Alexa

---

I spent the day lazing around the apartment, feeling listless. I had thought I might spend time at the beach house with Luke and looked forward to pretending to be his girlfriend for a while, getting in as much sun and surf as I could before classes started later in the month.

Truthfully, I was also looking forward to spending time in Luke's bed. I was starting to get too attached to Luke. He felt too much like someone I could be with for the longer term, but he was leaving and I was staying behind.

I finally grew so restless that I had to leave the apartment, distract myself from my funk. Candy was at the library doing some research. I didn't want to be alone, so I decided to get out of the house and take a long bike ride along the Hudson.

Riding along the bike path skirting the Hudson, from our apartment close to Columbia down to Hell's Kitchen and back, would do the trick. I stopped and sat on a bench for a while, watching the joggers and pedestrians while the seagulls wheeled overhead. It was a beautiful day in Manhattan – late summer, the air was cooler than it had been in July and the sky was crystal clear.

I should have been happy. I'd passed my comps, I had two weeks off before my fall classes started and I was on track for getting my PhD in a few years.

Despite it all, I wished I'd never opened that email.

---

When I arrived back about an hour later, I walked up the stairs to our apartment after returning my bike to the locker in the building's basement. When I got to the top floor, the door was open and I frowned because it wasn't like Candy to leave it open. Maybe she was taking the garbage out and didn't want to take her keys. As I got closer, I saw that the lock had been broken, the wood torn, the frame partly broken off. I tiptoed inside and put down my backpack, only to find a hole punched into the plaster wall in the entrance.

It was then I got a surge of adrenaline and stopped in my tracks.

"Candy?"

I took a step closer and glanced around the apartment. Everything seemed in place, and the apartment was empty from what I could see.

"Candy? Are you here?"

I went down the hallway and saw that the main bathroom door was closed.

"Candy? Are you in there?" I put my hand on the knob and tried to open it, but it was locked.

Her voice came from inside. "Is that you?"

It was Candy, her voice sounding terrified.

"Yes," I replied. "What happened? Why is there a hole in the wall?"

The door opened and she came out, peering around the door like she was afraid.

"He was here," she said and went to the front entrance, glancing out. "The police should be here any moment."

"What? What happened?"

She took hold of me. "Blaine."

The blood drained out of my face and I felt dizzy. I sat down on the sofa, grabbing the arm rest, feeling like the world was spinning around me.

"Blaine?” I said, feeling numb. “How did he find me?"

She sat beside me, her arm around my shoulder. "I have no idea but he knows you live here. He threatened me. He said he'd find you, no matter where you went."

"Oh, God," I said, my throat choking up with emotion, tears finally overflowing. I covered my eyes. "How? How could he find me?"

"He said he made friends with the registrar at the University and knew where you got your transcripts sent. He searched my name and found me."

"What?"

Just then, we heard noise coming from the stairway outside the apartment. Two police officers appeared and knocked on the open door.

"Thank God you're here," Candace said and went to the door.

---

For the next hour, the two police officers took Candace’s statement and all the information about Blaine from me. On my part, I tried to remain coherent, but I’d always felt so safe in Manhattan and to have that safety threatened crushed me.

"He did this?" the one officer, Constable Daley asked. He examined the hole in the plaster and turned to Candace.

"Yes," she said. "I told him that Alexa had moved away, but he found some of her things and punched the wall."

We discussed our options. While I had a restraining order against Blaine in Oregon, it wasn't in effect in New York state, so I'd have to get another one if I hoped to keep him away from me now that he knew where I lived.

"Everything was going so well," I said with a sob after the police had left and Candace and I were alone once more. "Why did this have to happen now? I can't stand the thought Blaine will be hanging around, stalking me again. It's been two years of peace since we came here."

She put her arms around me and hugged me, letting me cry on her shoulder.

“I called home after he left. My mom said he just got fired from his job," Candy said. "I guess that set him off. He obviously hasn’t gotten over it."

"What are we going to do? I can't stay here,” I said, glancing around. “He'll come back."

"You could stay at a hotel.”

“I can’t afford a hotel…”

“There's a student hostel you could stay at in a pinch."

I took out my phone, intending to call the hostel and see if there was a room available and saw that there was a message from Luke.

I read it over, surprised that he'd texted me.

LUKE: Just finished the presentation to the investor group that wants to buy Chatter. I think it went well. John and I are going out for a drink at Mulligan's. We'll be there at five thirty. I know we said we'd end things, but I would really love to see you, have you celebrate with us.

I handed my cell to Candy. "I got a text from Luke."

She read it over. "I knew it. He really likes you, sweets. You should go and stay with him."

"I couldn't."

"You sure as hell could. Tell him what happened. I'm sure he'd let you stay."

I looked in her eyes. "What about you? I can't leave you alone."

