Page 24 of Hate It with You

I don’t want to do this, but I never want to see that look on Beth’s face again.

Since I’ve offered Beth free Wi-Fi in her lease, I can access her search history. I only pull her Wi-Fi history from the past two weeks and make sure I skim the results. In an effort to maintain some of her privacy, I’m only scanning for potential red flags that could provide insight into her situation.

Pretty sure you’re the only red flag here.

I curse at the voice in my head and continue my search. Nothing comes up until I reach today's search history. Time-stamped for shortly after Beth returned to her apartment.

Self-defense videos, self-defense for women, tips for women living alone, beginner self-defense classes…

For the past two hours, Beth has been researching self-defense. Part of me is proud of her for taking it upon herself to learn a life-saving skill, and the other part of me can’t help but wonder why she didn’t come to me.

Because you’ve been a complete asshole to her, idiot.

The voice in my head isn’t completely wrong. Nevertheless, I own a boxing gym, for fuck’s sake. I have the perfect layout for teaching her self-defense, and I’m only next door.

Although I should know better than to think she’d want to train with me, especially considering my current invasion of her privacy.

One more glance at the coffee table and I know it’s worth it. If she hates me, then let her hate me, but I refuse to see that terrified look on her face again.

My arms reach toward the ceiling, stretching my limbs as I make my way back to the living room. Picking up the small piece of paper, I read the note again. My anger returns in an instant.

Snatching the items off the coffee table, I throw them in the trash near my front door. There’s no need to keep these around any longer. Beth especially doesn’t need to see them again.

Exhaustion sets deep into my bones, the sun long gone and the moon high in the sky. I trudge back to my desk, working to think through a plan to keep Beth safe. I may not have all the details, or any for that matter, but I refuse to let anything happen to her.

Opening my laptop again, I begin my search for the highest tech cameras I can find, selecting the option that bleeds my wallet dry for overnight shipping.

I’ll install these tomorrow, so I can keep an eye on things. Now I just need to convince her to take self-defense lessons from me.

11

BETH

Still on edge from the teddy bear package I received yesterday, I decided to open my shop up later than normal. From what I can tell, there’s no pattern or consistency to his notes. He’s merely sending shit whenever he feels like it.

The unpredictability of it all constantly churns my stomach with unease.

Without enough work to keep me busy, nothing has been able to distract me from the fear of knowing another note could show up any second.

When I signed the lease, I was blinded by the low cost and didn't take the time to consider the area's traffic. Or lack thereof.

Alex’s gym isn’t any busier, but at least he has his regulars. I’ve seen the same cars pull in and out of here over the past couple of weeks, so I’ve gotten to learn what they look like. Still, no new cars are pulling through.

Now I understand why the building to my left is empty.

With no customers to tend to, I’ve kept myself busy reorganizing the bookshelves in my store, only to end up back where I started. To my already slim wallet's dismay, I had preemptively ordered another case of books during opening weekend since I had a decent number of customers. Staring down at the cart full of books, next to the bookshelf filled from end to end with books, I’m hit over the head with my mistake.

Pushing the full book cart back to my storage room, I’ve given up trying to make space for these on my shelves. I should probably be brainstorming ideas to get more customers, but every time I sit down to work through my business problems, my mind flashes back to the notes.

No, if I keep moving and keep busy, I keep him off my mind. I refuse to let his bullshit get to me.

With so few shelves and so little space in the back, I busy myself by snagging a few empty boxes from the top shelf and consolidating them into one. The result leaves me a sliver of space on the steel shelves in the back for my overstock.

Grabbing a few books from the cart, I reach my full height, placing my weight on my toes as I attempt to put the books on the top shelf. When I do, I’m blinded by a flash in the upper corner of my back room by the door leading to the stairwell. Taking a second look, my stomach hollows out at the sight of what’s there.

Who the fuck put a camera back here?

I’m not sure if it’s always been here and I haven’t noticed it, but…no. It hasn’t. Blood pulses through my veins rapidly when I take a step back, looking around the room for more cameras. I don’t notice any more in the storage room, so my feet carry me out into my bookstore, searching the top corners of the room.