Enigma (24 page)

“I’ve told you before that any time you need me all you have to do is say my name and I’ll come as fast as I can,” he said, kissing my forehead and squeezing me.

“I know, but I’m never in trouble. Sometimes I just miss you. I know I see you all the time, but it gets lonely when I’m alone.”

“That’s when you need me the most then. Loneliness tends to make people get in trouble.”

“Not me. People tend to get me in trouble.”

“Not anymore. I’ll have to do something to them that they won’t enjoy if they try to get you in trouble.”

The elevator stopped on floor eight and Avan walked me to my door, taking out his keys and unlocking it before twisting the handle and pushing it open so I could enter first. I loved how four months had passed since the first day he opened a door for me and he continued to do so.

The apartment that now belonged to me was beautiful. The walls were a light brown/beige color with white trim and crown molding on the ceilings. I had a gas fireplace that I liked much better than real wood because I could just turn it on with a remote control. The furniture I picked out was brown leather and cherry wood, which matched various wall hangings and a few paintings. The kitchen was bigger than most of the apartment kitchens I had seen, but not huge.

The cabinets matched the cherry wood on the furniture and the countertops were black granite with traces of white and silver. I had picked out a table with a granite top and cherry wood legs that seated four; it sat at the end of the kitchen in the dining area. Since the apartment was a three bedroom, two and a half bath with a laundry room, I turned one room into an office area, took the master bedroom for myself, and left the third bedroom as a guest room.

Avan stretched himself out on the sofa, looking so comfortable he could fall asleep. I went into the kitchen to rummage around for something that would cure my hunger problem. I hated days when nothing sounded good. I had all my favorite foods stocked in the cabinets and the refrigerator, but nothing sounded good enough to make me want to eat it. I went from the cabinet to the refrigerator, back and forth, until I finally came to the conclusion that if it was this difficult to decide what to eat, then I was clearly not as hungry as I thought I was. I closed the refrigerator and pulled a few sticky notes off the calendar that hung on the front, reminding me of tasks I had already completed.

I wadded the notes in my hand and tossed them into the trashcan underneath the kitchen sink before making my way back to the living room. I found Avan lying in the same position as he had dozed off into a nap. I crawled over the back of the couch and curled up next to him between his body and the back of the couch; I rested my head on his shoulder. He turned himself toward me without opening his eyes and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close to him.

I watched Avan sleep for so long that I lost track of what time it was. He looked relaxed as he lay there not having to think about anything. His breathing was steady and deep as I listened. His hair fell across the cushion of the couch, looking so soft it made me want to run my fingers through it. I loved being here with him. He was always so strong and confident, but I loved seeing him vulnerable and cute too.

The way his head titled and the profile of his jaw made me want to trace my finger down his face and pull him in for a kiss, but I knew it would wake him so I resisted the temptation and rested my hand over his heart instead. Before I knew it my breathing matched his as I listened to his steady heartbeat and for the first time I drifted to sleep in his arms.

When I woke up it was dark and Avan was no longer beside me. I disliked that I was no longer in his arms anymore as I sat up, trying to focus my eyes. Swinging my feet to the floor I walked through the kitchen and down the hallway, where I noticed a faint light coming from the office. I neared the door and looked inside to find Avan leaning back reading a book by candlelight. For a minute I just stayed in the doorway admiring how he looked in the candle light, wishing it were over dinner rather than spying on him.

“I was wondering when you’d wake up,” he said, looking in my direction.

“How long was I asleep?”

“I would say about two hours longer than me.”

“So in other words we really have no idea,” I said with a small laugh.

“Long enough to know how cute you are when you talk about me in your sleep,” He replied with a smile and looked up from the book in his hand.

“I do not!”

“Oh, you do.”

“Seriously?”

“Clear as a bell!” he added, clearly enjoying it.

“Have you ever read this?” Avan asked, flipping to the cover of the book.

“I’m not sure. What’s it called?”

“It’s a journal.”

“No, I don’t know of any journals. It must have been left here from before,” I said, not really interested by a book of ranting entries compiled together about some stranger’s life.

