Page 212 of Romeo

“Then tell me what’s over.”

I leaned back against the seat and watched the porch light through the windshield.

“I stopped at the gas station after work.”

“Okay.”

“There was a man outside when I went in. He was standing by the ice machine smoking, and I didn’t think anything about him.” Saying it aloud made the whole thing feel sharper. “I was only inside for a few minutes. When I came back out, he was standing beside my car.”

Jasper didn’t interrupt.

“He asked my name. I told him I had to go, but he stepped in front of the door so I couldn’t open it.”

“What did he do?” Something in his voice had changed. It wasn’t louder, but the warmth was gone.

“He kept talking. Asked why I was in such a hurry and said he’d seen me at the Creamery before. Apparently, I served him last week, but I don’t remember him.”

“Keep going.”

I looked down at my wrist. The marks weren’t dark yet, but I could already see where bruises would be tomorrow.

“I tried to go around him, and he grabbed me.”

The silence on the other end stretched.

“Jasper?”

“I’m here.” His voice had gone so cold that I almost wished he’d yell instead.

“He grabbed my wrist. That’s all.”

“What happened before Frank got there?”

“Nothing else.”

“Fiona.”

I closed my eyes again.

“He told me not to act like I was too good to talk to him. Said girls like me always thought they were better than everybody else.” I swallowed. “Then he said he knew where I worked and he’d see me again. Real soon.”

Jasper was silent for several seconds.

“Did he threaten you?”

“Not exactly.”

“That sounds pretty fucking close.”

“I know,” I whispered.

“What did Frank do?”

The memory of Frank pulling into the gas station finally gave me something better to hold on to.

“As soon as he got off his bike, the guy dropped my wrist and started backing away. Frank told him if he ever came near me again, if he even looked at me wrong, nobody would find enough of him to bury.”

“I like Frank more every time you talk about him.”