“What the fuck, Rina?” Oakley whispers.
“I-I— Fuck, what did I just do?” I whimper as tears flood my eyes.
“What did he say at the end?” Oakley’s voice is calm, but when I look up at him, I can see the panic just below the surface.
“He said ‘I can’t wait until you’re mine again.’”
“Fuck, I need to call Arlo.” Oakley stands up and starts pacing, but the front door opens as he does.
The bell dings, and we turn to see who it is. When Arlo stops dead in his tracks, I close my eyes and realize trying to play hero was the wrong move. There’s nothing to do about it now, though, because knowing Tyler is my stalker means I want him caught yesterday. And this is the easiest way to do it.
“What happened?” he asks, looking between Willow, Oakley, and me.
Oakley turns his eyes toward me as if to say,This is your plan; you tell him,and even though he’s right, I make a vow to never build him a piece of furniture for Grind Time for him throwing me under the bus.
“I called Tyler.”
Chapter 37
Arlo
“You did what?” I yell, any remanence of calm gone with three words. I turn my attention to Oakley and lose it. “You were supposed to watch her. You were supposed to make sure she didn’t do anything stupid. How the fuck could you let this happen?”
His eyes flash with anger, but I couldn’t care less.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. I’m not a kid, Arlo!” Rina yells at me as she walks forward and shoves me in anger. I’m sure later, when I have time to reflect on this moment, I’ll realize I’m being an asshole, but that time is not now.
“You sure as hell are acting like one! Why the fuck would you call him?”
“Because I’m trying to end this!” she yells. “Because I don’t want Oakley to have to fucking watch me when you need to do something. Because I have a whole-ass business to run, and I want my normal life back!”
“This isn’t the way to accomplish that,” I growl.
“So that’s why I’m meeting him on Saturday and getting real evidence, so we can end this once and for all.”
It takes me a minute to register her words, but once I do, I stumble back against the side wall.
“Woah, easy there.” Oakley rushes over to me and helps me sit down. My vision blurs as my chest constricts. I feel like I can’t get enough air into my lungs, and my heart is beating too fast.
“Hey,” I hear Rina’s voice, but it does nothing to calm me. “Breathe with me. In; one, two, three, four, five. Out; one, two, three, four, five.” I try to follow her directions, but the lack of oxygen is making me feel slow. “Again. In; one, two, three, four, five. Out; one, two, three, four, five. Good, that’s good, baby.” It’s the fear in her voice that drags me back to the surface. Her eyes focus on me as she repeats her count, and I try with all of my energy to follow her words.
“Good, you’re doing good. One more time.” She guides me once again through the breathing exercise I’ve only told her about once, and my chest finally unlocks and I feel like I can get air again.
“Hi,” I croak as the panic recedes.
“Hi.” She still looks concerned.
“I—” I have no idea how to explain what just happened.
“Nope. No explanation needed. I’m sorry for causing it.” She looks like she’s about to cry.
I take a shaky breath and try to organize my thoughts. Looking around, I see Willow tucked under Oakley’s side with worry on her face, and he looks a little shellshocked.
Fuckkkk. I hate that they all had to watch me like this. I hate that I’m not further along with my therapy to prevent an incident like this. It makes me feel weak.
“I’m sorry you guys had to see that. Is there any way I can borrow the apartment upstairs for, like, twenty minutes?” I owe them all a bigger explanation, but right now, I need to call my therapist so he can help me digest the information I justgot from Rina.
“Of course. It’s all yours. We’re closed up, so just come down when you’re finished and lock up. We’ll head home, but call me later,” Oakley says.
