance.
I want to believe him. I want to feel the weight lift off my shoulders, to feel like I can finally breathe again. But all I can think of is: Could it really be that easy?
I pull my hand away from Theo’s and stand up, needing to move, needing to do something other than sit here and feel this empty confusion. I start pacing the room, my mind racing.
“I don’t get it,” I say, my voice growing more agitated as I turn to face them. “Why didn’t I see this coming? Why didn’t I realize it was him?”
“You couldn’t have known,” Devon says gently. “He went out of his way to change his appearance, to make sure you wouldn’t recognize him. This isn’t your fault, Grace.”
“I should have seen something,” I insist. “I should have noticed the way he was acting before I fired him. I should have?—”
“Grace, stop.” Theo interrupts, pulling me back from the edge of my spiraling thoughts. “You’re not responsible for this. He’s the one who chose to do this, not you. You did nothing wrong.”
I want to believe him. I want to believe that this is all on Andrew, that none of this was my fault. But a part of me can’t shake the guilt, the feeling that I should have seen the signs.
That I should have done something sooner.
Tad steps closer, his expression softening as he speaks. “The important thing now is that he’s in custody. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
I nod, but the motion feels mechanical, like I’m just going through the motions. I should feel something. Relief, anger, anything. But all I feel is exhaustion.
“Could it really be that easy?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. “Just like that… he’s gone?”
Tad exchanges a glance with Theo before answering. “It won’t be easy. There’s still going to be an investigation, a trial. But right now, you’re safe. That’s what matters.”
Safe.
The word feels foreign, like it doesn’t belong to me anymore. I’ve spent so long living in fear that I don’t know how to let it go.
I nod slowly, trying to absorb their words. “Okay. I… I just need some time to process this.”
“Of course,” Theo says, his voice gentle. “Take all the time you need.”
He starts to pull away, but I stop him, reaching out to grab his hand. I don’t know why, but I need to feel his presence right now. I need to know that I’m not alone in this, even if it doesn’t feel real yet.
He looks down at our hands, then back up at me, his expression softening. He squeezes my hand gently, grounding me in the moment.
For now, that’s enough.