CHAPTER SIXTEEN – PENNY
The rest of the afternoon flowed by me in a surreal blur. My mother promptly took me down to the police station to file a report. I spoke to a couple of kind and understanding police officers, and now, I clutched a small paper that one of the officers had handed me-- a protective order.
It was such an innocent looking piece of paper, but it meant no more phone calls, even the ones where Dylan didn’t say a word, and no more messages through various apps to disguise himself. It was over. Finally over.
My mother and I left the police station, and we climbed into the back seat of the SUV Gabriel insisted that we take.
She smoothed a hand over my forehead. “I’m so sorry, honey. Please forgive me for not listening to you in the first place. I feel like such an idiot. How could I have been so blind?”
“It’s fine, Mom,” I said, my eyes slipping closed under the gentle touch. “It’s finished now. The police are going to pick him up, and he won’t be bothering us anymore.”
“I can’t believe he tried to force himself on you.”
The pit of my stomach churned, and the memory of it crashed over me again. I had stepped out of the shower to get dressed, with a towel wrapped around me, and I found Dylan standing in my bedroom. I couldn’t shake the memory of that terrible look in his eyes. It was a look of pure obsession, of someone wanting something so desperately that they were willing to do whatever it took to get it. That was what Dylan looked like as he approached me. He had his hands held up in the air in front of him, in a gesture that signaled he meant no harm, which was bullshit.
When I had darted for the bedroom door, he reached out to pull me down onto the bed. He’d been lightning fast, and I didn’t have a chance to get away. I barely remembered screaming when he climbed on top of me, but it had been enough to startle him. Thankfully, it had also been enough to get Gabriel’s attention from the living room.
“And in Gabriel’s home, when you were right down the hallway. What does that tell you?”
“It tells me that you are far better at reading others than I ever thought I was.” She reached across the seat to squeeze my hand tightly. “I’m sorry, baby. I really am sorry for pushing your concerns aside because I didn’t want to believe that he was doing those horrible things to you. I promise from here on out that I will be very cautious about who comes in and out of our lives.”
I didn’t bother with a response. I just squeezed her hand gently. We rode in silence back to the condo. Exhaustion clung to my body when William dropped us off outside of the lobby. He waved goodbye as my mother looped an arm through mine to help me walk through the lobby without drawing too much attention to ourselves. The second that I walked in through the front doors of Gabriel’s condo, I was swept up into a tight hug by Alyssa.
“I’m so sorry,” Alyssa cried, hugging me tightly. “I should’ve been here to watch your back, Penny. I hope you can forgive me for being selfish and spending all this time with Scott.”
“You weren’t being selfish,” I said and patted her back soothingly. “I’m honestly going to be fine. Really. Don’t worry about me. Everything is okay now.”
I looked up from Alyssa’s shoulder to see Gabriel standing in the foyer as well. Several powerful emotions danced in his eyes, but he didn’t say a word. He didn’t step forward, either, because Alyssa and my mother were in the same room. I was grateful that he kept his distance. In my current state, I wouldn’t be able to resist throwing myself into his comforting arms. Those strong arms that had saved me from Dylan.
Gabriel’s eyes conveyed everything I needed to feel better, though. He was upset about what had happened under his own roof.
“What did the police say?” Gabriel asked.
My mother took my coat while I shrugged out of it. “A protective order is now in place,” my mother said. “She also has to block all accounts and numbers, so we need to call the phone company for that one.”
“A new phone would be better,” Gabriel said. “A new number where he has no way of figuring out how to get past those blocks. It’ll make things a lot easier.”
“No offense guys,” I said. “But I really need to get some sleep. I’m just so worn out after everything. A few hours of rest will make me feel a lot better.”
“Let’s order in some food for tonight, after you get some sleep,” Alyssa said. “Chinese food, because that’s what we get when we are having a shitty day at school.”
“Whatever you want,” Gabriel said, his eyes resting on me again. “Whatever you want, Penny. You can have it. Just say the word.”
You. I want you. I want to feel your strong arms wrapped around me. I want to thank you privately for protecting me like no one else in my life had ever done.
My mother looked over at Gabriel with a nervous look. “I have a small favor to ask of you, Gabriel.”
“Shoot,” he said. “Anything that you need, Nikki.”
“I’m not sure if Dylan has returned to the hotel room,” she said. “I don’t know where he’s gone, and I don’t want to go back there until I know the police have picked him up and he’s no longer a threat to anyone. I was hoping I could stay here until then.”
Gabriel glanced at me worriedly. Even though I could see his concern for my mother’s safety, something that I felt as well, having her underneath his roof complicated things even more for us. So far, we had lied to everyone about what was really going on. It didn’t help my guilt, seeing the worry on Alyssa’s face as she gazed over at me.
“Of course,” he said. “I can make up the couch for you. It’s comfier than most hotel beds. And you and Penny are welcome to stay here as long as you’d like.”
She nodded gratefully, and I retreated to my guestroom to collapse on the bed with a sigh. I didn’t know what else to do besides curl up in a ball and fall into a dreamless sleep. By the time I woke up hours later, it was dark in my room, aside from the little bit of light that streamed through the bottom of the door. A heavy arm was draped over my waist while a large hand splayed itself across my stomach.
After everything, it felt amazing to wake up with Gabriel beside me, like he was watching over me and keeping me safe. I sighed in contentment and curled into him, laying my head against his masculine chest, wanting nothing more than to sleep next to him like this forever.
Fear jolted through me as reality broke through the pleasant fog in my head. As good as it felt to have him next to me, he couldn’t be here, not with Alyssa and my mother in the condo. I sucked in a deep breath before twisting beneath Gabriel’s arm to face him in the dim light of the room. His eyes were wide open when I looked into them.
“What are you doing in here?” I whispered, cupping his face with my hands. “You can’t be in here. What about Alyssa and my mom?”
“It’s nearly two in the morning,” Gabriel whispered back, pulling me into him without hesitation. “I couldn’t sleep without feeling you in my arms tonight and knowing you were safe. They aren’t going to wake up, unless you make noise.”
I buried my face into his chest. “We can’t be together right now, even though I want to. Not with my mom in the living room.”
“I know, Penny,” he muttered, voice stretched thin. “I know that. I just wanted to make sure that you were going to be okay once you got up.”
“I’ll be fine, Gabriel. I promise you.”
His warm lips landed on mine through the dark with surprising accuracy. The feeling of them gliding along mine eased every bit of tension in my body. I found myself returning that kiss with just as much passion as I felt deep inside of me. I let the kiss simmer for a few precious seconds before I forced myself to pull back. I couldn’t let anything else happen with my mother now lying on the couch.
“I can’t do this,” I whispered, tracing his lips with my fingertips. “Not right now, at least. Okay?”
“I understand. Come to me if you need anything.”
He stole another quick kiss from me, and then slipped away from me on the bed before leaving the room. He pulled the door all the way shut, and darkness crashed over me. I stared up at the ceiling with tears glittering in my eyes. I wished things between us could be simple. Simple enough for me to say that I wanted him to stay with me, but I couldn’t. Not right now.