Page 46 of Perfect
She doesn’t talk to me.
I take her home and get her upstairs, where she sits on the bed staring blankly at the wall while I unpack her small bag, putting everything back where I know it goes. I feel like such a fuck up as I sit next to her and pull her close, ignoring her flinch when I kiss her temple.
“Sweetheart, everything is going to work out, okay?”
“Okay.” Her voice is quiet and soft, and a wave of relief washes through me. I don’t know what changed, and I’m not going to ask. I hold her tight, ignoring the fact that she keeps flinching whenever I touch her.
We don’t really talk after that. She gets up and starts getting ready for bed like nothing’s wrong, and I make her dinner while she takes a long time in the bathroom. When I look at the cameras, she’s lying in the bathtub, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes. She eventually comes into the kitchen wearing my college sweater and soft leggings, looking a little lost and ignoring me entirely. She eats very little of her dinner as she watches an episode of some soapy teen drama she’s rewatching, and I stay in the kitchen, cleaning slowly, giving her as much space as possible in the small apartment.
When she turns off the TV and finally looks at me, my heart jumps into my throat.
“Are you staying?” she asks in a small voice, and I grip the kitchen counter until my knuckles turn white. I know I shouldgo, even though I don’t want to. She’s had such a tough weekend, and I think she probably wants to be alone, so I’m going to do what I should for once in my fucking life.
I shake my head. “I was going to go home, if that’s okay with you. I think we need to take this a little slower.” Her eyebrows raise in surprise. “How about I make you dinner on Wednesday?”
“Okay.” She bites her lip, taking a few quick breaths. “Are you going to have sex with me?” I tamp down the flare of desire I feel at the idea as I stare at her, trying hard to read her.
She didn’t ask ifwewere going to have sex, so I’m going to play it safe.
“Um, you seem tired, so…no?” She visibly relaxes, and we stare at each other for a minute before I grab my keys off the counter. I step towards her slowly, leaning down to kiss her, and she flinches a little.
I fuckinghatethat.
“I’ll see you soon, okay?”
15
ALEX
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
I curl up on my couch and stare out the living room window, drifting between numbness and panic as I try to wrap my mind around the situation I’ve found myself in.
The guy I have a crush on broke into my house, tied me down, raped me,andhe thinks we’re dating. I need to figure out how to escape him, but I can’t run from him like I did from Danny.
I have no idea what to do.
My phone chimes, startling me, and I see a new contact name pop up.
Theo, 1:49 AM:
Sweetheart, go to bed. It’s late.
How would he know I’m awake? It’s not like he can see me or -
I stare at the phone, horror piercing through the confusion.
Oh my god, he’s got cameras in my house. How long has he been watching me? Where are the cameras? I look around quickly, but I can’t see anything obvious. What should I even be looking for? I pull out my laptop to search for surveillance equipment, but my search engine glitches and shuts down. I try it twice more, but it does the same thing each time.
Is he in mylaptop?I need a fucking drink.
I open my fridge, finding it packed with more food than I can reasonably eat. It looks like a health food store exploded in my fridge. There are glass containers with sticky notes on them, and neat, blocky handwriting listing what’s inside, the date it was made, and reheating instructions. I pull one of the containers out and stare at the salmon, vegetables, and rice suspiciously. I do some rough math, and indignation flares through me.
This asshole is fuckingdietingme.
I worked so hard to get my life under my control, and he’s taking it all away from me. I can’t go to the cops or get a rape kit, because if my real name goes into the system, Danny will find me. I can’t run, because Theo’s tracking me somehow besides my phone. I’d look up ways to track people, but my laptop is no longer a resource. I reach for my phone and then pause, considering. He had it all weekend. Can you even hack a phone? Probably.
Fuck. I’m trapped.
