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“Oh God,” I say.
“Mila, what is it?” Jessica says.
“Give me a minute,” I tell her suddenly unable to breathe. Am I having a panic attack? I haven’t had one in almost a year.
“Breathe in deeply,” Jessica says, and I follow her instructions.
“Okay, I’m good now,” I say and then tell her about the text from Clay.
“Hang on, Mila,” she says, and I hear her whispering angrily to someone.
“Fuck, Mila, I’m so sorry,” Jessica says when she comes back to the phone. “Remember I told you I forwarded it to David? Turns out he spoke with Clay, and he was asking about you. David must have forwarded the picture to him and told him you’re in LA. I’m going to kill him, I swear.”
Her anger brings down my own. I sigh deeply. “Why is he all over me now when I’m living my best life?”
There is nothing on earth that would make me go back to Clay. He was a bully. I’ve never told anyone how Clay and I lived, not even Jessica. She would have been horrified at the control he exercised over me.
A part of me knew it was wrong. Otherwise, why didn’t I confide in my best friend? Of course, it didn’t help that David and Clay are cousins. I’d have hated to cause tension between them or to put a strain on Jessica’s marriage. Like now.
“Hey, don’t let Clay stop you. He’ll tire of pestering you, and don’t you worry, David won’t tell him anything else. Right, David?” She shouts the last two words.
It’s not funny, but I laugh. Jessica is protective of me as though I’m one of her boys.
“LA is big; he doesn’t really know where I am, right?” I say.
“Right, though I don’t know how much David told him.” Jessica knows the address and the area, but I don’t see how David could tell Clay all that.
“Look, Clay is harmless. David says that too. He’s all big talk. He’ll move on. Let’s cross our fingers that he finds another woman pronto.”
“Yeah, that won’t be too hard,” I say. When Clay turns on the charm, he goes all in, and it’s impossible to resist him unless you know him as I do.
I shiver. I really need to have him gone from my life. Jessica and I say goodbye, but afterward, I don’t feel reassured. I have a feeling that Clay is not done with me yet. I want to laugh it off and call myself paranoid, but I’m worried about Isaac.
What if he is in LA? Jessica and I are sure that the picture tipped him off, but what if he was watching me? The thought is so frightening that my knees wobble. I stagger to the couch and sit down. I’m not worried about my safety. I seriously doubt that Clay would harm me.
But what about Isaac? I give it careful thought. Clay was okay with children; he actually liked playing with them. For a short period. He’s not evil, just twisted. Still, I owe it to Brad to let him know what’s going on.
Chapter 14
Brad
I’m worried about Mila. She’s been very quiet throughout dinner and now looking back, this morning as well. I wait until Isaac goes to bed when we’re relaxing in the living room to ask her. We’re on the couch, lying top to bottom and facing each other. I gently massage her bare leg.
“Something’s wrong, Mila. You’re not yourself. What’s going on?” I ask her.
She tries to smile, but I can tell that it’s forced. “It’s not a big deal, but I thought I should tell you because of Isaac,” she says.
At the mention of Isaac’s name, I sit up. “Go on.”
“Well, it turns out that Clay knows I’m in LA. I told you about Jessica and that her husband David is Clay’s cousin. David’s the one who told him, and yesterday, he sent me some messages.”
“What kind of messages?” My voice comes out harsh, and Mila cringes. I’m sorry for that, but where Isaac’s safety is concerned, I don’t take risks.
She passes me her phone, and as I read the messages, I grow worried. “Mila, these messages are disturbing. You guys are divorced.” That’s putting it mildly. Her ex sounds like a psychopath. Who calls a woman his wife when they’re divorced?
“Jessica and I talked about it, and we all agree, David included, that Clay is harmless. He’ll get tired of sending me messages when he finds someone else.”
I glance down at the messages again. Unfortunately, they are not threatening in a way that you can go to the police. But the threat is there all right. It’s veiled, but it’s there.
“Hey, don’t worry, he’d never come here,” Mila says.
I’m worried, but I don’t want to go on and on about it and make it worse for Mila. Isaac is not at risk. Mila and her friends agree that her ex is harmless. They know him after all, and I satisfy myself with that.
