Page 55 of Look My Way
Banging has my eyes widening in horror. The loud pounding of fists is joined by Daniel’s screams. “What the hell is going on, Liam? Why is this door locked? Where are you?”
“He’s awake and you—” I turn around to face him, words caught in my dry throat.
“I put something on the outside of the door to keep him from opening it.”
“He’s mad. I have to—”
He grips my chin, shaking his head. “There’s no need to rush. He’s not getting out anytime soon. Make him wait like he does you.”
“I’m going to have to open the door and he’ll ask why I locked it. Then what?”
He smiles, dragging a thumb over my lips. “Then make him feel like he’s crazy. Like he’s losing his mind. That it was all in his head.”
“What?” My chest rises and falls heavily. Yes, I’ve suspected that’s what Daniel does, but how would he know? Would he really? Or is this something he’s just spewing?
“You heard me. It’s what he does to everyone around him, making himself look like the sane hero. I paid your sister a visit this morning at her smoothie shop. She misses you and says Daniel keeps saying you don’t want anything to do with them. They were never the problem.”
No. That can’t be right. The letters I got . . . the last Christmas card . . . Daniel brought them to me himself, already opened, from my mailbox. Anger and confusion rear their ugly heads inside me. I hear Zavier’s words, but Daniel’s are still there too. So are mine from the last years of matching doubts and blame.
“You saw my sister?” is all I can manage.
He nods, bending down to retrieve something from his pocket. The paper he slips into my hand has a number on it with the name written above.
Tabitha.
I suck my teeth. That’s not the number I have. Not the one Daniel gave me. However, it is the one he said was a spam caller and blocked it for me while I was so focused on my work.
Daniel yells my name again, his banging vibrating through the house. “What the hell. Where are you, baby?”
Zavier squeezes my shoulder and kisses the top of my head. “You’re finally seeing, aren’t you? Not just what’s here between us, but you’re seeing him too. Keep looking, carino, and when it becomes clear enough to you, it’s going to be up to you to decide what to do next.” He kisses my cheek, slinking back to the ground to grab his clothes. He quickly tugs them on and then helps me with mine, cleaning up around me as I finish coming down from my orgasm. “Call the number when you’re ready. Talk to your sister. Get back what he’s taken from you.”
I slowly nod, reaching for the paper again to shove it in my pocket. “My family misses me,” I hear myself say, sounding like a stranger to my own ears.
“Yes. They do. They love you. Daniel doesn’t love anyone but himself.”
I look down the hall, at the door being met with Daniel’s fist over and over. I walk toward the sound and Zavier grabs my hand as I subconsciously hold it out behind me. We tread down the hall together and he holds me back as he wraps his hand tightly around the knob, motioning for me to remove the door jam.
Daniel leans his whole weight on the door, panting. “Baby? You there?”
“Yes,” I say, making my voice sound groggy. “Sorry. I fell asleep watching TV after you went to lie down, and the door sometimes jams. I need to get it fixed.”
“I went to lie down? When?”
“After dinner,” I lie. Something he should be familiar with. My eyes dart toward Zavier and he nods in encouragement. “You complained of a headache.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t remember any of that. If we already ate, I would know.” I can imagine him rubbing his fingers at his temples, his eyes squinting.
“Probably from how tired you’ve been. You’re running yourself ragged at work. I think the stress is getting to you, baby,” I say, doing my best sincere voice. “You probably should go lie back down and sleep.”
“Can you please open this door so we can have this conversation like normal people?”
“Yeah. You’ll have to step away from the door.”
He sighs harshly. “Fine. Just hurry, please.”
Zavier lets go and rubs a hand down the center of my back on his way to the kitchen. I turn to face the door and when I whip my head back, he’s gone. I face where Daniel is again and bang on the edges, making up shit as I go and grabbing the handle to jiggle it. It swings open minutes later and Daniel’s face is flushed, his clothes disheveled. He’s normally so put together, but now he’s looking the way he makes me feel every day. Good.
“What the fuck was that?” He scratches his head, his shoulder bumping mine as he exits my room.
