I shook my head against Brian’s chest, not wanting to have to think about where Dominic might keep such awful mementos of his abuse. For the hundredth time s
ince this all started, I wondered how I could have possibly ended up here. Is this all my fault?
“Ava, none of this is your fault,” Brian whispered as if reading my thoughts. “Dominic is a sick individual, and you had nothing to do with that sickness. You were a victim of it as much as the rest of us.”
“But I couldn’t stop him,” I sobbed.
“None of us could, alone,” Brian soothed. “It took all of us to stop that level of sickness. You can’t blame yourself.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t sure I believed him. Brian held me as the officers finished up their preliminary work and told him that we’d need to come down to the station to file reports and give statements the next day. Brian took the officer’s card and assured him that we would be there the next morning.
As soon as the police had closed the door behind them, Brian quickly grabbed our bags, threw our things in them, and hustled me out to the car. He didn’t explain and I didn’t ask, but we both knew that staying in the hotel was no longer an option - or a necessity.
Once on the road, I knew exactly where we were headed, and I smiled when Brian pulled up outside of the dorm. He carried the bags up to my room and then said, “Get comfortable, I’m going to go pick up dinner.”
“Don’t leave!” I cried, afraid that if he left something terrible would happen. “Can’t they deliver it?”
“Ava, please don’t worry,” he smiled as he pulled me into his arms and held me close. “Nothing bad is going to happen. Not now.”
I smiled as I hugged him tightly, then whispered, “But don’t leave, okay?”
“Fine, you win,” he said as he stepped back and looked at me, smiling. “I’ll call and have it all delivered. Although, after today, I’d have guessed that you’d be a little more wary of people delivering food to your door.”
“Don’t joke about it!” I laughed as I swatted him lightly. “Just get it here soon, I’m starving!”
Brian smiled as he pulled out his phone and called in the order, then he turned and pulled me back into his arms and we stood holding each other for a long time.
*****
When the food arrived, the knock on the door startled us both. We’d been standing in the middle of the room with our arms around each other, appreciating the silence and the feel of our bodies pressed together. I could smell Brian’s cologne, and mixed with my perfume and our sweat, and nothing had ever smelled better—except maybe the pizza Brian had ordered.
We dug into the huge pizza and ate with gusto. It felt like a whole other lifetime since we’d eaten, and maybe it had been. We were the same people that we’d been that morning, and yet, totally different now. I looked at Brian as I slurped up the cheese that stretched between the dough and my mouth and wondered what he was planning to do now that he didn’t have to watch over me anymore. I wondered when my father would call and relieve him of his duties. I wondered if I’d ever see him again after tonight.
Brian smiled at me with a mouth full of cheese and pepperoni, and said, “I’m here to stay, Ava.”
“How did you know?” I asked with wide eyes.
“I don’t know, I can just hear what you’re thinking when you want to ask me something,” he shrugged.
“You can read my thoughts?” I blurted out.
“No, not like I can read your mind,” he laughed. “I can just tell when you’re thinking something that you want to ask me and you are afraid to put the question into words.”
“I’m not sure I like that,” I said darkly. After all the fear and hiding I’d had to do with Dominic, I wasn’t sure if I wanted a man in my life who thought he could read my thoughts. I wasn’t sure if that was a safe thing.
“I promise that I’ll always use my powers for good,” he swore as he raised his right hand and looked straight into my eyes.
“Alright, then…” I said, not quite convinced, but appreciative of the gesture. “So, what are you going to do next?”
“I have no idea,” he laughed. “I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“Will you be leaving?” I asked hesitantly.
“Do you want me to stay?” he replied. I looked at him and wondered if I did. Did I want him to stay with me? What would that mean? What would he do? We couldn’t live here in my dorm room, but was I ready to move in with him? The questions came tumbling one after another. “Ava, I’m not asking if you want to marry me or even move in with me, I’m simply asking if you’d like it if I stayed.”
“I think I would,” I whispered softly as I looked down at my plate. “I would like that very much.”
“Then it’s settled, I’m staying,” he announced. I smiled and took another bite of my pizza, and chewed slowly as I looked over at the handsome man sitting next to me. The one who had saved my life and was now willing to stay in a small college town to be near me.