Page 53 of Hurt Me Not
Without letting him respond, I hung up and marched to the elevator.
Unfortunately for him, I was no longer alone. I had someone to protect. Someone who cared.
This time I wasn't letting Pearl go.
Fuck you, Dad. If you even come within ten feet of Pearl, I'll kill you myself.
Chapter 13
Pearl
Leslie's car was clearly a mom’s car. The SUV had a car seat in the back, plus a ton of toys and other things scattered around. She even had to move stuff out of the passenger seat for me to get in.
When Emerson never came back, she agreed to take me home, but no one at the office could know Emerson and I lived together. It was better that way to avoid rumors of anything else going on between us.
All I could do was hope she didn’t know Emerson's address, though she didn't mention it when I gave it to her, so I assumed we were safe.
“Does this happen often?” I asked as we got closer to Emerson's building. I'd been skirting around the topic during our drive and finally found the courage to ask. “Surprise guests, I mean.”
Leslie looked at me nervously out of the corner of her eye and chuckled.
“Not too often, no.” Her voice wavered a bit. “Emerson is getting famous out there for what she's done for our company and the others under her care. We don't tell her to her face, but she is very impressive. We're not the only ones who see it,though, and it would seem that some people… would like to take advantage of that.”
I clutched my bag in my hands.
I knew she’d met someone downstairs while I had lunch with Cristian and Leslie. After that, she walked in, got her stuff, and left. No explanation about what happened. She didn’t even make it to the meeting she had scheduled.
I didn't expect her to tell me where she was going or everything that she was doing, but it was the first time she wasn’t taking me home from the office. Total radio silence when I thought she’d text about that. I even thought, given our contract, that she might have been a little bit more open with me.
Even though she's not the only one.
I had been thinking about the text message I got, trying to figure out how I would break it to her. She was already asking about why I’d left school. I didn't want her finding out from someone else.
When it happened, everyone wanted to publish something about it, from gossip magazines to regular people with blogs. They were watching their very own true crime drama unfold before their eyes, and they just couldn't help themselves.
Everyone had been thirsty for my take on it or trying to find new angles on the case, uncaring that I almost died. All of it had been reduced to a flashy headline.
“Student Found Covered in Blood in Abandoned Classroom”
“Obsessed Stalker Corners Victim in Chilling Classroom Attack”
“Police Catch Killer in the Act—Victim Seconds from Death”
“Stalker Linked to String of Classmate Murders in Twisted Bid for Attention”
A thought crossed my mind.
What if Emerson’s surprise guest was him?
For all I knew, he was in jail for attempted murder. At least that's what I hoped. I had been too afraid to keep up with all of the news, unable to look back at the memories without feeling queasy. All I’d wanted to do was to forget.
Guilt ate at me, slowly destroying my insides.
Am I going to put Emerson in danger?
I couldn’t handle the thought of someone hurting her. Of him coming for her like he had for me.
Emerson could handle herself, I knew that. But that didn't stop me from worrying.
