Acts of Desperation(47)
“You did? When?” he asked.
“After our first lunch when we were by the elevator. He was up on the second floor watching us. Then at dinner on our first date. I ran into him on the way back from the bathroom, but I didn’t really think anything of it.”
“Oh my God,” he said, shaking his head. “He was following us the whole time.”
“That’s what he said. He’s totally nuts. But you said his parents have been looking for him?”
“Yeah. He was suspended from the hospital where he worked. He was part of the cleaning staff and was suspected for stealing drugs. His life was unraveling at home I guess and this was his last resort, an act of desperation.”
“But they caught him, right?” I asked.
“In a manner of speaking. He somehow made it to his car after stabbing one of the officers in the neck with a syringe and made a run for it. There was a high speed chase on the highway, and he lost control of his car and flew off the side of a bridge into a ravine. They’ve already recovered his body. It’s all over—for good.”
I closed my eyes and sighed in relief. I wouldn’t have to face my captor in court and relive my experience—at least what I could remember of it. A shiver ran through my body when I thought that it could be my body that my parents had to claim in the morgue instead of his. Oh, his poor parents.
I opened my eyes and met Jax’s worried stare. My voice trembled when I began to speak, “His poor parents have another child to bury.” I grunted. “I feel so bad for them…but I’m not sorry he’s dead, not after what he put me through. I am really glad this is over. I hope I’m not on the radar of any more crazy people. I think I’ve had my fair share for a while.”
He gave me a consoling smile. “You’ve been through a lot. Grace’s parents have had enough heartache to last a lifetime I think, but they’re good people, they’ll get through it. Dylan has been troubled for a while.” He ran his hands through his hair and rubbed his face. “I’m so grateful that I still have you,” he said, placing a soft kiss to the back of my hand.
When he met my eyes, I saw the exhaustion in his. “I’m glad you still have me too.” I laughed uneasily. “You should go home, you really look tired. When was the last time you slept?” I asked.
“It’s been a while, but sleeping in the same room with a bear for the last few nights hasn’t really helped.” He nodded his head over to my dad who was still sleeping. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone snore like that in my life, but I wasn’t going to leave you and neither was he.”
I laughed. After years of my bedroom sharing a common wall with my parent’s, my dad’s raucous snoring became more of a comfort to me than a disturbance. But to someone who’s never experienced it before, it was probably as peaceful as sleeping next to a freight train.
“Sorry.” I smiled. “I was raised with him snoring right next door, I barely hear it anymore. I’m glad you two finally got to meet.”
“He’s a good man, I like him a lot. And I got to meet your mom too. I’ve officially met your whole family now.” He raised his eyebrows and smirked.
“And you’re not running out of the door yet. I guess that’s a good sign.” I smiled. I know I teased about it a lot but my family was really no weirder than any other. In fact, it was probably rarer to have parents that were still married, going on forty years, than to be more like the norm of coming from a broken home. We loved and laughed a lot, but we were deeply sarcastic. Some people over the years didn’t know how to receive us. For that reason, I was sometimes standoffish about introducing new people into our tight circle.
“You think you’d be able to get rid of me that easily?” He shook his head. “Not a chance.”
I began to feel overwhelmed. “Good because I’m not letting you go anywhere anyway,” I said trying to smile as my tears started to flow.
He reached his hand up and wiped them away. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he whispered. “I had no idea he’d do this. This is all my fault.”
“Stop it.” I put my hands on his face to make him look at me. “This wasn’t your fault. If you’d had any idea then you would have done something. It’s silly to blame yourself. I’m safe now and that’s all that matters.”
“Is that boy starting trouble over there?” my dad said, sitting up and looking at us.
“Hey Dad,” I said, smiling. “No, he’s not starting anything just blaming himself for everything.”
“I told him to knock that off. He must have apologized to your mother and me about a dozen times. How you feeling, Bobba?” He walked over and smoothed my hair down.
I cringed. “Daaad, don’t call me that in front of him.”
“Bobba?” Jax asked with a laugh.
“Yeees.” I rolled my eyes. “Sarah called me her ‘bobba sister’ when my parents brought me home from the hospital after I was born instead of ‘baby sister’. It stuck. But only he calls me that so don’t get any ideas.” I smirked at him. “I’m better now,” I said to my dad. “Got a little bit of a headache, but I’ll live.”
“I don’t know what is going on with our family lately. It’s like we’re attracting all the nut jobs in the city.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I’m just glad I got my baby back,” he said as his voice broke. My dad has never been an outwardly emotional person, but he was getting choked up. He needed an excuse to leave. “Well, I should call your mother. She told me to let her know as soon as you woke up. You know how she gets.” He bent over and kissed my forehead.