I took a deep breath and tried to sound calm. “No, it’s okay. I’m okay. I… I’ll see you when you get here.”
“Fifteen minutes, Tay. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“’Kay. Good. See you soon.”
“Absolutely.”
I disconnected the call because I knew he wouldn’t. It was okay. Ransom was coming. Forcing myself to stand up straight, I then squared my shoulders as if I was heading into battle.
I was strong. I could handle this. It would all be all right.
I forced one foot in front of the other and made it to my building soon after. I briefly contemplated waiting for Ransom outside, but I felt too vulnerable out there. Instead, I put in the code to disengage the front door and headed inside. Thankfully, I didn’t encounter anyone on my way to my apartment. Once I keyed myself inside, I closed and locked the door, then leaned back against it before sliding to the floor.
Resting my forearms on my knees, I dropped my head so that I was coiled in a ball. God, I really wanted to be over this. Brad had never actually hurt me. I wasn’t sure why I reacted this viscerally to his presence in town. What was the worst that could happen?
And that was when my whole body shuddered. Because even though he’d never hurt me, there was something menacing in his demeanor. Something that warned me that he could do something. That his behavior had been slowly escalating before I left for summer break, and there was no telling what he was capable of.
And for those reasons, I needed to cut myself some slack. I was my own worst enemy at the best of times, and this situation had left my brain making me turn myself into a punching bag—beating myself up over the what-ifs… What if I’d never gone out with him? What if I hadn’t overlooked the possessive behavior he’d exhibited from the beginning? What if I hadn’t stayed with him for three months before breaking it off? That was a fact I still hadn’t been honest with Sophia about. What if I’d faced the demon instead of running? It wasn’t helping me. I couldn’t change what had happened.
The question was, where did I go from here?
My intercom buzzing kept me from finding an answer.
I leaped up and pushed the button. “Hello?”
“It’s Ransom.” He sounded slightly out of breath, but still, nothing had ever sounded better.
“Come on up,” I replied as I hit the button to open the front door of the building.
I quickly swiped my hands down the front of my jeans and burgundy T-shirt as if that would erase the fact I’d been sitting on my floor for the past five minutes. My hair was probably a horror show, but whatever. I had bigger things to worry about, even though the fact that Ransom would see it did make me want to fix it real quick. My priorities were a total shitshow.
A heavy knock came on my door, and nothing mattered after that other than getting the damn thing open. Once I flung it back, I slammed into Ransom, throwing my arms around him. I didn’t have it in me to care about how clingy I was being. He was so big and solid and nice, and I needed all those things desperately.
His arms circled around me, and he pulled me tighter to him. “It’s okay, Tay. I’m here. I got you.” He kept up his litany of soothing words as he gently moved us inside my apartment so we weren’t embracing in the hallway. With the way my face was buried in his broad chest, I heard more than saw him close the door and flip the lock, all while keeping one arm firmly around me.
He held me for a while before he said, “Do you want to sit down?”
I nodded against his chest but didn’t move, and neither did he. But after a few more moments, I took a deep breath and pulled away. Making my way to the couch, I tried to regain my composure.
We both took a seat, instinctively turning toward each other.
“Can you tell me what happened?” he asked, his voice soft and reassuring.
I took in his face: the concern evident in the furrow of his brow, the tightness of his lips. But it was his eyes that set me at ease. They were intense and focused. And I knew right then—though I could admit I probably knew it long before now—that this man would move heaven and earth to help me. I just had to open my mouth and ask for it.
So I did.
R A N S O M
Getting a panicked phone call from Taylor was enough to permanently raise my blood pressure. I’d been sitting in class when my phone had rung, but seeing as how Taylor never called me—even before I’d shown up to Sophia’s bachelorette party to strip—I jumped up to take the call in the hall.
There’d been no question that I’d leave class to go to her. I’d explain to my professor later. He’d either understand or he wouldn’t. Being here for Taylor was all that mattered.
I could tell by the way she was wringing her hands that what she had to say was hard on her. But I hoped she found it within herself to confide in me. I wanted her trust as much as she seemed to need someone to trust.
“I met Brad at a frat party at the beginning of last year,” she began. “He was…handsome. Charismatic. Attentive. And unfortunately, crazy. Though I didn’t know that then.”
She cleared her throat before continuing. “I told Sophia that we only went on a few dates. I’m not sure why I lied to her about it.” She paused. “That’s not really true. It was because I didn’t want her to know how long I let it go on. That I willingly let this guy infiltrate
