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At first, I’m worried that it’s Eric, who hasn’t texted me or made an appearance on campus since I returned.
When I look closer, I realize it’s Ruslan.
Fuck.
I told him it was over, and he insisted that everything between us was severed forever if I chose to leave.
Why has he come back?
And why so soon?
I figured he would take some time to sneak around the local bars, picking up women left and right to soothe his traumatized ego. It’s only been a few days, but I’m still shocked to see him here.
He parks right in front of the building, and I predict that he’s going to stay there until he sees me leave for class again. He doesn’t know my class schedule, so the whole mission is a shot in the dark.
My stomach twists into knots at the thought of confronting him. If I were someone like Angelique, everyone within a mile radius would listen in to make sure that my conversation with Ruslan didn’t go haywire. Anybody would run to my defense, hoping to snatch me out from under Ruslan as a hero and brand-new love interest.
But I’m one of the most invisible people here.
If he wanted to kidnap me, nobody would realize I was gone.
I watch him for a moment, waiting to see if he’ll get bored and move on if I don’t appear within ten minutes.
At this point, I should really know better.
I glance over to my keys on the kitchen counter, wondering how I’d get away if he were here to retaliate against me for leaving him. I do feel awful about abandoning him before his brother’s funeral, but I don’t think I could have left if I didn’t cut the cord so soon.
I wouldn’t dare call the police on him either. I have to handle this myself.
It takes me a few minutes to peel myself from the couch, lamenting the loss of my cozy, melancholy musings by the window. I have to force myself to put on shoes and a coat, especially with the possibility that he needs me to leave with him.
The hallway of my complex smells like microwaved fish and dry dog food as I walk down the stairs. This place was the cheapest apartment on the bus route, but sometimes I really regret not going somewhere nicer.
Not like I could afford it with a baby, anyway.
Opening the door to the swirling wind outside takes the last bit of fortitude that I have left in me. The past month has aged me beyond my years, and I’d give anything for an acquittal from constant worry, isolation, and panic.
Ruslan sees me as soon as I step foot onto the pavement. He must have been watching that door from the moment he parked his car.
“Didn’t think I’d get to see you so soon,” he says, rolling down his window and squinting into the wind.
“Yeah, I didn’t think you wanted to,” I reply. “I thought you made up your mind about that when I left.”
He pauses for a moment, and I can sense that my words have landed in a painful way.
“I was being irrational. I was just upset that I wouldn’t have you by my side for Misha’s funeral,” he confesses.
His tone is genuine and even a bit softer than I’m used to. I should have the sense to know when he’s acting or being authentic, but right now I feel compelled to lean into his window and kiss him.
We’ve hardly exchanged words and I’m already giving into him.
“Why did you come back here?” I ask, trying to keep my mask of indifference up while I begin to melt on the inside.
“Because I needed to tell you that we caught the guy. We know who called for the hit on my brother, and we found out that it was actually a hit on me too. The only reason I wasn’t killed too is because of you.”
I’m taken back by his words, unable to parse their meaning without more information.
“How?” I ask.
