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She drops to the ground at the side of me like a sack of potatoes, her legs resting on mine. With my forearm wrapped around my middle I shove her legs from me and try to move away from her.
Everett runs over to me and drops to his knees by my side.
“Oh my god, Ev. I didn’t think you’d ever find me.”I look into his eyes and a sense of home fills me. His normal fun-loving emerald gaze turns into a deep shade of fern and I soon get lost in them.
“Fuck, Rae. Are you okay?” Capturing my head in his hands, he does a quick scan of my face. “God, I thought that was it. I thought I’d lost you. I love you so much!”
It’s all too much, I bury my head in his shoulder and neck. Him being here and rescuing me brings me to tears. My ribs are killing me, and my cheek is burning where she hit me.
“Stay where you are!” a voice yells from the doorway. The police are now on the roof with us, guns trained our way.
I begin to raise my hands in the air. I’m too scared to move too quickly.
“Miss, you need to stay right there,” the officer calls out. I look behind me and see Margie crawling to the edge of the roof. Everett keeps me tucked against his chest.
She doesn’t stop. I watch as she pushes herself up to her feet. There’s blood dripping down the side of her head from a gaping wound from where I hit her.
“Margie, don’t. You don’t have to do this.” She doesn’t listen though. She steps up onto the ledge. “I won’t press charges. Just step down from the ledge, please.”
“Why should I trust you? It’s your fault I’m here now.” She looks at me and Everett, then at the police.
“Margie, I swear I didn’t know. We were in college. Luis told me you were over, otherwise I never would have started dating him.”
“Fuck you. You don’t mean anything you say. And anyway, it’s too late.” She laughs, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Ruining your life was easier than I thought it would be. It was even easier to blame you for losing that account.”
The police take small steps closer and she stops.
“Don’t come any closer or I swear I’ll fucking jump.”
“Miss, you need to step down, now.”
“My life is over.”
“Give me your hand. I can help you.” Crouching back down to the ground, I hold out my hand to her, trying not to spook her.
She looks at me carefully, probably trying to figure out if I’m being honest. Carefully, bending down she reaches out, our fingers almost touching.
“No one can help me.”
I reach out to her, her gaze never leaving mine. The tips of our fingers hook, and just as I think she’s safe, she grins and leans away from me. With her fingers slipping from mine, she disappears from sight. I jolt forward but Everett holds me back, wrapping his arms around my body and pulls me in to him. My shocked gaze stays fixed on the empty space before me and all the breath I had in my body leaves me in a horrified scream.
She’s gone.
Not quite believing what has just happened, I bury my face into Everett’s chest. The spicy smell of his aftershave tells me it’s him.
It surrounds me completely. And suddenly I feel safe.
Epilogue
Reagan
As I look back over the last two years, it’s crazy to think that I’ve gotten this far. But Everett has been by my side through everything; the psychiatrist visits, the sleepless nights, the night terrors. I’m not sure I could have made it through all the shit without him. I’d lie awake for hours, fearing what I would see when I closed my eyes, the vivid images of that day on the roof with Margie. Sometimes I would even dream that she succeeded in pushing me off the roof, and I’d wake up wringing in sweat, crying out.
Margie Campbell definitely left a lasting impression on my life, but with help I’ve come to understand that she was sick. Apparently, that mindless act of stealing her boyfriend back in college sparked a series of events in her life that had a cumulative effect on her mental health and well-being. One bad event spiralled into another and there was only one answer in her mind—revenge. All she could see was what had caused it, and that was me. Obviously seeing my name and hearing about me doing so well had caused her to see red. She hated me, and that became an obsession for her.
I gave the police the address I had on file for her at work, and when they went to her apartment, they found a locked room with a corkboard on the wall. On it was my picture, my name, newspaper clippings. The picture that was taken of Everett and I at that fucking charity ball, was plastered all over front covers of the business magazines. She’d literally followed my whole life. They showed me pictures of my brother and Ruby. She knew every weakness I had and used it against me. Well apart from Ruby, I guess she knew that she wouldn’t be able to break that forcefield. They even found photos of me and Everett running together in Central Park, and of Everett coming to my apartment and leaving. She knew everything. She was watching every move I made, and for god knows how long. Nobody really knows. I never did find out where the roses came from, but I assumed it was her trying to frighten me.
I’m not saying I’d like to get inside her head, because I’m sure there was a lot more in her life than just me stealing her boyfriend. But my psychiatrist found a way of putting it into simple terms for me to start to understand, and I think I finally do. I just wish I could have helped her.
