I wasn’t a total idiot. I did believe Colton when he said I was in danger. That didn’t mean I needed to stick around and play house with the asshole. Rubbing the sleep from my sore and puffy eyes, thrashed from all my bawling the night before. I couldn’t believe I actually cried over what he did. That pissed me off more than anything else. I wasn’t the kind of woman who cried over a man. I hadn’t even cried when Jason and I had broken up.

I was chalking it all up to stress. It had been an extremely stressful couple of weeks. Colton was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. It wasn’t technically him I was crying about. At least that was what I was telling myself.

“Are you alive?” Rose’s voice cut through my self-castigation.

I blinked several times, letting my eyes adjust to the glaring light of day pouring in through her living room window.

“You need a new couch,” I complained.

She laughed. “My couch is made for sitting, not sleeping.”

“Blah, blah, blah.”

“Feeling any better today?” she asked.

“Do I look like I feel better?” I snapped.

She giggled. “You need a boatload of concealer and a lot of cucumber slices for those red, puffy eyes. You look like hell.”

“Thanks. I knew there was a reason we were best friends. Who else would tell me how shitty I looked after I’ve had such a miserable week.”

“I’m so sorry you have to go through this. I thought he seemed like a good guy. It just goes to show that you can’t judge a guy buy his looks,” she said, sitting down next to me.

I leaned my head against her shoulder. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Why can’t I find a good guy?”

She chuckled. “You and me both. Maybe this is a sign that you’re supposed to go back to school. Admit it, you were hesitating because you were falling for him.”

“I can’t fall for a guy I barely know. Especially a guy who runs hot and cold more frequently than the worn-out hot water heater in my house.”

She sighed. “You can’t, but you did, and you know it. You are not the kind of girl who has hot sex with a guy you don’t like. You are a good girl. He got to you. Maybe it was that danger you said you sensed, or maybe it was the fact that he is so damn hot. Whatever the reason, he got to you.”

I buried my face in my hands. “This is not normal, and it is definitely not normal for me. I think a little time and distance is what I’ll need to be cured. I can’t handle seeing him. Every time I see him, my mind goes straight to the gutter.”

Rose burst into laughter. “Now who’s the naughty one!”

“I’ve been corrupted and I probably need therapy. I’m going back to my good girl status. No more wild nights with sexy men. I’m lucky to be getting out alive. I should have listened to that little voice in the back of my head,” I groaned.

“I don’t know. You had a great time. Like you said, you got out alive. I think you are going to be reliving those nights with him for some time. Lots of wet dreams in your future,” she said with a wink, slapping my thigh at the same time.

“Dreams are much safer. I’ll stick with those.”

“I’m sorry. I have to get going. Are you going to stick around?”

I nodded. “For now. I really don’t know where else to go. If Colton is right, my place isn’t safe. Which seriously, I still can’t believe he is comparing the value of my life to his stupid window. Making it seem like I’m the damaged one in our relationship because of a few punks I have never done anything to provoke.”

“I know. He’s a pig. You have to make him tell you what’s going on. Or call the police. Who cares if he is a wanted fugitive and they haul his ass to jail. He deserves it.”

I groaned, frustrated and exhausted. What I really wanted was a good night’s sleep in my own bed. “I’ll walk you out. I’m going to grab a soda from that vending machine. I need some serious caffeine,” I said, standing and trying my best to calm down my unruly hair.

A hot shower is what I needed. l hadn’t actually taken one when I made my great escape yesterday. I only had the one change of clothes with me, too. I hadn’t been able to grab my bag before I snuck out the window. Though I still couldn’t believe I’d actually snuck out the window. I hadn’t done that since I was like fifteen and sneaking off to a party. The single change of clothes would have to do until I could figure out a way to sneak home and get more.

Hopefully, I wouldn’t run into anyone I knew on my quick adventure out of the house. I knew a few of Rose’s neighbors, but I didn’t care if any of them saw me looking like death warmed over.

Together, Rose and I made our way down the stairs. I had raided my purse for all the change I could find and was shoving it into the machine. When the first Diet Coke dropped, I snagged it, popped the top and took a long drink, letting the caffeine infuse my body.

“Scoot, I need one,” Rose said, using her hip to nudge me out of the way.

