He didn’t leave a way to contact him, but that doesn’t mean he won’t pop up. I’m sure he’ll make good on his promise to see me soon, and for the first time, I’m ready to come face-to-face.
* * *
Every day since I got the letter, I’ve been leaving the house more often. I make sure someone is with Gia, then I’m off running errands, hoping he’ll be watching and come talk to me. It takes a week, but it finally happens.
I’m at a nearby park, almost three blocks from my house, stretching and getting ready to go for a run. Movement catches my attention about fifteen feet ahead of me. There’s a narrow path surrounded by trees, and he’s waiting for me amongst them, probably wanting to walk out and scare me as I start my jog.
Luck is on my side, because he doesn’t know that I saw him. It gives me time to prepare. I send a text from my phone while putting in my earbuds, so he thinks I’m just turning my music on.
After the text is sent to both my sister and Officer Robles, I slip my phone into my armband and finish my stretches before starting my run.
I’m just beginning to pick up my pace when he steps out of the trees and stops in front of me. I snatch out one of my earbuds as my heart leaps into my throat. It’s not that I didn’t know he was there, but it’s being so close to him knowing all the things he’s said and done. He looks nearly the same. His brown hair is disheveled, his eyes are red-rimmed, like he hasn’t slept well in weeks, but he’s still handsome. He’s tall and lanky, not really the most threatening person when you look at him, but something in his gaze sends chills down my spine.
“Mario,” I breathe. “What are you doing here?” I look around, searching for people who may be nearby.
“Nova.” He purrs my name, and a tiny grin upturns his lips. “It’s so good to see you.”
“I wish I could say the same, but you hit my sister with your car. Why would you do that, Mario? Why?”
He steps forward, but I step back, angling my body to the side, ready to run in the opposite direction if I need to.
“You ran from me,” he says. “You left like I didn’t mean anything to you. All I did was love you, Nova. I just wanted us to be together.”
“I wanted that, too,” I tell him, keeping him calm. “But you were tracking me, Mario. You broke into my house. You scared me.”
He approaches me again, this time grabbing onto my wrist. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to be with you. I was afraid you were going to leave me, and then you did. You left me, Nova!” His voice becomes bitter at the end and his grip tightens on my wrist.
I attempt to wrench away. “Mario, you’re doing it again. Let go of me.”
His grip loosens. “Nova, I’d do anything for you. You know that, right? I wanted to go to Ohio to find you. I really did. That was my plan, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t get a plane ticket. I didn’t have a car that would make that trip. I just thought maybe you’d come home. I thought you’d be afraid I’d show up there, so you’d come here. But you don’t need to be afraid of me, Nova. I’m not going to hurt you.”
He’s rambling, his speech becoming fast and frantic as he keeps getting closer and closer to me.
“You hurt my sister, though. You know how much she means to me.”
“I didn’t mean for her to get seriously hurt. I knew you wouldn’t come back for me, but you’d come back for her. You always choose her.”
I step back but he comes with me. “Mario.”
“You believed her over me when I told you I wasn’t following you. You took her word over mine.”
I don’t argue with him. I don’t tell him that I knew he was following me because I saw him with my own eyes.
“What do you want?”
He smiles. “You. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
The smile on his face disappears when he looks over my shoulder. I follow his gaze and see two cops coming around the corner with their guns drawn.
“Get on the ground now!
Mario’s eyes snap to mine and his face morphs from hurt to anger. He opens his mouth to say something, but the cops are getting closer and they keep yelling at him, and now he’s trying to weigh his options.
Fear climbs up my body, because I don’t know what’s going to happen. Will he run? Does he have a weapon? Will he try to hurt me? Will the cops shoot him?
“Mario, please,” I say softly. “Do what they say.”
He squeezes my wrists even harder, and I wait for the bones to shatter under his grip. His eyes bore into mine with a fiery rage, and then suddenly, he lets go and steps back.
His eyes never leave mine as the cops approach, twist his arms behind his back, and read him his rights.
As they take him away, I break down in tears, sucking in shaky breaths.
A couple minutes later, Officer Robles, the one who’s been attached to this since the beginning, is back and placing his hand on my shoulder.
“You okay?”
I nod. “I’m just so glad this is over.”
“You did good.”
I remove my phone from the armband and look at the screen. It’s still recording. “He admitted to hitting my sister.”
Officer Robles nods. “Let’s get you home.”
47
December 21st
I’m bouncing from foot to foot in the parking lot of the hotel, waiting for Elijah to show up. I’m desperate to lay eyes on
