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Chapter Fifteen
Emily
I’m so giddy after Hunter and I trade numbers that I almost don’t see the silver shadow that follows me home that night. Almost. But even excitement can’t dull the instincts that I’ve honed over the horrible months since my relationship with Jay fell apart in a hurricane of hate.
I spot him behind me when I’m halfway home, driving his silver sports car and staying just far enough behind me to maintain plausible deniability. That, and to stay outside the dictated range of the restraining order.
Carefully, I take out my phone and dial Sophie.
“Hey Em, you calling to gloat about getting Hunter’s number?” She says cheerily. “I’ll say up front I am jealous.”
“That’s not exactly the reason I’m calling.”
“You should gloat. Maybe we were wrong about him, maybe he’s craving the responsible librarian type. Some guys have that fantasy, you know.”
“Soph, I’m well aware that guys wanting to have sex with quiet librarians is a thing, but that’s not why I called you. I called because Jay’s at it again.”
“Seriously? I thought he’d finally gotten the message and learned to lay the fuck off, especially after you slapped a restraining order on him. Do you want me to call Harper and we can break his kneecaps with a baseball bat? Just say the word, because we would love to teach that creepy fuck a lesson.”
“No.” I smile. They’d do it, too. I even had to stop them, once, when all this first started and they got the full story out of me about all the things Jay had put me through. Not that I haven’t wanted to hurt Jay, but I don’t want to face life with both of my best friends in jail for assault. “I just want to keep you on the line while I drive home. That way there’s a witness and, well, you can call the police if he tries anything.”
“Sure, though I still think you should let us rough him up a little. How about we run him over with my car?”
“It’s a thought.” I smile as I take a turn. Once or twice, I tap my breaks to let Jay know that I’m on to him. He flashes his lights in return.
Another turn, and the distance between us shrinks.
“Hey, Soph?”
“Yeah, Em? What is it?”
I reach a four-way intersection and roll to a stop at the red light. Jay’s car comes up close behind mine. Then even closer. His front end touches my rear bumper, and then he puts more pressure on the gas, pushing me forward. I have to slam on the brakes to hold my car in place. Gears and joints and other metal parts in my car howl at me angrily. I look in the rearview mirror and I see Jay’s face, illuminated in the red of my brake lights. He looks upset, no, angry, no, furious in a way that I only saw him once before. I still have a scar from that time.
“Soph, I think he’s trying to kill me. I’m at an intersection and he’s trying to push my car into the middle with his car.”
“Holy fuck, Em, that’s crazy.”
“I know. What do I do?”
“Stop trying to stop. Just because you’re at a red light, you don’t have to stay there, especially if your ex-boyfriend is trying to murder you. Step on the gas, Em.”
My foot trembles on the brake pedal, but Sophie's urgency breaks through my paralysis. I press down on the gas, hard. My tires screech as they find traction, and my car jumps forward into the intersection. Horns blare and headlights flash as other drivers slam on their brakes to avoid hitting me. My heart pounds in my chest like a war drum.
Jay’s car follows, relentless as a predator closing in on wounded prey. I can see him in my rearview mirror, his eyes wild and unhinged. He swerves slightly, his bumper nearly clipping a passing minivan.
“Sophie, he’s still following me.”
“Go to the police station,” she says.
“No, I can’t,” I say, my voice shaking even more. “His friend works the night shift. I don’t want to deal with that.”
The sound of a blaring horn makes me yelp, and I look in my mirror to see him, mouth open, eyes wide, swerving right toward me. I yank the steering wheel and veer out of the way. He speeds by and then slams on the brakes, smoke billowing from his tires, the air perfumed with the acrid scent of burned rubber.
“Em, I can hang up and call Hunter. He’ll know what to do. I bet he can chase Jay off.”
The idea flashes through my mind, then I get rid of it just as quickly. What parent would want a person with a crazed stalker hanging around their child?
“No, that’s not a good idea, Sophie.”