I stood there drinking and thinking about the next soda I was going to get from the machine when I noticed a car driving by. Rose stood up, holding the can she just pulled from the machine in her hand as she stared at the car as well.

“Weird,” I muttered, watching the car stop in the middle of the road. The windows were blacked out, preventing me from seeing the driver. I had no idea if the person behind the wheel was looking at us or something else entirely.

“Very weird. I don’t think I’ve seen that car around here before,” she mumbled.

“You think it has anything to do with the trouble Colton warned me about?” I asked the question, not expecting an answer. It was more of me musing aloud, letting my fear get the better of me.

The car began to pull away. We both tried to look at the license plate, but it had a dark tinted cover over it, skewing it from our view.

“Uh, that’s even weirder,” she said, pointing at the plate.

“I’ve seen those before,” I reasoned.

“On a four-door? I’ve seen them on the little hot rods the morons around here think make them look like street racers,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Great. Now, you’re really freaking me out.”

“I picked you up at your mom’s. No one knows you are here,” she assured me. “You’re safe.”

I took a deep breath. “You’re right. He has me jumping at shadows. I’m fine. No one knows where I am. Have a good day at work,” I said, giving her a quick hug.

“You should call him. Tell him about the car, just in case. If it is real, I don’t want to risk you getting hurt.”

I groaned. “What’s he going to do? Drive around looking for a black car with black windows? It isn’t exactly specific details.”

She shrugged a shoulder. “You never know. He may know what they drive.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to call him,” I pouted.

She laughed. “You don’t have to go back to his house, but you need to tell him about the car in case it is more than a coincidence. Don’t make me call him for you.”

I groaned. “I’ll think about it.”

“Take care of yourself and try to get some sleep. And call him!” she said, shouting over her shoulder as she walked away.

“I will. See you tonight.”

“Lock the door behind you and don’t let anyone in,” she called.

“Yes, Mom,” I teased.

“You better listen, young lady,” she scolded.

“I will, I will. Bring me a burger when you come home. It’s been too long since I’ve had some good greasy food.”

She laughed again. “I can’t believe you’re actually craving anything from that place. You need to get out more, and taste real food.”

“Burger! With cheese! And tomato!” I called out.

She waved and climbed into her car. I grabbed another soda from the machine and jogged up the stairs, locking the door behind me. I had a hot date with a long hot shower. I grabbed my phone, saw the missed calls from Colton and ignored them. He’d been calling since last night and sent several text messages. I had shut off my phone, uninterested in hearing what he had to say. I still wasn’t. Not yet.

Pulling up my favorite playlist, I turned up the speaker on my phone and turned the shower to hot.

I leaned my head back, letting the hot water run down my hair and face. The spray was strong and felt good against my skin. It was like getting a massage. I shampooed my hair, using my fingers to rub my scalp, trying to erase the stress of the last couple days. I stood under the spray, simply enjoying the feel of the water washing me clean. After a while, I felt the water turning cold and took it as my cue to get out.

I felt a lot better after my shower. It was a huge improvement from thirty minutes ago. With my phone in hand, I walked to the kitchen in search of something to eat. I put my phone down, hit the button for the voicemail and turned on the speaker to listen to the messages while I searched for sustenance.

His deep voice filled the room, sending a shiver down my spine. I hated that simply hearing his voice could arouse me. I listened to his demands to call him back. At least he apologized, I thought to myself as I rummaged around in Rose’s refrigerator. The next message was more of the same, demanding I get my ass back to his house. I deleted the messages. I wasn’t ready to call him. Not yet.

I knew it was stupid. I was being childish, but it didn’t change how I felt. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to be around him. If he really had someone trying to hurt him or kill him, I wanted to know why. What had he done to bring on that kind of trouble for himself? Normal people didn’t attract the attention of assassins. He kept dodging the question, which made me believe he was guilty. What kind of relationship could I ever have with a man if I didn’t trust him? In that moment, I didn’t trust him. I didn’t think he would physically hurt me, but there was something about him that made me think twice about jumping in feet first.

I thought about Rose’s advice. She was on my side. That made me feel a little better. I wasn’t a complete freak for not wanting to rush back into his arms. I could take another day to figure out what I wanted to do.

I made myself a sandwich, flipped on a little daytime television and did my best to forget all about Colton and his drama.