“You should give it a try sometime. It’s pretty interesting stuff,” he replied putting it back on the shelf.

Agreeing that we were both starving, we decided to make dinner, even though it was 1:00 a.m. Neither of us felt like making a huge mess or cleaning up, so we settled for frozen pizzas and bottled water. We cuddled on the couch watching reruns on TV, not feeling nearly tired enough to fall asleep again anytime soon. As the commercials came on between segments, we laughed at the ones for different medications; they insisted to viewers that they should ask their doctor about starting on them after they just listed every ailment known to mankind as a possible side effect.

Who on earth would want to ask their doctor about getting on a medication that could cause severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, headaches, rashes, diarrhea, and in some cases death? Even if it cured cancer and aids, if it could cause all that stuff it certainly would not be worth it in my opinion! These companies were not rich enough to pay me enough money to take a medication that might cause all that mess!

We were laughing until we nearly fell off the couch as we made up our own commercials for fictitious products, being sure to add hideous side effect possibilities. I was laughing so hard my sides hurt as Avan went on and on about some made up wart removal that would rid children of the ugliest of stepmothers, and how if you acted now you could receive not one but two bottles of the product for one low price, if they paid separate shipping and processing fees.

As hard as I was laughing the feeling that someone was watching us suddenly overwhelmed me. My laughter stopped instantly as I felt my face turn serious. Avan noticed right away and asked me what was wrong. I was unsure of how to explain someone was watching us on the eighth floor locked inside my apartment but I knew that we were. I told him the feeling had come over me, and he told me not to worry and that there was nothing that could reach me here. I am not sure what had drawn me to do so, but I got up from the couch and looked out the window down toward the street. Standing there underneath the lamppost was a man dressed in black from his hat down to his shoes, staring right back up at me as if he were able to make eye contact with me.

I backed away from the window as quickly as I could, hoping I was too high up for him to realize I had seen him. I told Avan to see if he could get a better view. He rushed over to the window, but by the time he got there the man was gone. He assured me that there was no possible way anyone could set foot in this building without Bob’s permission, so that lamppost was as close as this guy was going to be able to get to me. Still, sensing my discomfort, he told me he would stay here with me until I felt safe enough.

I knew Avan would do everything in his power to keep me out of harm’s way, but it did not stop me from being scared. What could this person want? I had kept my apartment a secret. How could anyone besides my friends at Spirits, the judge, and my accountant know where I had gone? It made no sense of how word could have spread so fast that I was no longer at Lena’s anymore. I had even graduated and left behind the popular-girl rumor mill! High school was the gossip central of Oceanview! Also, it was summer; most people were either on vacation or spending all their time oiled up on a beach! What was so interesting about me that someone had to follow me and harass me?

Just as the question had popped in my head, I considered a possible answer. Ian Bentley. It had been months since I heard from him. Since Lena had come back from the movie shoot, I had not even heard his name. He had stopped all of the nonsensical texting and over-the-top voice messages on my phone. I also stopped receiving any more threatening notes. Ian was looking better and better as the prime suspect, but what could he possibly gain from all this?

If Ian Bentley wanted to scare me it did not require having to dress up or leave notes—all he had to do was show his face. I could barely stand it when I heard the name Ian randomly out in public. In stores I would catch myself hiding behind shelves, scouting out the area before coming back out into view just to make sure no one was talking to the same Ian. The memory of our only date plagued me day in and day out.

Reading my mind again, Avan tensed every muscle in his body like a tiger getting ready to pounce on an unsuspecting victim. I could tell he was ready to stalk the darkened streets and alleyways until he found Ian and gave him a lesson he would never forget. Debating on calling the police to report this person as a stalker, I weighed my options. Sure I lived in a very secure building, but this individual knew how to find me; there was no way I could just stay in the top of Angel Towers behind a locked door for the rest of my life!

