“No, I’m okay,” I said softly. “I know how to travel light.”
“Well, once we get you situated, I can always come back and pick up your things later,” he said as he gently guided me toward the lot where he’d parked his black SUV.
*****
I sat quietly staring out the passenger side window as Brian drove. My mind raced as I tried to figure out what Dominic would do next. Would he actually hurt me? Was he capable of such a thing? I wasn’t sure anymore.
“I’m taking you to a hotel that I know has solid security,” Brian’s voice interrupted my racing thoughts. “I’ve arranged for a suite where I can monitor what’s going on while still giving you some privacy, okay?”
“What? Oh, yeah, that’s fine,” I replied, my thoughts still on what Dominic might do.
“What’s his deal, anyway?” Brian asked. “The guy seems more than a bit obsessed. What happened between the two of you?”
“He was never like this before.” I was annoyed by the question because I couldn’t answer it. “I mean, he’s written notes and called asking me to come back, but he’s never approached me since the breakup and he’s certainly never attacked me. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”
“There has to be some reason that things have changed,” he mused. “Has something in his life changed recently?”
“How would I know?” I shot back defensively. “I broke up with the guy and we’re not BFFs!”
“I know, but something had to have changed if he’s getting more obsessed with you,” he continued.
“Look, I have no clue what’s going in with Dominic, and if I did, I’d tell you,” I lied. I knew I was dangerously close to spilling the whole story, but I also knew that if I did, Brian would go running back to my father and tell him everything. It wasn’t that I cared so much about whether my father knew or not, it was the fact that I knew if the whole story came out there would be hell to pay, and it would become another way for my father to manipulate people and make it all about himself. I just wanted to put it all behind me and move on with my life.
“You’re sure about that?” he said as he turned into the drive of the hotel and pulled up to the front door. He put the SUV in park, but left the engine running. He opened the door and got out, but before he shut the door, he quietly said, “Because I’m not.”
It didn’t take long for Brian to register and since I didn’t have any luggage, we were soon on the elevator headed up to a large suite on the top floor of the hotel. I watched Brian out of the corner of my eye as the elevator ascended. Although he seemed calm on the outside, I could see him scanning the interior of the small space the same way he’d done down in the lobby, on the track, and everywhere else.
“What’s up with the scanning?” I blurted out.
“Huh?” he seemed genuinely confused by the question.
“I’ve noticed that you are constantly in scan mode” I said cautiously. “Even when it’s not really necessary, like now.”
“Oh,” he dropped his eyes to the floor and didn’t look up.
“I’m not judging or anything,” I offered. “I’m just asking why you’re constantly doing it.”
“Dunno,” he shrugged as he stared at the floor.
I could see that a wall had gone up, but I had no idea how to scale it, so I stopped asking and went back to analyzing my own situation. Figuring out what Dominic was going to do next wasn’t going to be easy; he’d become less predictable since I’d left and it scared me to know that he had tracked me down on campus. How else would he have known where to find me? And as I thought about it more, I realized that the only way he could have found me would have been if he had been following me. The thought made me shudder.
“You cold?’ Brian asked as the elevator doors slid open. He stepped out into the hall and scanned the corridor before motioning me forward.
“No, just thinking,” I replied as I stepped in behind him and followed him down the hall to the suite. He unlocked the door, held up a hand indicating I should stay in the hall, then quickly made his way through the rooms, turning on lights as he went. Thirty seconds later, he was back at the door motioning me to come in and shut the door behind me. It all felt very covert, and I looked at him skeptically as he moved toward the windows and pulled the curtains closed.
“Your room is over here,” he opened the door connecting one of the bedrooms to the main area and waved me over. “You’re probably pretty tired, so I’ll let you get some sleep.”
“Okay,” I said as I headed toward my room. Once inside, I turned and called out, “Brian?”
“Yes?” came his immediate response.
“I don’t think I can…I mean, I’m not…Would you just stay?” I stammered.
“Sure thing,” he smiled as came back into the room. He pulled the curtains apart a bit and checked outside before sitting down in the big chair by the window. “What’s on your mind?”
“Why do you always do that?” I asked.
“Do what?”