Page 15 of Drawn Together

When I walked out of my studio, I saw that Sebastian’s room was empty. I found him in front of the stove, cooking. His hair was still wet, and he was no longer wearing his shorts or sleeveless shirt. Instead, he now donned a pair of gray sweatpants and a plain black tee.

“What are you making?” I asked, walking over and taking a look at the vegetables simmering in the pan, filling my apartment with an unfamiliar yet welcoming aroma.

“Sauteed mushrooms with vegetables and shrimp.”

Was he going to invite me to eat any of that delicious dinner? Or would he serve himself a dish, take it to his room, and leave me to my greasy noodles from the Chinese restaurant on the corner?

“I’ll make you a plate, if you want.”

Oh, well, he did have some manners, at least.

“I’d love that, thanks.”

I went to my room. I couldn’t stand to be so close to him, nor his coldness. After showering, I put on my pajamas and went back out to find the living room was once again empty. On the table sat a plate of food, a glass, and a perfectly aligned knife and fork, waiting there for me so that I could have dinner… alone.

The next afternoon, I let Sebastian know I was going out for a run. He didn’t seem thrilled with the idea, or with anything I did for that matter, but I set out, with him behind me, toward Central Park. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt a need to return to the spot where the kidnapping had occurred. I needed to confront my fear in order to return to some sense of normalcy. It made me furious that someone had converted my favorite place in New York into something I had to fear. I was even more furious that I hadn’t even been able to defend myself; I didn’t stand a chance in a situation like that one due to a total lack of self-defense training.

We reached the water fountain at almost the same time of day as when I’d been kidnapped a week prior. I stopped and looked around. It was the ideal spot for an attack, with trees and an outcropping of rocks that hid the fountain from view of the path. I noticed that, a short distance away, the road that looped around the park could be seen through a wrought iron gate. I stepped toward it, heading deeper into the trees, until a hand caught my arm, stopping me.

“Marfil, don’t try so hard to tempt fate.”

Sebastian seemed more annoyed than nervous. I knew perfectly well that if I were in any real danger, he wouldn’t have let me get that far. No, he had some other reason for stoppingme. And while I was curious about what truly concerned him, I was more interested in understanding how somebody had managed to carry me out of the park without anyone noticing.

“You just do your job; that’s what you’re here for.” My words came out ruder than expected, but he was curt with me all the time. I pulled loose from his grip and walked through the trees until I reached the gate.

“It’s locked…” I said, more to myself than to him.

I tugged at the padlock, attached to an iron chain. On the other side of the gate, cars sped along the road boardering the park.

“Whoever did it must’ve had access to this key…”

“You don’t know that. They could’ve just broken the lock,” he argued.

The chain and lock were both rusted.

“If they had broken it, the replacement lock would be new, not one that looks like it’s been here for years.” I turned to Sebastian, an uneasy feeling in my stomach. “There’s something strange about this whole fucking thing… It doesn’t add up.”

Sebastian barely blinked. “Do you remember anything?”

I shook my head. “Maybe if I saw the people again… I might be able to identify them. I have a dream every night about someone chasing me. I hope that whoever did that to me ends up behind bars.”

I moved away from the gate and started jogging back home. For some reason, I was suddenly anxious to be back within the confines of my apartment. I didn’t feel like talking about the kidnapping or who’d done it, much less my dreams, with someone who, at the end of the day, was a stranger to me.

I sped up, letting my mind clear and forgetting about the man trailing behind me.

When I reached the entrance to my building, I realized that Sebastian was nowhere in sight. My heart started poundingeven harder as I looked around, confirming that I was alone. But someone was watching me; I could feel it.

Was I being too trusting of Sebastian’s presence as protection?

“Fuck!” I heard someone say behind me. Sebastian, furious, the veins in his neck standing out from anger as much as from exertion, finally appeared.

“I thought you were right behind me.”

“Just go inside.”

I did as he said, but he stayed behind, carefully observing my street for a moment before following me into the elevator.

We were both panting, trying to catch our breath. I could tell by the tension in his body that I had managed to piss him off. Well, it was about time.