Page 88 of Fall to Me
I know for a fact that I saw this guy following me through the store the other day, and he was behind me at the coffee shop.
I stand, looking for security.
“What's going on?” Hannah asks.
“I need security,” I tell her, loud enough for the people around me to hear.
He sighs. “Please, sit down.”
“Fuck you,” I spit back, still craning my neck to find help.
“I was hired by your husband.”
I glare at him, knowing there is no way Carter would ever go behind my back and have someone follow me without telling me.
“You’re lying.” I shake my head. “He wouldn’t do that to me. He wouldn’t hide something like that from me.”
“Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but it’s the truth.”
My face becomes hot with fury.
I call out to him over the roaring crowd as the puck drops. “Well, I hate to break it toyou, but if what you’re saying is the truth, you’re fired.”
His blue eyes pin me in place. “That’s not how this works, River. We really need to talk.”
I point my finger in his face. “You listen here?—”
Hannah places a hand on my arm, and I turn to her. As she shakes her head, I glance around, noticing people watching us. How dare he do this behind my back? I’ve seen this man following me. I’ve felt eyes on me this past week, but I thought I was just being paranoid because of everything that happened. Tears sting the back of my eyes.
I’d probably be more understanding if he would’ve talked to me first, instead of making this decision without me and keeping me in the dark.
The game continues, and I can’t even be excited for Carter’s break out or his goal. I’m too fucking mad to even concentrate on the game. I stand, and the asshole behind me stands too.
“Do you mind? I have to pee,” I glare at him.
“I’ll come with. Like I said, we need to talk, and away from the crowd would be more preferable.”
“Like hell. I don’t know you, and I sure the fuck don’t trust you.”
I grab hold of Hannah’s hand and pull her up. We scoot by fans as we make our way through the aisle and to the stairs. I look back to find the man following behind us. The crowd goes nuts, and I look over his shoulder to see what’s going on. Carter skates toward our section, his stick up in the air, excitement on his face. He’ll soon find those seats empty. And they’ll stay that way the rest of this game.
Hannah and I hid in the ladies’ room until the game was over, and when we emerged, the guy was no longer there. When I asked Carter after the game about him hiring someone to babysit me, his eyes said everything his voice didn’t. When he tried to apologize and explain his reasons for hiring security for me, I ignored him, staring out the window like he wasn’t even there. It might be acting childish, and judge me as you may, but you try being stalked by your ex and then find out your current husband hired someone to follow you around without your knowledge. It hit me the wrong way.
I slam the front door behind me and head to my old room.
“Where are you going?”
“To my room to take a shower. Want to call your minions over to watch me do that too?” I spit. “I’m sure one of them would love to come scrub my back.”
He follows me into my old room, backing me up against the wall and caging me in with his arms beside my head. My erratic heart pulses loudly in my ears as he growls, “I’ve had enough of your little hissy fit.”
“And I’ve had enough of you trying to be the hero in my story. Always the knight in shining armor. Oh look, Carter’s here tosave the goddamn day. I don’t need you to save me. I can save myself.”
His face becomes angry, and his nostrils flare. “So that’s how you see me?” He pushes off the wall and backs away from me. “As someone with a hero complex?”
I lift my chin, not giving him an answer.
“A husband issupposedto protect his wife!” he yells, his voice cracking as he paces the floor in front of me. “But I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you don’t know that’s part of my job.”
