Steve: Hi, Carrie. Are you free for coffee later?

My phone chimes with an incoming message. I peer over at Malakai who is working on something on his laptop and turn to his direction. Before I respond to Steve, I have to let Malakai know.

“Malakai, do you remember when I told you about my attack, and the man that saved me?”

“Of course. Is everything okay?” He asks, concerned.

“Yes, yes. Well, I bumped into him yesterday morning when we were having brunch. I hadn’t seen him since the ordeal, but I always felt gratitude toward him for pulling me out that situation years ago. I want to let you know he asked to meet for coffee. He just wants to meet and catch up. That was him that just sent me a message.”

“Really, now? I’m not sure if I’m okay with my woman having coffee with another man.” He doesn’t sound mad, exactly, but I detect a hint of possessiveness that I’ve seen before.

“It’s just coffee, Malakai. I owe him that much for what he did years ago.” I stay calm on the outside, but I refuse to let him dictate my actions.

Carrie: Sure. Meet me at the same bakery at 3pm, in an hour.

“I’m not feeling good about this, Carrie, but I won’t try to control you. That’s not in my nature. I just care about you. You know that.” Malakai relents. I hear the sincerity in his tone. I also hear his frustration at the thought that I would meet with another man, even platonically.

“Thank you.”

***

I step into the same downtown bakery where just yesterday I’d seen someone from my past that I thought would never cross my path again. Though Steve and I were friendly acquaintances, it was nothing beyond that that would render the need to stay in touch after the attack.

I look around the seating area and see Steve sitting at a table in the front corner. With a coffee in hand and a plate filled with assorted pastries, I can see he’s been waiting for me. I wave then point to the counter to signal that I’m going to put my drink order in then join him.

After I order a green tea, I take a seat across from him. I’m not sure why, but he seems nervous, a little on edge. Just like yesterday. I don’t remember him being this way when I knew him before, but time changes people.

“Is everything okay, Steve? You seem nervous.” I try to calm him with a soothing voice, one usually reserved for my callers at work.

“Uh, yeah, sure. Everything is fine.” He takes a quick sip of his coffee just as a barista brings out my tea.

“All right. Let’s dig in, then. These look good.” I grab an apple turnover from the dish, along with a napkin from the dispenser on the table. We sit in awkward silence for a bit as we savor the food before us. Wiping my hands with my napkin, I swallow the bit I was chewing and break the silence.

“I know we were never really close or kept in touch, but I want to thank you again for saving me before. I think back then, I was blinded by the possibilities of what I could have with Troy to see who he truly was. He wore his possession and jealousy as part of his façade of dominance. And when it was too late, that’s when I realized I was sorely mistaken. If you hadn’t come home when you did … well I don’t want to think about what could have happened. I just felt like I never thanked you properly.”

Steve looks up from his pastry and just stares at me. I squirm a little, now the nervous one.

“Carrie, I always thought you were too good for Troy, but I didn’t want to say anything. It wasn’t my place. I wanted to say something to you about an incident with someone else he was with. Then when I found you, I felt immense guilt for holding back. That guilt was part of what led me to come to your aid.” He starts fidgeting, nervous again.

“Do you want to take a walk?” I ask, hoping some fresh air will do him some good. I didn’t think about how seeing me might dredge up the same chaotic memories, and how he might react.

“Uh, sure. Yeah.” He goes to the counter to get a couple of to-go bags and we load up, carry our drinks out the door, and start walking through downtown. Mostly we talk about work, family, any other new things since we last knew each other. I casually mention Malakai, but Steve doesn’t mention any romantic interests on his end. Before I know it, we are standing directly in front of that same apartment building that just a few short years ago, was the scene of the worst experience of my life. I start to panic inside.

“Steve, what are we doing here?”

“Well, I still live in the building, just in a different apartment. I have some things you’d left behind upstairs but never got the chance to return them. Come up with me. It will be quick. Honestly, seeing you has been good for me. I struggled for a long time after everything happened. It was difficult to come to terms with knowing your best friend nearly murdered someone in a blind rage. I couldn’t stay in that apartment anymore.”

There’s an odd tone to his voice, but I attribute it to the possibility of anxiety. I myself am even battling a panic attack just being here.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea for me to go up there. I’ve been doing fine not having to see you or Troy or even walk by this building.” Then suddenly, I start to feel a little dizzy, my legs weak beneath me.

“Steve, I don’t feel so well.” The last thing I remember is his hands around me, picking me up and carrying me inside.

***

When I come to, my head is pounding, and I feel extremely groggy. It’s almost as if I have a hangover, complete with the cottonmouth. I try to sit up but find that I’m in a bed, bound. Looking around, I see Steve sitting in an armchair in the corner of the room. As a matter of fact, the room looks nearly identical to how Troy’s was set up and decorated.

