Best Friend's Ex Box Set

He was busy planning his life after me.

The thought of Brian being interested in someone new sent my brain spinning down a path of destruction. I was mad and hurt, but most of all, I was frustrated that we weren’t doing anything to find Dominic and put an end to his reign of terror. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to stop him because he was rich and he was incredibly manipulative, and right now he had everyone fooled. Dominic’s modus operandi was to be friendly and amiable in public, and then to take out his frustrations in extraordinarily cruel ways in private. He intimidated his victims in a way that kept us all silent and afraid. I knew I wasn’t the only one who’d suffered at the hands of the blond monster, but how to get to the others without him knowing was a whole other matter.

When we returned from the gym on the third morning, I headed to the shower as I plotted my strategy for getting Dominic out into the open and exposing his nasty secrets. I turned on the water and began peeling off my workout clothes as I thought about the kinds of things that would attract him and how I could shape the encounter to trap him in his abuse. I didn’t want to let Brian know what I was doing because I didn’t think he’d agree with my approach, and I knew he would definitely not agree with my idea of using myself as bait to lure Dominic into the trap. The only thing that scared me was that if I did what I was planning, I’d have no backup. It would have to work seamlessly the first time or we’d be in real trouble. I stepped into the shower and began planning.

As I emerged from the bathroom, I saw Brian on his phone, and my blood began to boil despite the fact that I’d told myself over and over that it didn’t matter. He didn’t matter. None of this was real. I just had to endure it for a little while longer and then I could go back to the life I’d shaped on campus.

“You’re really adept at texting,” I observed casually.

“I’m working on something,” he replied absently.

“Oh yes, I can see that,” I tossed back.

“What does that mean?” He looked up as he caught the hint of sarcasm in my voice.

“Nothing, just an observation,” I shrugged.

“It sounds like a whole lot more than observing going on under the surface of that statement,” he replied.

I looked at him and debated whether I wanted to get into the discussion, but when the phone buzzed yet again. I swallowed my feelings and just shook my head as I headed over and fired up my laptop.

“I’m going to do some homework and see if I can’t stay caught up in my classes,” I said.

“Alright, if you’re sure you don’t have anything to say to me,” he offered. “If you want to get something off your chest, just let me know.”

“What on earth would I possibly want to get off my chest?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “You’re the one with the silent beef.”

“I don’t care what you do!” I said a little too forcefully. “I just want to go home in four days. That was our deal.”

“Indeed it was,” he replied, and then said nothing else. I sat waiting for him to say more, but once I realized he’d lapsed back into silence, I turned toward my computer and began pulling up the assignments that Jessie and Lara had pulled together for me.

I’d been able to download copies of the textbooks from the online store, so I spent the first hour reading the definitions of various psychiatric conditions, and when I got to the section on Narcissistic Personality Disorder, I sat staring at the screen for a long time. It wasn’t that I was unaware of Dominic’s personality traits, it’s that I’d never seen them laid out so clearly before. The book defined NPD as “characterized by an overinflated sense of self-importance, as well as dramatic, emotional behavior that is in the same category as antisocial and borderline personality disorders.” Nothing about that was surprising, but when I got to the definition of Sociopathy, I stopped reading and sat in front of the screen, afraid to move as I tried to control my breathing. It defined a sociopath as “characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse and disinhibited or bold behavior,” and what struck me about it most was that Dominic exhibited all of these characteristics, and had since the beginning. And I hadn’t noticed.

As I read further, I realized that I could use these personality traits to manipulate him into my trap and catch him, but it was going to require me to go back to playing the victim long enough to get him to believe that I wanted to come back to him, and I wasn’t sure that I could do that without damaging my psyche. I’d worked too hard to rebuild my self-esteem after I’d left Dominic, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to play with the foundation I’d built for fear that it would crack under the strain.

The more I read, the more I wondered if it was wise to enact my plan. What if Dominic brought a weapon? What if he decided he wanted to hurt innocent bystanders? What if he decides he wants to kill me instead? The last question replayed over and over in my mind as I tried to decide what was the best way to proceed. I knew I should be telling Brian about this, but I didn’t want to hear him tear the idea down, and I definitely didn’t want him to move into protective mode above and beyond what he was being paid to do.

I looked over my shoulder and saw that Brian was sitting on the couch engrossed in a texting conversation, so I turned back to the computer and began composing an email that I hoped would bring Dominic out of hiding and give me the opportunity to expose him for the monster he was.

Dear Dominic,

I’ve been thinking a lot about what you’ve said and written and I keep remembering how we had so many good times together and I don’t want to throw that away. I’m hesitant to jump back into anything, but I do feel like you deserve a chance to make your case and that I deserve the opportunity to hear what you really have to say to me. We shared a great love, and maybe it’s possible to revive what we once had and shape it into something even better.

Will you meet me on Thursday afternoon? I’m staying at our favorite escape with the bodyguard my father hired to “protect” me. Please, don’t worry about him, he’s nothing more than a hired gun who reports back to my father and sits around texting all day. He’s no competition for you, so let go of those thoughts and come find me and sweep me off my feet again.

Fondly,

Kitten

I had to swallow the bile that rose in the back of my throat as I reread my message. I felt none of the things I claimed to feel, and even writing them made me feel sick, but it was necessary if I wanted to lure Dominic into the trap I was about to set. I hesitated for a moment, swallowed again, and then pressed send.

I looked up from the computer and caught Brian staring at me from across the room. “What?” I asked.

“Nothing, just wondering how the homework is going,” he said.

“It’s. It’s fine. Why?” I asked. He was making me nervous with the way he was watching me, or maybe it was just my guilty conscience at work. Maybe he wasn’t