“You’re always scanning and checking and looking for things,” I said.
“Well, it’s part of my job. I’m supposed to make sure that any threat is neutralized, and that you’re safe.”
“But it’s more than that,” I argued. “It’s like you’re never not on.”
“I guess I always am,” he shrugged. “But that’s not what you want to talk about is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why is Dominic after you? What happened between you two?” His honest question caught me off guard, but I quickly recovered and began telling the story that I’d told everyone who’d ever asked.
“Yeah, well, I’m not entirely sure what happened aside from the fact that I broke up with him when I caught him cheating on me,” I recited the scrubbed version so many times that it felt like the truth. “We were fine until that happened, and then he just kind of lost it. He started writing me and following me around trying to convince me to come back, and when I refused, he started to get more forceful.”
Brian sat watching me from across the room, his eyes like lasers, and I suddenly felt more exposed than I ever had in my life. I looked away, focusing my gaze on the couch in the other room as I talked. I told him about how Dominic had shown up in my dorm one evening, pleading and begging.
“He’d wanted me to come home with him, but something felt off, and when I said no, he became enraged. My suite
mates had finally called the police and they’d hauled him out the dorm, but didn’t arrest him because his father had even more money and power than mine, and was a big university donor.” I rolled my eyes dramatically to show him how little respect I had for all the money and power. “The next day, I went down to the court and filed a personal protection order, but I knew that it was just a piece of paper and that if he really wanted to get to me, it wouldn’t stop him. And then Dominic disappeared. I had no idea what had happened to him, but when my father got wind of the incident and asked about what had happened, I told him. He didn’t say anything more about it, and then he hired you. And that’s my sad tale of woe. Poor little rich girl, eh?”
“That’s a lovely story,” Brian said.
“What?” I wasn’t sure I had heard him correctly.
“It’s really nicely constructed and well-rehearsed, I’ll give you that,” he replied.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” I yelled.
“Sure you do,” he countered. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. That’s the story you’ve told your parents and all the nosy people who’ve tried to pry into your personal life, but it’s a lie. You know it, and you know I know it.”
“I…I…I…” I stuttered as I tried to find a way to cover my vulnerability. He’d seen past my carefully constructed mask and was calling me out.
“Ava, look, I’m not here to spy on you or rat you out to your parents,” he said with an earnest sincerity. “I’m here to make sure that Dominic doesn’t hurt you, that’s it. My whole job is to protect you, but I can’t do that if I don’t know what kind of enemy I’m up against. You need to come clean if I’m going to be able to do my job.”
“I…I…I can’t,” I whispered.
“Yes, you can,” he replied as he moved from the chair to the edge of the bed. Reaching out, he cupped my chin with his large hand and tipped my face up so that I was looking him in the eye. “You can’t escape a nightmare until you tell someone about it, and I’m the person who can help you leave it behind.”
“How on earth would you know anything about a nightmare!” I yelled. “You know nothing about this!”
“Maybe not this particular nightmare,” he said quietly as he held my gaze. “But believe me, I know about nightmares. So, tell me. Let me help you escape. Please, Ava?”
*****
I stared silently at Brian as my brain frantically searched for a way to explain my way out of the spotlight he’d just shone on my story. It wasn’t that I’d lied to anyone, it was more that I’d committed the sin of omission, and in doing so, thought that I’d fooled everyone into believing that things weren’t nearly as bad as they’d actually been. Everyone around me had wanted to believe my story, and I knew that the reality of the situation was more than they could handle, so I told them only small details and left out the big, scary parts. My parents didn’t ask at all, so I didn’t even have to omit anything. We just didn’t speak.
“I don’t
know what you’re talking about,” I insisted even as the tears began to leak from the corners of my eyes. “I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine!”
“Ava,” Brian’s voice was soft as he continued cupping my chin, refusing to let me look away. “It’s okay. It’s safe to talk about it here with me. I promise.”
“You wouldn’t understand,” I whispered.
“Try me.”
I looked up into his steely blue eyes and saw something so familiar there that I had to look away. When I looked back up at him, the steel had been replaced by a softer expression, and something in me broke. I took a deep breath and began to tell the whole story; the real one.
“Dominic and I met during Rush Week,” I began. “He was trying to get into the Fiji house, and I thought the entire week was a joke. We both come from families with enormous wealth, and so we bonded over our rich kid isolation. I know, pathetic, isn’t it?”