She shrugged. "I'll go stay with Jan for a few days until the cops find Blaine."

"Should I text Luke?"

"Yes. Do it. I'll call the landlord and get him to come and fix the lock. Then, I'll call Jan and make arrangements to stay there. You stay with Luke."

I hesitated, but then I decided to send him a text.

ALEXA: I know this is completely out of the blue but something happened and I need a place to stay. Can I stay with you tonight until I can get a room at the hostel? I'll explain later.

I sent the text off while Candy called Jan and talked to her about staying at her place for a few days. While she talked, I went to my bedroom and pulled a few things into my backpack – underwear, my nightgown, my makeup and toothbrush, and a few other personal effects. If Luke didn't want me to stay with him, I could stay at the hostel if they had a bed or in a hotel room, at worst.

My cell dinged.

When I saw it was from Luke, my stomach jumped.

LUKE: Of course. Can I come and get you? I'll be right there.

I responded right away.

ALEXA: Thanks. I'm really sorry about this.

LUKE: No problem. We can go out for a drink with John like I planned.

ALEXA: That sounds really good right now. I feel like I need a whole keg myself.

LUKE: That bad? What happened?

ALEXA: I'll tell you when you get here.

LUKE: I'll see you in fifteen.

Candy came back into the living room from the kitchen, where she grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"You're looking better,” she said and plopped down on the sofa beside me. “Did you hear from Luke? Tell me everything."

I nodded, wiping away the last of my tears. “Luke's coming to pick me up."

"I knew it," she said and held up her hand. "High five!"

"Candy! How can you be like that at a time like this?"

She grinned. "I love a good love story with a happy ending."

"There's no happy ending."

"Yet," she said and smiled.

Despite everything, despite the hole in the wall and the fact my violent ex ex-con of a boyfriend had found me, I couldn't help but smile back.

---

I grabbed my bag when my cell dinged and I saw that Luke was outside the building.

"I don't want to leave you here," I said, standing at the door.

"I'll go as soon as Mr. Johnston comes to fix the door. You go with Luke. I'll get a taxi as soon as the lock's fixed."

"If you're okay about it," I said, feeling bad that I was leaving her.

"You go. Relax. Have fun," she said and walked me down the stairs to the lobby.

"How did Blaine get inside the building?” Candy asked when we went to the door at the entrance. "Someone had to let him in."

"Probably Mrs. Frankenstein. I bet she left the door wedged open again."

"Yeah, I bet."

Mrs. Frankenstein, as we dubbed her, was really Mrs. Feinstein, but she looked like Lurch in The Addam's Family. She had a bad habit of putting a piece of cardboard in the back door so she could leave and have a smoke without bringing her keys along. I cursed her because she often forgot to take the piece of cardboard out, putting us all in danger. We'd complained to the building manager but nothing had changed.

Blaine would have found me either way. It was probably better that he came in when he did – when I wasn't there. I feared he would have hurt me if I had been in the apartment. That hole in the wall was probably a substitute for my face. Luckily, Candy had hidden in the bathroom when she realized who was at the door and scared him off by telling him she'd called the police or he might have hurt her as well.

She gave me a hug.

"Text me as soon as you get to Jan's, okay?"

"I will."

She waved at Luke, who hopped out of his car and opened the door for me, taking my backpack.

"Your steed, m'lady," Luke said as I got in the passenger side.

When he got in the other side and fastened his seat belt, I looked over and I realized just how glad I was to see him. He was casually dressed, wearing a pair of carpenter pants, a white cotton button down shirt, and a pair of dark aviator sunglasses, and I was struck once more by how gorgeous he looked.

He pulled his glasses down and looked me in the eyes. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later," I said and leaned back, closing my eyes.

"Now, or I'm not driving."

I glanced at him and sighed in resignation. "My ex."

"What? Blaine?”

I nodded, and at that moment, all the anxiety and fear seemed to come back, completely out of my control and my eyes teared up.

"What happened? Did he hurt you?"

I shook my head and glanced way, slipping on my sunglasses, not wanting him to see my tears.

"He broke down the door to our apartment and punched a hole in the wall when he found out I wasn't there," I said, my voice wobbly. "Luckily, Candace locked herself in the bathroom and he left without doing anything worse. I was out riding my bike so he missed me by about five minutes."

He reached out and stroked my cheek.

"I'm so sorry," he said and leaned in. "Of course you can stay with me. As long as you need. We could go to the beach house, if you like."

"Thank you. I'd really like that."

Then he kissed me. It felt so sweet and tender that my emotions overflowed and I kissed him back more passionately, so thankful that he understood and was willing to help.

When he pulled back, he wiped a tear from my cheek.

"Whatever you need," he said. "You only have to ask."

We drove off, and he took my hand and squeezed. Even that show of tenderness touched me.

I sighed and watched the streets of Manhattan slide by.