You belong to me, Ava. You are mine.
Please stop fighting what I know you know is the right thing. We are meant to be together. We are meant to shape a life that will be full and beautiful together. I want to marry you and raise a family with you.
Only with you, Ava.
Why are you being so stubborn and refusing to see that we are ordained by God to be together? Come back to me, Ava. Come back and I will fulfill you beyond your wildest dreams. I will give you the moon and the stars. I will move heaven and earth to ensure that you are happy. All the riches of the world will be at your disposal and I will make sure that no one ever disturbs you or makes you unhappy.
Only I can do that for you, Ava. You know this to be true. I’m the one who loves you more than anyone else.
Please come back to me, Ava. I need you. I need you to be with me.
If you can’t come back to me, I promise that I will come and find you, Ava. I will come for you and rescue you from the clutches of those who would silence you and keep you from me.
And I am telling you now that if that Neanderthal has in any way hurt you, I will do more than simply rescue you. If he has hurt you, I will end him.
Why won’t you come back to me, Ava? Why are you staying with him? Why don’t you choose me?
I am warning you, Ava. If you don’t return to me, I will find you. I will hunt you down and I will reclaim you as my own. And if you won’t come with me and be mine, as you should be, the consequences will be dire.
If you refuse to welcome me back into your life, then you will have no life at all, and neither will the loser who thinks you love him.
Loving you always,
D.
As I read the note, I felt sick. Dominic was obviously delusional, and reading his rambling thoughts on how our “relationship” needed to be rekindled made me simultaneously outraged and disgusted.
“Ava, are you okay?” Brian asked as he watched me read the note for a third time.
“Fine,” I said absently. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” he pointed out. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I looked up at Brian and threw my hands up in the air. “How do I even counter his inability to live in reality?” I asked helplessly.
“Ava, we need to go to the police,” he said quietly.
“No! I told you, we can’t do that!” I cried.
“But I’m starting to wonder if he’s lost it,” Brian said. “And if he has, then I might not be able to protect you from his psychotic break. This is about your safety, Ava, not your father’s ego.”
“Stop it! I know that!” I yelled. I was panicked because I knew that this note was not a good sign, but I also knew that notifying the police would set off a reaction from my father that might end with Brian being fired and me never seeing him again. I couldn’t stand the thought of not being with him or feeling him touch me ever again. I looked up into his eyes and willed him to understand what it was that I couldn’t say.
“Ava, we have to do something,” he said as he reached out and cupped my face. “We can’t sit around and wait for him to make his move. It’s not safe.”
I nodded as I folded the note and put it back in the envelope. I had no idea what to do next. How could we protect me from Dominic’s imagination? What would he do to me? What would he do to Brian? The thought of Dominic harming Brian made me ill, but I had no plan for how to protect him.
“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted. “And I’m scared…”
“I know,” Brian said as he wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my head. “We’ll figure something out. Together.”
*****
“Ava, we’re going to have to move out of here for a while,” Brian said. “You know that you’re not safe here, don’t you?”
I nodded and fought back the rising panic that threatened to swallow me. The thoughts raced through my mind: Why do I have to move? Why can’t Dominic just leave me alone? Why is my life such a mess? Brian held me tight as I fought to get my bearings, and once I’d calmed down, he began making plans to try and shore up my security.
I began packing a bag as he sat on the couch and tapped out text after text, arranging for us to move out of the dorm until Dominic could be located, questioned, and, hopefully, locked up. The sound of Brian’s phone ringing broke the silence and he stepped out into the hall to answer it.