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I stand frozen for three precise breaths, allowing my initial reaction – jealousy, fear, anger – to settle as her words register in my mind.
He threatened me. If I said anything else, he’d kill me.
Why hadn’t I come back? I’d wanted to. I sat in my fucking car for ten minutes after she’d gone inside, debating whether to go back in, but decided we’d both be better off with a good night’s sleep. Told myself she would have invited me in if she wanted me to stay.
I hadn’t stopped thinking about her even for a minute since last night, finding myself constantly licking my lips all morning, remembering the taste of her.
Her soft cry cuts through my thoughts, piercing my heart like a knife.
I sit down next to her, resting a hand on her back, the jealousy gone, replaced by worry.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
After a moment, the sound of a slight laugh surprises me as Lila lifts her head, wiping her face. Her mascara is smeared under her eyes and her cheeks are red and blotchy, yet somehow, she still looks beautiful.
“I bet most girls don’t cry this much after a first date with you,” she says, a half-smile playing on her lips as she wipes her eyes, the sleeve of my hoodie wet with her tears.
I smile at her, placing a hand on the side of her neck as any memory of pain in my chest fades away, replaced by warmth.
“You are nothing like most girls.”
Her eyes meet mine, and the trust I see there – despite everything – makes me realise one thing with burning clarity. I won’t let anyone hurt her.
If there’s anything I can do to make things better, I will.
“I’m sorry,” she says again. “I should have called you last night. I didn’t want to scare you.”
“You absolutely should have called.”
Lila drops her head with a nod and looks down at her palms.
“How did he know you lived here?” I ask, my mind finally clearing enough to think straight.
“I don’t know. But I think he’s following me.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I was out for a run this morning, just before I called you, and a black car drove past. I didn’t think much of it at first, but I took a different road just in case. Then it drove past again, and…” She starts to explain, but stops herself, taking a deep breath as tears well in her eyes again.
“Come here.” I pull her in against my chest, wrapping my arms around her tight. “It’ll be alright. We’ll figure this out.”
She takes a deep breath and sits up. “I got so scared, Marcus. I ran home as fast as I could and called you the second I got in.”
“You did the right thing,” I assure her. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”
We sit together on the couch for several moments, holding hands in silence as I consider our options.
I go over every detail we told the police last night.
How quickly would they catch him if we don’t say anything? And would harm come to her if we did?
No. I’m not going to let that happen.
“We’ll wait it out,” I say, making a decision. “We won’t say anything.”
Lila nods.
“If they are watching us, they’ll see that we’re just going about our daily lives. No police stations, no meetings, nothing suspicious. And hopefully, within a day or two, the police will find them and it’ll all be over.”