God. That was exactly what I thought this was at first. I didn't want to believe it was true, though. Eli never treated me like I was broken. But he'd stepped into something ugly that he didn't ask for. He dropped his career, his life, everything he had back in London just to come sit in my silence.
How could that not wear on him eventually? How could he –
No.
No, Iknewwhat Marcus was doing. That voice was the same one he used every time he wanted to make me doubt myself. He wasn't just throwing his words around. He was aiming at my worst insecurities. He didn't know how to win clean, so he was trying to tear me apart from the inside.
I sucked in a shaky breath and forced my thoughts to slow down. Elichoseto be here. He wasn't stuck. He had every chance to leave, and he didn't. I had to trust that more than I trusted the poison Marcus tried to pour down my throat.
But as soon as I got my footing back, a different fear settled in.
Marcus knew Eli wasn't here. He came exactly when I was alone. He had to be watching us.
That realisation made my skin go ice-cold.
That's why he'd been silent for so long. He was biding his time. Studying our routine. Waiting for a window where I'd be vulnerable again.
I felt sick. Like there were eyes on the flat even now, just out of my view. Like if I so much as moved the curtain, I'd see him somehow hovering in front of my window on the first floor. I wrapped my arms around myself and sat back in the chair, trying to calm the surge before it overwhelmed me.
I couldn't keep doing this. I couldn't keep letting him stalk me from a distance and wait for me to crack. I couldn't spend every waking second wondering if today was the day he'd get through that door. I'd hoped staying quiet would keep him from escalating, but now I knew that wasn't true.
Hedecided when the escalation happened. Not me.
A sharp knock hit the door. I nearly fell out of the chair.
My heart stopped, then kicked back to life so fast it made my chest hurt. For one horrible second, I thought he'd come back. That Marcus hadn't left at all and only circled the building as he waited for me to relax before trying again.
I couldn't breathe. My whole body was frozen in place by the thought of that voice coming through the door again.
"It's me, Ro."
Oh, thank God. It's Eli.
The chair scraped against the floor as I bolted to my feet. My legs nearly gave out from the sudden movement. I fumbled with the chain and deadbolt with shaking fingers, and the second the door was open, I grabbed his jacket and pulled him inside with more force than I meant to.
Eli stumbled a step and caught himself. "Whoa – hey – "
I slammed the door shut behind him and locked it before I turned to face him. "Marcus was here again."
His eyes hardened, and I could see the cold fury behind them. "I know. I got the alert."
I tried to keep my voice steady, but it cracked, anyway. "He kept trying to get me to let him in. I – I didn't, but – " I couldn't finish. The words backed up in my throat and wouldn't go any further.
He stepped in close and rested his hands on my arms. "You didn't open the door," he said quietly. "That's what matters. You did exactly the right thing."
I tried to nod, but my head was spinning. "I can't do this anymore. I can't pretend I'm okay when I break every time Ihear a fucking knock."
Eli didn't hesitate. He pulled me in, his arms wrapping protectively around me – and I leaned into it without thinking. I needed the contact.
His voice was low and certain in my ear. "You don't have to pretend, Ro. Not with me."
I didn't mean to fall apart, but something in me just cracked open. My hands wouldn't stop shaking, and my thoughts moved too fast to grab hold of any of them.
"I don't know what to do," I said, barely above a whisper. "I don't know how to make this stop."
He didn't say anything, but I felt his grip tighten around me.
"I'm scared, Eli. If I do anything, he'll come after me harder. He'll come after you. That's what he does – he escalates. He always escalates." My voice cracked again, and I couldn't hold back the tremble in it this time. "I don't want to make it worse."
