Page 40 of Darkness

Sixteen

Cain

“I leftEngland because I had a stalker.” She stops pacing in front of the desk, drinking her gin.

Stalker, now I thought it would have been because something happened, but I didn’t think it would be a stalker. With everything I found on her, I was thinking more like an abusive ex boyfriend.

She places the glass back on the desk and wipes the tears away. I want to get up and tell her I’ve got her, and no one will touch her, but something is telling me there is more she wants to say. Almost as if she’s kept this locked up and not told anyone.

She takes a deep breath and looks at me. “There is a lot, just…just give me some time and I don’t want you to hug me or say anything because I might break down.” She closes her eyes and walks over to the window.

Well, there goes the idea of comforting her.

“In your own time.” Is all I can say to her.

“One day, this guy asked me on a date. I said yes because he looked really nice. Well, we went on the date, and everything felt off. You know when you feel you should run, because nothing good will come from this but hurt. Weeks went on, and thefeeling was getting worse. I knew someone was watching me. No matter what my parents and friends thought, I knew someone was following me.” She takes another sip of her drink, and it’s taking everything in me not to ask her for a name. “I kept telling my mom I felt someone watching me, but she said everyone is watching me when I’m on the ice. But this was different. It felt cold.” She turns to face me, and she’s scared. I don’t know if it’s because of the person she’s hiding from, or what I will think.

One name is all I need to find out who this fucker is.

“One day I came back from work, and there were flowers and chocolate on my dining table, notes in my car, and presents left on my bed. The man who had become my stalker became obsessed with me. No matter how much I told him to leave me alone, or that I wanted nothing to do with him,he made up these dates we never had, or he would fight with me if I went out with my friends. My family believed me when he came to the house one day for my mom’s birthday with gifts and everything. He really thought we were in a relationship. He gave me gifts for the one-month anniversary, he knew my monthly cycle and gave me things, he was at all my figure skating practise, competitions. Everywhere.” She stops again, rubbing her arms, and I see the goosebumps appear.

If anyone knows how the past holds a hard grip on you, it’s me. It can bring memories you don’t want. I finally get up, and I grab my jacket from the back of my chair, and stand behind her, holding it for her. Without a fight she puts it on, and I watch her bringing the jacket up a little and smelling it, and she smiles.

“You smell nice.” The words escape so softly, as if she wants something good to be around her at the moment.

If only she knew I’m not a good man.

Taking another deep breath, she looks at me, and I see the tears building up again. “I went out on a date with this guy. Everyone told me I can’t have the stalker ruin my life. Hewas really nice, walked me to my apartment and kissed me goodnight. Really felt like my Prince Charming had finally come into my life.”

Fuck, I’m not her Prince Charming.

“We agreed to go on a lunch date a few days later. The perfect night turned into the worst night of my life. I showered, got into bed, and something in the pit of my stomach told me he had been in my room again, then… then out of nowhere.” She puts her hand up for me not to say anything, as I watch her down her gin in one go and there was still a bit in there. “Give me…just…” She stutters on the words.

Whatever it is she’s about to tell me, I already know I’m not going to like it. My hands ball up into a fist. I’m going to kill him. And I’m going to make it so painful he doesn’t even know what’s happening to him. Fuck, I won’t even kill him in one day. I’ll make it last.

“He…he was on top of me. He raped and beat me.” I punch the desk hard enough for me to feel it on my knuckles, but the bastard raped her, the fucking asshole beat her. She told him to fuck off, and the bastard fucking took it from her.

I look at her body, trembling. Fuck. I’m not helping her. I don’t want her to be scared of me, and I know I’m scaring her because she is already broken just telling me this.

Calm down, Cain, you need to calm down. Once you are alone, then you can lose it.

She wipes the fresh tears away. “I went to the hospital, made a report. God, the amount of reports I made on him. I lost count of them, but you can’t fight the system sometimes. It was his word against mine. No matter what, he had proof of everything, fucking everything. To the point I was the one following him, my hospital report went missing. Fucking mind games, he was turning people against me.” She shakes her head, locks eyes with me. “My parents said I wasn’t safe in England. No matter whereI go, he will find me. I left for Canada and then came here with a fake name on a driving license. Autumn-Rose is my real name. Just to enter the US, I had to use a fake ID.” She paces the room again. Is she finished so I can talk?

“I call my mom from a burner cell for three minutes because I know he has tapped their cell. Mom tells me he still comes to the house asking about me, like he’s done nothing wrong. I’m scared one day he will find me, and-” She stops, and that’s all I need to hear.

Walking over to her, I pull her in, letting her cry as much as she wants. “I don’t know what to say to you right now, but one thing I can promise is that no one will ever lay a finger on you, no one will touch you, and if they do, I will kill them.” She wraps her arms around my waist and I pull her in tighter. “That’s a promise.” I kiss the top of her head, then she backs away from me.

“I know you’re going to ask his name and why the police did nothing.”

“It was going to be my first question,” I inform her, because I’m going to research everything I can on him.

“His name is Rowan Sterling. Deputy Commissioner Rowan Sterling. He has the power to make anything disappear and make me look like I was the one who wanted him.” She looks at me, and it all makes sense why there were things I couldn’t find.

The bastard got rid of everything. He was one step ahead of her all the time. He knew how to get into her building, the hospital, everything.

Keep it together, Cain. Not for you, but for her. She needs you right now, I tell myself.

Pulling her in closer, she wraps her arms around my waist, and I feel her tears soaking through my shirt. She’s had to leave her parents and friends, all because some asshole became obsessed with her.

---