“Yes, thank you.” I looked at her face. She had wide, friendly brown eyes and freckles. She seemed like the type of girl who I would be friends with. I half wished that I knew her and could ask her to tell Simon I had an emergency and had to leave.
“If you need anything else, please just let me know.”
I need a lot of things, but nothing that can be fixed by the mark of a server’s pen.
I watched her walk away before turning my attention to the delicious-looking entrée in front of me.
“Sorry about that,” Simon said with a spring in his step. He pulled his chair out and sat down. “This looks really good.”
“Yeah, it does,” I said, watching him suspiciously. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is great,” he said, smiling and digging into his food with a vigor he didn’t seem to have before. His pupils were dilated, and something just seemed strange about him.
We ate quietly, for the most part, while Simon talked pretty much nonstop. I was having trouble following along from topic to topic. My appetite had vanished, so I pushed my fish around on my plate, breaking it into tiny pieces and mixing it in with the vegetables. Simon rambled on and on, and I tuned him out.
“Fuck!” Simon snapped. I jumped in my seat at his exclamation. “I dropped my fork on the floor.”
His reaction seemed over the top in light of the situation, and I watched him closely. A small sheen of sweat coated his forehead, and his eyes darted around the room.
“I’m sure we can get you another one,” I offered, looking around for the server. I set my fork down, my hand shaking slightly.
“I’m done with this anyway.” He flashed me a wicked grin and I tensed. “Are you finished?”
I nodded slowly, feeling my senses go on alert.
“Can I get the ticket, please?” Simon asked Jennifer as she walked by.
“Thank you for dinner tonight. It was very nice.” I quickly grabbed my purse off the chair next to me, ready to get out of there. I had never been happier to see a date end in my life. I just wanted to go home.
Jennifer returned with the check, and Simon paid the bill. He escorted me out of the restaurant, the warm air hitting us in the face as we stepped outside. Despite the temperature, I wrapped my arms across my chest and picked up the pace toward my car.
The parking lot was busy near the entrance to the restaurant, but as we neared the back, it became almost vacant. The sky was pitch-black with not a star in sight.
Simon walked beside me, not saying anything until we reached my door.
“So do you want to follow me back to my place?” He placed his hand on my lower back, and I instinctively pulled away.
“You know, Simon, Kari sent me a text and needs me to come home. So I think I’ll pass.” I hit the unlock feature and grabbed the handle.
“Excuse me?” he asked, wedging himself between me and the door.
I took a step back. “I need to get home. So if you’ll move, I’ll be on my way.” I mustered all of the courage I could find within me and looked him directly in the eye, trying to portray strength … even though I felt weak.
“Your sister needs you an awful lot,” he said, raising an eyebrow.
“That’s the thing about having a sister,” I said, taking another step back. “You have to be there for them whenever they need you.”
“So maybe another time?”
“Sure.” I opened the door, hoping he would take the bait of an empty promise. I started to step in, and he grabbed my arm.
Hard.
My eyes bugged out as my breath caught, the feeling of his fingers searing into my skin causing my heart to race. “Simon! You’re hurtingme!” I exclaimed, reaching over to pry his fingers off with my other hand.
He leaned into my face, a sick smile crossing his features, his face contorted in anger. Everything inside me seemed to speed up, and the world around me seemed to slow down at the same time.
I glanced helplessly around the parking lot, looking for someone to help me. But there was no one. I was on my own.
