“WHAT THE HELL, Anj!” I shrieked to my crazy friend. That was incredibly embarrassing.
“Girl, I’m just doing you a favor. This is the first action you’ve had since I’ve known you. You ain’t messing this up. Nope, not with that Mr. ‘I Got Swagger’ Reeves. He’s a keeper, girlfriend. Just ‘cause I got me a Denzel and two little cherubs don’t mean I ain’t still got it. Me and my man still get freaky beneath the sheets. I’m just schoolin’ you. You can thank me later,” she sassed back to me.
“What are we thanking you for, Anj?” asked Pops, walking up to my desk.
My face burned again with embarrassment.
“Mr. Johnson, this is girl talk. This kind of talk ain’t for old man ears,” she teased.
Pops looked back and forth between us before shaking his head and returning to his office, sending us both into a fit of giggles. Anj was a crazy mess most days, but at least we had each other’s backs.
“So? Are you going to see Mr. Swag tonight?” she asked.
Rolling my eyes at her nickname, I said, “No, but we have a date planned for tomorrow night.” I smiled because I was actually looking forward to spending more time with him. He was funny and extremely hot, and most importantly, he made me feel safe. I really never thought this would ever happen.
Me. Safe. With a man.
“I expect a full report on his naked booty on Monday morning,” she said casually, causing my face to burn again. “You got this, girl,” she winked.
After getting home from work, I quickly changed into my running clothes and tennis shoes. Before walking back out the door, I grabbed my water bottle and keys. Ever since the incident those years ago, I always tried to have my keys with me at all times when going outside. My keychain had my mace hooked to them in case of emergencies. Cale knew firsthand about my ability with my little weapon in what I considered an emergency.
When I’d first moved to Jonestown, I’d been too scared to go outside for quite some time. I would go straight to work and come back. There were never days that I went out anywhere after dark. Slowly, my fear began to replace itself with determination. I wasn’t going to be a victim again. I purchased some mace and took up running. Running was therapeutic because it helped me brave being outside and alone. It also kept me in shape. Being fit might have been what had saved me that night, so I was always going to try to keep my strength up.
I stepped outside and latched all three locks on my door. The October air was crisp this evening. From the looks of it, I probably had a good half hour before dark. I always came home from jogging before dark, mace or not.
I am a grown woman who is terrified of the dark.
Running out onto the driveway, I decided to loop over by the lake. It was a peaceful run in that direction. Where I lived, there weren’t many people, a fact that comforted me. Being in my own little area of nowhere, I felt secluded and safe. Tucked away from anyone who might be looking.
Lost in my thoughts, I realized I’d run farther than I’d expected.
Crap!
I needed to turn around right now. It wasn’t likely that I would make it home before dark. The thought of running in the dark had my heart racing. Out here, there weren’t streetlights or porch lights. I picked up the pace. I definitely needed to calm myself down before I had a panic attack. Clutching my mace, I really started pounding the pavement. The sun had nearly disappeared beyond the horizon.
I can’t believe how far I let myself run.
If I sprinted the rest of the way, I could make it before the sun completely descended. The slapping of my tennis shoes on the pavement brought back memories from years ago and my heart starting violently pounding in my chest, causing me to gasp for air.
It was then that I realized one of my laces had come untied. There was no way in hell I was stopping to tie them, not with precious daylight fading by the second. Rounding a corner that would lead me to my street, I stepped on the lace with my other foot, sending me careening to the pavement. The angle at which I was running triggered me to fall face-forward. My knees scraped the pavement before my hands. My head hit next.
Blinking back stars, I started to jump back up. Dizziness caused blackness to eat at the corners of my vision, forcing me to sit back down. Breathing heavily, I tried to calm myself and tied my shoelace.
Breathe, Lia.
I was safe in my town. That man wasn’t here. Nobody was chasing me. I needed to seriously chill out. After a few minutes of attempting to ease my fears, I slowly stood up, wincing at my injuries.
I started to jog again, but my skinned knees and pounding head forced me to reduce my stride to a quick walk. The crickets started their nighttime melodies, not comforting me at all. Focusing on my porch light in the distance, I tried to put my thoughts somewhere else. My date with Cale was tomorrow.
Would he take me to dinner? Closer.
Would we go to a movie? Almost there.
Would we go dancing? Finally, I reached my driveway.
I quickly made my way to the porch, eyes frantically darting all around as I tried desperately to thwart the oncoming panic attack. My sigh was one of relief when I safely stepped onto my front porch. A single rose and an envelope with my name scrawled across the front were sitting propped against the door. I quickly snatched them up. After unlatching all three locks in record speed, I rushed in, slamming the door behind me.
Once I had all three locks in place, I crumpled to the floor before letting out a sob. My fear was unwarranted, but it was always there. Even though I was safe in my home, the fear would always follow me. It was a shame because I had been hoping that some of that fear was dissipating with how I’d felt since meeting Cale, but clearly, it was only while in his presence.
Thinking of Cale, I smiled through my tears. He’d left me a rose and a note. I sniffled back the last of my cry fest, wiping my tears away with my sweaty, skinned-up hands. I opened up his letter and began reading:
As fresh tears formed in my eyes, I stood up and stomped to the trashcan, tossing the rose and note into it.
This is so freaking creepy!