Page 86 of Affliction

“Oh. Yeah, sure,” I said, taking one last glance at him. He nodded his head slightly. Had I not been studying him so closely, I would have missed it.

Chad was in LA.

Chad was in LA.

That was the sentence my brain kept repeating as I made my way back to the office with Ally. When did this happen? I thought he’d left? I thought I was safe.

Chad was in LA.Fuck, I couldn’t believe he was back.

Just as we were about to enter the front door of our building, I saw him again. This time, he was across the street, sitting on a bench. There was a coffee cup in his hand from the shop he had been standing outside of. His eyes were still fixated on me. Had he followed us? What did he know? And why was he back?

A million questions were swirling through my mind as Ally led me back into the building.

“What’s up with you? Did you get knocked around harder than I thought?” Ally asked.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You’ve been like a zombie since that man almost knocked you over.”

“Oh, that. I’m fine.” I tried to sound convincing, but I could tell from the way Ally was staring at me that I had failed. “Seriously, I’m fine.” I tried to make my voice sound stronger, but Ally wasn’t buying it.

“Yeah, sure.” Her blue eyes studied me closely as I headed into my office. “I’ll be out here if you need anything.”

“Okay, thanks,” I called over my shoulder. I lowered myself into the black chair behind my desk and placed my head in my hands. What was he doing back? Was he outside of my office because he wanted to talk to me? How had he found me this fast? The Inlet Ball wasn’t that long ago.

What would I do?I wondered as something red caught my eye. Looking over at the side table, I saw them: red roses sat in a glass vase on my table.

“Ally!” I cried out, making my way over to them. “Get in here.”

Grabbing the card, I felt my whole world shift as I read the words.

So proud of you, baby girl. C

The color drained from my face, and my hands were shaking when I held out the card to Ally.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” she asked me, not taking the card.

“Read it,” I told her, my voice shaking.

Ally did as I asked, took the card, and read it.

“Fuck,” Ally said after she finished.

“Not a word of this to Terry,” I told her.

She stared at me, puzzled. “What? Don’t you think he should know about this?”

“No, I don’t. Please, let’s just keep this between you and me for right now.”

“Mia.” Her tone was one of disapproval.

“Ally, please. Just do as I ask,” I pleaded.

Finally, she nodded. “Okay, fine. All right, I’ll keep it between us. But promise me something. If you see him, or if anything else happens, you’ll tell me. We’ll figure out how to handle it together. Don’t go through this alone.”

I nodded.

“Mia, promise me,” she said again. Her voice was stern and motherly.

“I promise I will,” I told her. There were some things I would tell her and some things about what happened back then that would remain a secret. Some things that happened now too, like seeing Chad outside twice in the span of five minutes. Those types of things would stay hidden for now. First, I needed to know what I was dealing with and what he wanted.

---