“Steve, what’s going on? What time is it?” I croak out.

Looking down at his watch, “It’s almost five p.m.” My gaze stumbles upon something startling on the wall to my right. Nearly the entire surface is covered with photos of me, some even with Malakai more recently. I try to scream, but the dryness in my throat won’t let me.

“What the actual fuck, Steve?”

“Carrie, remember when I said I thought you were too good for Troy? Well, that’s because I felt you belonged with me.” He gets up from the chair and crosses his arms. Three and a half years later, he still has the same strong stature. His body hasn’t seemed to age one bit.

“And then when you just disappeared from my life ... After I saved yours? You dismissed me completely. Your savior.” Steve walks toward the shrine of my photos and stands with his back to me, admiring his years of work, stalking me. “I’ve been watching you—”

“No shit.” I interrupt. “More like going psycho-stalker.”

“Shut up,” he responds gruffly.

“Steve, Malakai will be looking for me.” I say, trying to spook him.

“Oh, I’m sure your new play thing will be. You know, I’ve observed the two of you together. He seems like a good catch, but I’m perfect for you. You will see. If you give me the chance, I can be what you need.”

The ringing of my cell phone interrupts Steve’s speech, and he reaches in my purse to retrieve it. Looking at the screen, he turns it to show that Malakai is calling. He walks toward me, circles the screen back to him and hits the answer button, placing the call on speakerphone.

“Carrie, are you there?” Malakai asks when he doesn’t hear anyone verbally answer.

I go for the gold and let it all out. “Yes, Malakai.” I scream out. “Steve has me—” but Steve ends the call before I can give away any other information. He tosses my phone on the nightstand and backhands me across the cheek. The sudden movement brings back the dizzy feeling, and my vision blurs.

“That wasn’t smart, Carrie.” Steve tuts with a calm malice.

I close my eyes and take deep breaths to abate the pounding in my head. When I reopen them, he is standing over me. I flashback to that incident with Troy and worry about a repeat performance. I never imagined Steve doing something like this. He was always kind, quiet. They say it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.

“You know, Carrie, I always wondered what it would have been like had I gotten to you first instead of Troy. When he showed me your profile, we nearly argued over who would get to lay claim over that body. And the way your smile lit the room just from a single photo? I was mesmerized. But you see, Carrie, BDSM was never really my thing. However,” And in that pause, Steve opens the drawer on the nightstand and pulls out a knife. “Troy might have been on to something with that stunt he pulled. But I have to say, I think I made an improvement in my method of subduing you.”

Then I realize he had to have put something in my food. It makes sense now why he would have had a plateful of goodies waiting for me.

“You drugged me.” I accuse. Hell, I’m more than accusing him. I’m letting him know that I know what he did.

“Very good. I mixed up a little something, a cocktail, if you will. I knew you probably wouldn’t come up here willingly so I had to figure something out. When I walked you through the lobby, I told the security guard you weren’t feeling well, and he bought it. Hook. Line. Sinker.”

I pull on my bindings, frustrated and scared.

“Nuh-uh-uh, Carrie. Don’t think you’re getting out that easy. I was right here in front of your face the entire time you were with Troy. You overlooked all the shit he pulled when I would have treated you right. You chose to stay with a half-ass dominant instead of going vanilla with someone who would cherish the ground you walk on. Because you treated me like I was invisible, I’m here to finish what Troy started.”

Steve turns back to the “wall of Carrie” and starts methodically slicing across my neck in each photo. When he gets to photos of Malakai and me, he completely cuts out Malakai’s face. His display of jealousy in that act contradicts his calm demeanor, showing just how much of a psychopath he truly is.

“So, why now, Steve? Why, after all this time, did you decide to show up?” I have a million questions racing through my brain, but that’s where I start.

“Isn’t it obvious, Carrie?” He answers my question with a question.

“Malakai,” I respond barely above a whisper.

“Bingo. I’ve watched you date these other men over the years, but I knew I had nothing to worry about, because your smiles always seemed so forced and dull. But seeing you with him, I knew you’d found your one. I could see it in the way you looked at each other. And I just snapped. I knew it was now or never; I had to make my move.”

“But you and I were just friendly acquaintances. Why did you ever think there could be more?” He’s so delusional, and I’m just trying to keep him talking. Trying to get inside his head and distract him.

“I thought that by saving you, you’d finally see me. Sounds silly, I know. But all this talking is about to stop. I told you what I brought you here for. And this time, I made sure the rope was secure.”

He turns around and walks toward me. At the same time, I hear someone burst through the door and yell my name. Malakai. Tears start flowing down my face. Now this man. He is my savior.

I scream his name to signal which room Steve and I are in, but he quickly muffles my outcry by forcing a pillow over my face.