But these men did terrify the shit out of me and I wished that Bill had been a bit more assertive in forcing his help on me. He could have made me listen to him and kept me where I was. But he didn’t.
And now I was in a bathroom possibly trapped with some damn killer. Shit. What was I going to do?
I waited and held my breath trying to be as quiet as I possibly could. Why me? Why did this bullshit have to happen to me? Dammit. I just had to hold on and wait. Maybe this was all in my head? It was possible that this was some random woman who worked here and they were obliviously creeping me the hell out. That was the hope anyway. I just had to hope that this would turn out benign.
I closed my eyes and I heard a flush of the toilet a few stalls down from me. I hadn’t even heard this person go. Were they just trying to use some ruse? Were they trying to get me to divulge myself? I had to ignore this. I waited. Patiently, terrified, I waited.
Then I heard them washing their hands, and a moment later they exited the bathroom. I felt my whole body ease up in the tension that had gripped me. Wow… I felt sick all over. I was sweating profusely and I no longer felt even the tiniest bit hungry. I just wanted to leave there and go back to Bill’s where I knew I would be safe.
But I didn’t.
I somehow got myself back together and then I left the stall. I washed my hands and wiped some sweat from my brow and face with a paper towel. Then I went back to my office and got right back to my duties. It was time to bury my head back in the sand again.
After work was over I felt really relieved, but also scared. I no longer felt that I had any coverage at all, or at least not until I was at Bill’s. I knew these men were lying in wait for me, just waiting for the right time to grab me. And it would happen. I couldn’t be guarded twenty-four hours a day.
I started heading down the hallway when I was stopped by Bob Rydel, one of my bosses. “Zion, how are you?”
“I’m ok,” I said.
“Great. Listen, do you have the briefs that I asked you to finish the other day? I really need those by tomorrow afternoon.”
The briefs. Shit. I’d forgotten about them. “Um, I do have them. They are at home. I’ll have them done tomorrow morning for you.”
“Fantastic. Thanks.”
He walked away whistling some jaunty tune.
Dammit. Now I had to go back to my place. The briefs were there. How could I have forgotten to take them with me when Bill and I swung by my place to pack my bag?
It happened. Now I just had to go get them. I would tell Bill.
But that was way out of his way and my home was on the way to his place. I could quickly swing by and pick them up. I really wish I hadn’t driven myself today. Bill had offered, but in my hope of returning to normalcy I was adamant about driving myself. That was now a fatal error it would seem.
I took a deep breath and decided to go for it. I knew I was being foolish, but my pride wouldn’t let me call Bill for help like some damsel in distress. I had worked hard in my life to prove my equality and I wasn’t about to fail that now.
I would at least have my police escorts, right?
That was the thought anyway, but when I went to tell them I was leaving they were gone. What the hell…? Did they suddenly have to leave? Or did they get called off me entirely and no one told me about it? What in the hell was going on? This was so disappointing. I was starting to see exactly why Bill didn’t trust cops at all.
When I got to my house, everything was silent. I expected the place to be ransacked or something but everything was exactly as I had left it. I crept into my house and glanced around. I didn’t see anything or anyone so I hurried down the hallway to my little office and grabbed the briefs off the desk.
Then I quickly hightailed it back towards the door. That was when I saw the headlights. They were pulling up about half a block down the street. They quickly turned off and I saw two large shadows getting out of the car. The street was dark. The men had parked far away from a lamp post and were hiding in the shadows. Shit.