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She bit her bottom lip for a moment before turning to look at me. She studied me for a moment before pointing forward. “You’re losing him,” she said.
I looked behind my shoulder and saw the guy getting to his hands and knees. When I turned back to Delia, she was pulling out of her parking spot, waving at me.
I watched her leave for a minute, and she stopped at a red light. I glanced back at the man, torn between my principles and her safety. I wanted to know that she got home safely.
I felt the anger brimming inside me as I imagined my late wife in the same situation, scared for her life right before she lost it. I could never fix it for her.
I had a moment where I realized that normally, in a situation so close to one of my traumas, I would be going through flashbacksbanging at the back of my head. But for some reason, I didn’t feel any flashbacks or panic coming. They’d been replaced by pure anger and disgust. I only cared about Delia.
I stomped over to the guy as he got to his feet, and I fit his neck into the crook of my elbow again, muttering into his ear, “I want you to remember how easily I can take you down the next time you fuck with a woman and especially that woman. Never come back here, do you hear me?”
He blubbered, “Yes,” his voice thick as I choked him.
I let him go, and as he started running down the street, the bottoms of his feet slapping against the pavement, the sound of sirens started nearing.
“FUCK!” I screamed to no one in particular, to the void, and got into my car to follow Delia and make sure she got home safely.
fifteen
Delia
The light turned green, and I looked in my rearview mirror at Robert, in his car behind me, staring me down.
What does he think he’s doing? Why is he following me?
I knew he wanted to drive me home, but this seemed kind of extreme, even for him. I kept it up for a few more blocks, waiting to see if he would eventually turn a different way and leave, but he didn’t.
At one point, he waved at me, and I rolled my eyes. He was relentless. First, he calls me reckless, and then he follows me.
What does he want from me?
I thought he was going to stay with the creep and make sure he got arrested tonight.
Eventually, I gave up and pulled over at a gas station. I parked and watched him pull up next to me.
From his car, Robert smiled sheepishly, and I laid my head against the headrest in my car. He was right. I was emotional. And I shouldn’t drive. Sighing, I parked the car and stepped out.
I heard him unlock his doors, and I got into the passenger side, saying, “Look, if you’re just going to follow me the whole time, then fine, you can drive me.”
I buckled my seatbelt and looked over at Robert. He was suppressing a grin, I could tell. “Don’t look so happy about it, please.”
“Okay, sorry. So which direction are we going? I just want to get you there safely. I couldn’t let you leave and not know that you got home safely; it didn’t feel right.”
“But following me home is just fine in your book?”
“I realize the lapse in logic now, but at the time, yes, it seemed to make sense.”
I looked at him curiously. He seemed like he was being honest. He really didn’t see anything wrong with it.
“Okay. Well, my house is pretty far away. And it’s almost morning already. How about you just take me to your place?” I asked. “Is that okay? Do you have a guest room I could sleep in for a couple of hours? I’m really just so exhausted.”
“Of course, that’s perfectly fine,” he said, the last words I heard as I drifted off to sleep.
I woke up in the passenger seat of Robert’s car to his hand on my forehead, pushing my bangs back. I opened my eyes slowly, exhaustion like a weighted blanket over my body, and he quickly pulled his hand away. “Um,” he cleared his throat and gestured with his chin at the windshield, “we’re here.”
“Oh, sorry, I guess I fell asleep. I had a long day.”
“That’s okay, I understand,” he said, as I unbuckled my seatbelt.