I felt my mouth go dry. “I’m sorry you had a hard time.”
“Oh, don’t worry, you understand better than most, don’t you? I know your daddy wasn’t exactly the picture of fatherly devotion. What did he do to you, huh? Did he beat you bloody?”
“He never touched me.”
“Oh, no, I guess he saved that for your mom.”
I felt my anger flare up and I stopped retreating. He grinned at me, clearly enjoying himself. “My father never hit us. He was a piece of shit, and he stole all our cash, but he wasn’t violent.”
“Good for him then. What a great guy, he ruined your life, but hey, he never fucking hit you.” He laughed and shook his head. “You should be so fucking proud.”
“Go to hell. I don’t have to take this from you anymore.”
“But you do, darling.” He stood a few feet away, arms spread out. “You were supposed to be mine, but you ran from me, and somehow got that piece of shit doctor to protect you. I’m not going to let you run away from me, damn you. I’m not going to let you get away.”
“I’m not yours to own, you sick shit.”
“So you think.”
He lunged for me. I skittered back like a scared animal and he only caught air. I turned and ran as fast as I could, heart hammering, and I heard him chase after behind me, whooping with delight like we were playing tag.
I felt a scream in my chest but couldn’t make it come forward. I was breathing too hard, working to stay one step ahead of him. He was bigger than me and stronger, but I was a good runner and in halfway decent shape from going for long runs through my neighborhood back before the accident. I heard him stomping along in boots, huffing and puffing, and I knew that if I could keep going, get some distance, I could get away. He might’ve been faster for a few hundred feet, but I could outlast him.
I stumbled on a curb and barely avoided a girl in a cute sundress. She shouted something and I heard Cosimo curse back. I sprinted forward, made another turn, and kept going, crossing the street without looking, running recklessly. A horn went off nearby, Cosimo shouted something, but he kept coming. I collided with a parked car, rolled off it, jumped up on the curb, danced around a young guy pushing a stroller, and reached the intersection.
Another turn, and I was getting close to Gavin’s place. I dodged more people, yelling at them to move, heart going wild in my chest. I got some crazy looks, and I bet they saw the fear in my eyes, but I doubted they’d call the police. This sort of thing didn’t happen to these people, in their fancy houses with their nice, clean streets. Gavin lived in a rich part of the city, which meant I couldn’t rely on strangers helping me.
I saw his stoop ahead and risked a glance back. Cosimo ran after me, but he was half a block back, his face bright red with anger. I reached the door, yanked the keys from my pocket, and unlocked it. I slipped inside before he caught me and slammed the door, shoving the bolt into place.
He banged on it a second later as I stood gasping for breath in the foyer.
“Open the fucking door,” Cosimo growled. “Open it before I break it down and slit your pretty throat. You think I’m above that? I’d love to taste your dead tongue. I’ll drink all your blood, you fucking whore, open the fucking door.”
I crouched down, covering my head, heart racing. I felt sobs in my chest and had to fight them back. This was supposed to be over, we were supposed to be moving on—and yet that bastard still wouldn’t let me go.
It was a nightmare I’d never wake up from.
The banging stopped after another minute. I fumbled for my phone and sent Gavin a text. Cosimo is here. He attacked me. I hit send without thinking about it, and realized too late that he probably wouldn’t see it for a while. I groaned and considered calling the cops, but decided against it.
Getting the cops involved might only make things more complicated.
Slowly, I got to my feet. I still gasped for breath but my heart calmed and the fear began to slowly fade. I took a step toward the kitchen then stopped as I heard a sound from behind the house, in the back yard. It was the sound of something knocking over a chair, the metal back banging against the concrete slab.
“Oh, fuck,” I whispered, then heard the sound of shattering glass.
“Come out, come out, little piggy,” Cosimo said, laughing, and I heard him unlock the back door.27GavinI patted Mrs. Anderson’s hand and she smiled at me, her throat bobbing up and down as she swallowed. “You’ll be just fine,” I said. “Let the nurses take care of you from here.”