Page 69 of Need

My day was going well until I received the call from Brianna telling me Ross wanted to have coffee with her. There was no way I was allowing him into our home with her, without me there. I wasn’t thrilled about her having coffee with him at all, but she wanted to see him, and I wasn’t going to hold her hostage. She was allowed to have friends, even if I didn’t care for them. Since the call, I’d been distracted. I tried to reply to e-mails, but kept having to reread them three and four times because my mind would wander.

Calling Tom to walk her to the coffee shop only eased my mind fractionally. I trusted Tom. He’d been working the front desk for years before I bought my condo, and had always shown the highest professionalism. He’d even called me once he returned to the building, letting me know Brianna had arrived safely and met with her friend. It did nothing to calm me.

I was anxious and knew something could easily happen to trigger one of her panic attacks. She was still fragile. The littlest things set her off.

I tried to refocus on work, but it was useless. Shutting my computer down, I grabbed my jacket and went to tell Jamie I was going home for the day. At the very least, I would be closer to her. Maybe that would make me feel better.

Just as I reached my car, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Brianna’s name lit up the screen. I answered the call, but before I could get anything out, I heard her sobbing.

“I... I need you. I... I...”

“Shh. It’s okay Brianna,” I said, not wasting any time getting into my car. “Where are you?”

“C... coffee... shop.” She hiccupped.

“Are you safe?”

“Yes,” she said, seeming to have calmed down a little.

“Stay where you are, and keep talking to me. I’m on my way.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Tell me what you did this morning. Did you read any more of your book?” I was trying to distract her. Even breaking every speed law, it was going to take me at least five minutes to make the normal ten minute drive, and that was if too many red lights didn’t stop me. It was downtown Minneapolis, after all.

“Yes. Only a chapter.”

“What do you think so far?”

“I... I like the history.”

“Yes, I liked that about it, too. You don’t see that many books written about the Italian side of things during World War II.”

Pulling up to the curb outside my building, I jumped out and walked as quickly as I could to the coffee shop.

“I’m here, Brianna. Where are you?”

“In the bathroom.”

It wouldn’t have taken me long to find it even if I’d not already known where it was located. Several people were crowded around the door leading to the women’s bathroom. There with them, standing as close to the door as humanly possible, was Ross.

Pushing my way through the group of people, I reached out to open the door. Ross’s hand landed on my arm for a brief second before my glare caused him to pull it away. I walked inside leaving him, and the others, behind.

“Brianna?”

The door to the back stall flew open and Brianna appeared. Her eyes were red-rimmed from crying, and her hair was a mess.

I opened my arms and she ran into them, starting to sob again. “Shh. You’re fine now. I’m right here.” She held on tighter as I rubbed her back trying to soothe her.

I had no idea how long we stood there. It took a while for her to completely calm down, although her sobs did lessen quickly. With some paper towels, I cleaned the tearstains from her face. It would also have been nice to get her some water to drink, but short of drinking directly from the faucet that wasn’t going to happen.

“We are going to go home now.”

She nodded.

I wrapped my left arm around her, and opened the door.

There were still a few people lingering, but most had thankfully moved on. Ross, however, was one of the few remaining. He looked at me with an unsure expression before dropping his gaze to Brianna. A frown pulled at his lips, but he didn’t say anything. For that, I was grateful. I wasn’t in the mood for his attitude.

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