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“Tobias, you’re overreacting.”
“No, I’m not,” he said, his voice firm and final. “I’m not going to have my little sister getting terrorized by a creep. Not under my watch. So we’re filing a restraining order, and you aren’t leaving here without me. You don’t need to be out there by yourself with that asshole possibly lurking around.”
“Tobias, stop it!” I said, my temper flaring. “I’m not a child anymore, and you can’t tell me what to do! I said it was no big deal. I just want to go home and lie down.”
Tobias sighed in exasperation. “Joanna, I’m just concerned about you.”
“Well, don’t be.”
“I’m your big brother. That’s not possible,” he said, his voice so sincere that it was hard for me to stay upset. My temper began to settle down again as I folded my arms across my chest. Tobias looked me in the eyes. “Okay. Fine. I know you’re grown now and I have to respect your decisions. So just look me in the eye, Joanna. Do you want a restraining order against Zander? Would it make you feel any better? Just to be on the safe side?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t want a restraining order against him,” I said, ignoring his latter questions. Deep down, I wondered if I was being stupid. But again, the thought of putting a restraining order on Zander made the danger feel too real. It would force me to admit that he was still a problem in my life, and I just didn’t want to face that realization. I didn’t want him to have that kind of power over me. If I put a restraining order on Zander, he would become the boogeyman in my mind that I couldn’t free myself from. I needed to get over him on my own. It was the only way for me to officially move on.
“Well, do you at least want to hang out in the office until I can leave with you, so you don’t have to be by yourself?” Tobias asked.
I could hear how desperately he wanted me to say yes, but again, I shook my head. “No. I’m fine,” I repeated.
“How about Anderson?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Huh?”
“Anderson is about to leave in a few minutes. I could ask him to follow you home, just to make sure you got there safely. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
I shook my head again, but much too quickly this time. “No.”
“Are you sure?” Tobias said. “It wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Tobias, I’m fine. Just let me go.”
He held his hands up in surrender. “All right. Fine. Just be careful. I’ll see you later.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Bye.” And with that, I headed back for the door, putting on an act of appearing much braver than I felt.
Fortunately, this time when I stepped out into the parking lot, I did not get the feeling of being watched.
He was gone.
No, he was never here in the first place, I corrected myself. I have nothing to worry about. It was all just my imagination.
I got into my car, Tobias’s car that he lent me, and got on the road, already envisioning taking a long and comforting bath to relax my mind.
CHAPTER 17
Anderson
“I’m so sorry, Anderson,” Lauren said.
I closed my eyes in exasperation for a moment and rubbed my temples. “Lauren, you’ve known this was coming for months,” I said, unable to believe she was bailing on me at the last minute. The agency’s gala was coming up, and each consecutive year, it became a bigger and more extravagant event. Lauren, a friend of mine, had agreed to be my date months ago. We did this for each other, went to the galas, the fancy dinners. We were a good date and it was strictly platonic. She was the best girl to take, but now, all of a sudden, she was claiming to have an obligation with her family that she couldn’t get out of.
“Anderson, my sister needs me to help out with the kids. She’s going through a tough time right now and she needs me.”
“I understand that, but do you mean to tell me she
honestly can’t spare to handle things on her own for one day, just for a few hours?”
“I wish it was that simple,” Lauren said.
“Well, what’s making it complicated?” I demanded.
