“Ishika, hey stop for a second.”
Pulling a deep breath, I plastered on a smile I didn’t feel and turned as Brandi all but barrelled into me. “Are you avoiding me,” she accused, her eyes scanning my face.
“What? No.” I shook my head too fast and her brow shot up.
“I’ve been worried sick since Remo…” she left the words hanging. My shoulders sagged and her expression immediately softened, her hand grasping mine. “Are you alright?
I swallowed, trying to tug my hand free without making a scene. “I’m fine. Just tired.”
Belligerent as always, she pulled me aside. “Tired? Damn, Ish, you look like you either haven’t slept or slept with someone who ruined your spine. Did he hurt you?” she rushed on.
Heat rushed up my neck. “Brandi?—”
“He kept you for almost, if not more than twenty four hours,” she hissed, keeping her voice low, “and you just stroll in here acting like it was a vacation? I called your phone all night. You didn’t answer once. What did he do to you?”
My stomach twisted, guilt mixing with something that felt dangerously close to longing. “I was safe,” I muttered, even though the word felt wrong on my tongue.
“He kidnapped you,” she repeated, voice tight. “That is the opposite of safe.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. How was I supposed to explain the impossible? That safety had never been the issue. That the real danger wasn’t his violence, it was the way my body reacted to him, the way my breath broke under his voice, the way his dominance slid beneath my skin like something I both feared and gravitated toward.
Brandi rubbed my arm. “Ish?”
I leaned against a wall, sighing. “Nothing I didn’t…survive.”
She stared at me for a long moment, her eyes widening in horrified realization as she saw the truth I couldn’t hide. “Oh God,” she breathed. “He raped you, didn’t he?”
Okay, not what was I expecting. “He didn’t technically rape me and I’m fine,” I lied again, but my voice wavered as I said it, betraying me.
“No, you’re not.” She checked the hallway before stepping closer. “He used and discarded you like some cheap slut and you’re barely keeping it together. If that’s not rape, what is it?”
“Well, it’s not like I can report him, can I?” I muttered, avoiding her gaze.
She frowned. “Ish, did you actually enjoy sleeping with him?”
Did I tell you just how observant Brandi was?
I relented, blurting, “He was hardcore but God, that man can fuck. Besides.” I tipped my head back, resting it on the wall, my eyes on the ceiling. “He didn’t discard me. He’s coming backtonight. Said he owned me and that frankly I could run but he’d chase me, every single time.”
Her face drained of colour. “Oh, my God. As much as some women enjoy that sort of thing, that’s not romantic. That’s a threat.”
“God, Brandi.” I shook my head, more desperation than confidence. “I just need to get through the day, okay? I need to work. I need to feel normal.”
She squeezed my arm. “Then start by breathing. He can’t walk in here and take you again. We won’t let him. I’ll tell security to let him know you’re in surgery or something.”
As if the universe heard her, my phone vibrated in my pocket at that exact moment, a soft, unmistakable buzz that ricocheted through my chest like a jolt of electricity. Fingers shaking, I pulled out the phone. Scanning the message, my laugh lacked mirth.
Unknown: Don’t run tonight!!!
I turned the phone to show Brandi and her jaw dropped. “He’s watching you?” Her eyes skirted the ceiling. “You think he’s bugged this place.”
My pulse hammered, blurring my vision for just a moment. She wasn’t wrong. Even surrounded by doctors and nurses and the numbing hum of hospital life, I felt him. Like a shadow just behind me, a hand ghosting along my spine, a presence that refused to be shaken off no matter how far I ran.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past him, he’s that sick.” I swallowed hard, forcing air into my lungs. “I don’t know what to do,” I whispered, voice barely audible.
Brandi squeezed my shoulder, tight and terrified for me. “We’ll figure something out. But promise me you won’t meet him tonight.”
I looked down at the message again. Three simple words wrapped in exclamation marks. And a terrifying truth washed through me, flooding my veins with shock.
