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I gasped. “Am I...am I a tramp now? That’s kind of cool.”
She snickered. “By the way, your stepbro knows we can see him staring, right? Like, does he think he’s under an invisibility cloak?”
Poor Eli was hovering by the door, studying Helen from his vantage point. When his eyes swept to Elena, she casually looked away, as if she had no idea he was being a creeper.
“He’s young.” And he would keel over and die if he heard me say that.
“I know.” She shrugged. “It’s cute, which is why I won’t call him out for it. I’m just saying, he could use some lessons in subtlety.”
“He’ll get it one day. I like that he’s not smooth and cool yet.”
“Yeah,” she tapped her chin with her perfectly manicured fingernail, “you’re right. There’s charm in innocence since it’s so rare these days. I mean, I thought my sweet little roommate, Zadie Marie, was the picture of innocence, but look at you now, hooking up with criminals.”
“My middle name isn’t Marie.”
Elena’s straight white teeth bit into her bottom lip. “That’s the only correction you’re making?”
I shook my head. “Can this wait until my mom leaves? I’ll explain.”
She picked up a piece of my hair, rubbing it between her fingers. “Fine. But don’t use this time to come up with a bullshit story. I’ll be disappointed in you.”
With that heavy warning in my head, I joined my mom and Helen, drawing Eli into the conversation as much as he was willing. All too soon, it was time for them to head back home. I made promises to visit as soon as my head was above water with school, and my mom said they’d come back next month if I couldn’t find the time. She hugged me tighter than usual, and Eli did too. Today had been a break for us all. They were going back to the reality of a sick husband and father, and I was staying here, with my stalker and my captor...and two roommates who were about to demand answers.
In the doorway, my mom squeezed my hand. “First thing Monday, I’ll make calls about Drew. He’s not going to get to you, baby.”
I nodded. “Thank you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
“Absolutely not. You don’t ever have to apologize to me. You’re my kid. You don’t get that as your mom, it’ll always be my job to take care of you, no matter how old you get. I know you have Amir now, but it’s still my job, one I love having.”
Another hug from her, and a promise to give Max my love, then she and Eli were gone.
Elena and Helen were waiting for me. I perched on the love seat beside Elena, not really sure what I was going to say.
“I’m not really dating Amir,” I started, and the stark relief in Helen’s exhale sent shock waves of guilt down my spine.
“What does that mean? Because, unless your mom’s delusional and you were just playing along, she saw you and Amir together today,” Elena said.
I licked my parched lips, but it did no good. My mouth was desert dry. “You know how I got that poem?” The girls nodded. “Well, I’ve gotten a few, and this isn’t the first time someone has sent me poetry.”
I told them the whole, sordid story of Drew. Besides Amir, they were the first people I’d shared my stalking trauma with, and I found it was somewhat freeing to spill it all out. I’d been so incredibly isolated during Drew’s year of terror, both by his design and my choice, that once I was finally away from him, it had taken me a long time to realize I didn’t have to be alone. A lot of the time, I was still convincing myself of that.
“Holy fuck.” Helen launched at me, hugging my neck fiercely. “I’m so sorry, baby girl.”
Elena piled on top, nuzzling into my chest. “Tell me his name. My father knows people. We’ll ruin this bastard.”
“Oh my gosh, I love you guys, but I can’t breathe.” I pretended to cough and choke, but truthfully, I liked our kitten pile.
Helen squeezed onto the love seat with us, me between them. “Okay, so I understand why the poems freaked you out, even if they’re not from Drew. But why Amir? What the hell does he have to do with any of this?”
Sighing, I pushed my clammy palms down my thighs. “That night, when he and I were here alone—”
“When he held you at gunpoint,” Helen added.
I turned to her. “He put the gun away. Well…he put it on the coffee table. He never pointed it at me.”
“Semantics,” Elena dismissed dryly.
“Right. I’m not saying what he did was right. I’m only explaining that we had a lot of time to talk, so we did, and somewhere along the line, I told him about Drew. He...wasn’t happy about that happening to me and made a promise that if Drew ever bothered me again, he’d protect me.”
