As soon as Dawson shuts the door, he asks, “Where to?”
I cringe, hating that he’s going to see where I live. I give him the address, and he puts it into the GPS on his phone. I lay my head back and close my eyes, thinking that I’ll just keep to myself the whole way. It’s not like he wants to talk to me or anything. Actually, I can’t believe he’s even taking me home. Before this moment, I would have thought he was the kind of man that would leave a woman stranded in a parking lot.
“So how are you liking Savage Ink?” he asks, the deep timbre of his voice filling the car.
“It’s fine,” I answer swiftly.
“How many hours have you logged for the apprenticeship?”
“Nine hundred and fifty. I have to do twelve hundred to apply for my license.”
“That’s good. You’re almost there.”
I nod, knowing I should thank him. Besides today, he has let me observe all his piercings and even do a few, but the words don’t come out.
The rest of the trip is mostly in silence. It’s not uncomfortable, but it’s not relaxed either. Just neither one of us talks. The closer we get to Jasper, the more I start to fidget. And when Dawson follows the GPS and turns into my apartment complex, I try not to focus on everything I see. Not the men that are always sitting on the corner, drinking forties. Or the prostitutes that try to wave cars down. I point to the third apartment building, and he keeps going, pulling into a parking space in the front. He’s looking out the front windshield at the men straight in front of us, blocking the path to my apartment. I’ll have to walk past them to get to my apartment, just like I do every night. They’ll make some rude comments, but that’s as far as it goes.
“Emily...” Dawson starts.
I grab the door and try to ignore the pity I hear in his voice. “Thank you for the ride, Dawson. I appreciate it.”
“Wait, I’ll walk you in,” he says, reaching for his door.
I grab on to his shoulder. “No! Trust me, it will be better if I go alone. They don’t do well with strangers around here.”
“Fuck that. I’m walking you in. I’m not worried about what they think about anything.”
“Dawson, listen. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time. I don’t need you to walk me in. You don’t understand this, but you’re just going to make this worse for me by going in there.”
“Fuck, Emily. I can’t just leave you here.”
For just a second, I think he cares, but just as quickly I talk myself out of that. He doesn’t care. For a month now, he’s made my life a living hell. This is just some sort of misplaced concern. He doesn’t want Aiden or Treyton to be mad if I get killed or something. “I’m not your responsibility, Dawson. Please just stay in the car.”
I get out and open the back door to pull out my tote and purse. Like every other night, I put my bags over my shoulder and walk in with my hand in my purse, wrapped around the pepper spray. And just like every other night, the three men try to chat it up with me as I walk by, and I ignore them, hustling toward my door. I don’t dare look back at Dawson. Yes, just like every other girl, I thought I’d have a knight in shining armor, but I know that Dawson Reed is not that. There’s no reason for me to even get my hopes up about that.
4
Dawson
I can’t take my eyes off Emily as she walks from my car to the first level apartment that she lives in. I watch as she stands at her door, shoulders hunched as she works the key into the door and then disappears inside. I should drive away. But I can’t. I roll down my window, and I can still hear the guys talking on the sidewalk up ahead. I can hear everything they’re saying, and they’re not even trying to be quiet about it. When I hear the big one talk about how he wants to climb in her bedroom window, I’m done. I can’t do it. I know she’s independent, and I know she doesn’t like me, but there’s no way I’m leaving her here.
I grit my teeth, knowing this could turn bad. I roll up the window, open the car door, and slam it shut. There’s no reason to try and be quiet. Half the block has been watching me since I pulled into the lot. I walk up the sidewalk, staring at the three men as I pass.
“Nice ink,” one of them says.
I nod as I walk past them. As soon as I get to Emily’s door, I knock. When she doesn’t answer, I knock again. “Emily, open up. It’s me, Dawson.”