At least if I called the police and had them come fill out a report, then it would be on file if something ever did happen, and they would know better than to think I was just missing by choice. The bad thing was that until I knew who it was, filing for a restraining order was pointless. I pinned it on Ian Bentley because he seemed like the most likely suspect, but I had no concrete evidence. The other key thing in this situation is that I was actually the only person who had ever seen this guy. The first thing the police would ask was why I decided not to call the very first time I received a note on my car.

I knew they were going to want answers to questions that I simply did not have good answers to. Seeing as how once again I was stuck at a fork in the road with insufficient evidence, I opted not to get the police involved. I remembered Detective O’Donoly telling me three years ago that I could always call him, but I just felt like he would think I was suffering from PTSD. The last thing I needed to do was give a detective an open invitation to my peculiar life. Grabbing Avan’s hand, I pulled him back on to the couch with me, where he cuddled me close the rest of the night in his rock, solid arms where not even the dark feeling could penetrate his protective embrace.

Even sitting here with Avan I was plagued with the thought of how I felt when I looked out the window and saw the figure under the lamppost. Pulling away from Avan, I suddenly felt the need to go downstairs and check everything out. I knew Avan had told me no one could enter Angel Towers unless they lived here or had special clearance from Bob, but I wanted to see for myself if this person was lurking about, waiting for me in the shadows.

I knew I was surrounded by people who would do anything in their power to ensure that no harm would ever come to me, so why did I still feel like I needed to go and check out the area where the figure had been? I could not make sense of any of this in my mind, but nothing could stop me from going to make sure everything was all right. After several minutes of insistent whining and begging, Avan agreed to check things out, but I was to follow rather than lead and not take any chances that could lead to something happening to me.

Opening the door, Avan looked up and down the hallway before walking out the door. Once he was in the hallway, he went up and down each direction before coming to the decision that it was safe and no one was there. I waited for him to pop his head back inside the door to tell me the coast was clear before I followed behind him down the hall to the elevator. Pushing the button, I could tell Avan was not one bit crazy about going downstairs to look for the person who was invading my life and privacy. The sound of the elevator made him take a defensive stance as he braced himself to take on anything that might be inside the elevator.

As the doors came open and slid apart, it was clear no one was inside, but before getting in, Avan insisted on checking the ceiling tiles and the door to be certain it was completely safe. Walking inside, we pressed the buttons, closed the doors, and headed to the ground floor as Avan looked over his shoulder, instructing me again to let him lead the way. I knew why he was being so over protective. After all, I was oblivious to which way the creep had gone and being the wee hours of the morning, there were not many people who would notice if anything went wrong. In fact, I was not even sure anyone could hear us from the parking garage at all.

The elevator doors slid open as we made our way out into the large, empty lobby. The furniture was in the same place and clearly untouched. The front doors appeared as though they had been unused since last evening, and everything seemed to be silent with no detection of anyone being remotely close. Avan walked to the plate-glass windows that lined the lobby and took a look outside, noting every detail of what he saw mentally. I was sure all he saw were the same things I did when I looked out of them. A pitch-black sky was just outside the window that looked down on a sleeping world.

A lamppost next to the street cast a halo of light around the bulb and shone down onto the sidewalk and grass. I knew there were flowers and trees decorating the outside of the building, but it was too dark to distinguish them. From this angle all they resembled were dark eerie shadows that sent chills down my spine. The hair on my neck and arms rose as I thought of the stalker camouflaged in their protection, waiting for me to come looking for him so he could strike.

Convinced that there was no one in front of the building Avan, signaled for me to follow him toward the entrance to the parking garage. When we walked out of the building I felt a sudden change. Inside Angel Towers I always felt calm, collected, and safe. At the moment I left the doorway of the building I felt vulnerable again. I could definitely tell that whatever protection Angel Towers provided, once you left the safe haven created by its walls, you were a sitting duck for whatever or whoever may be after you! I just wanted to run back inside and get back into my apartment behind closed doors, safe from the entire world where nothing could touch me. However, I was the one who came up with this idea so, there was no way I could be the loser that wimps out and runs the other direction, especially after nagging Avan into agreeing with my idiotic plan to be a CSI! I had to keep my composure and suck it up!