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She shrugged. “We were good, but I can’t force you to stay with me. It’s frustrating, for both of us. And besides, I was starting to really live up to my nickname. I mean, I was actually stalking you.”
“Yeah, that was weird,” I agreed.
The swimming in my head intensified, and I felt a raging headache coming on. It was taking all my energy just to keep my eyes open, and soon enough my vision began to blur.
“I’m getting a little tired,” I said. “Thanks for passing by, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I could stick around. I have nowhere to be.”
“I’m fine, seriously,” I said. “Thanks.”
“Do you want another drink?”
I frowned at her, then looked at her glass. Through the haze in my head, I noticed that she hadn’t taken a single sip.
“I’m good,” I said. “I’ve had enough for one night.”
The spinning got worse, and I found myself putting in a lot of effort just to keep my eyes open. And for some reason, there was a strange aftertaste in my mouth.
“You know, I heard that Bobby’s sister’s been hanging out here a lot,” Hannah said. “Spent the night actually, right?”
I opened my mouth to ask her how the hell she knew that, but my tongue felt heavy, and all I could was grunt.
“Funny thing, that,” she continued. “I actually thought you were just being nice because she was Bobby’s sister. I didn’t know you actually liked her. Made me kind of jealous.”
I looked at her, unable to focus on her face. But her smile was undeniable.
“What did you -?” The words came out forced, heavy. They echoed in my ears, almost as if someone else was talking.
“I told you, Andy,” she said. “I’m very possessive. And you’re mine. I’m not sharing you with anyone, and especially not with that slut.”
I looked down at my empty glass, quickly putting two and two together as the world around me spun out of control. She drugged me. The bitch put something in my drink.
I grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, but the grip was pathetic, and she easily pushed my hand away. I fell back, my eyes closing quickly until I could see nothing but darkness.
Chapter 15: Andrea
I lay in bed, curled into a fetal position, hugging my knees and my eyes burning with tears.
It was over.
Dennis had found me, and he had ruined everything, just as he had done with my entire life so far. I had never thought I could hate someone so much, but I genuinely loathed him, and although I was crying like a child, I was furious. A part of me wished he had actually taken me back to Manchester. I would have gone quietly, taken the beating, and then, when he was asleep, stabbed him so many times you couldn’t see where one stab ended and the other began.
I wanted to kill him. I wanted this nightmare to be over. I wanted him out of my life, and preferably, buried so deep in the ground, there would be no way to dig him back out, even if someone wanted to.
Bobby tried to get me to talk several times, knocking on my door and calling my name before disappearing, only to dutifully return ten minutes later. By the fourth or fifth time, he gave up, and I could hear him close his bedroom door, and the sound of his bathroom shower coming on as he readied himself for bed.
I cried harder. I replayed the incident at the coffee shop in my head. Seeing Andy that way only made me cry harder. I was grateful for what he had done for me, loved him for it actually, but hated what he would have had to suffer in return. I had heard Bobby talking to him downstairs, and although I couldn’t make out all the words, I knew that Andy was alright. I felt better for it.
But I also knew Dennis had slipped away. That worried me more than the fear I had for Andy’s wellbeing.
You need to go to him.
But how? Bobby was keeping a close eye on me, and with Dennis out and about, how safe was I out on the streets alone? Would he be waiting outside for me to do something stupid? Was he anticipating how naïve I would be?
I shook, overwhelmed with a mix of feelings ranging from anger to fear. I was frustrated that I couldn’t do anything, that I was helpless and weak. I felt like I was back in Manchester, accepting the inevitable, coming to terms with the harsh reality that I would forever be a mouse in a maze, racing in circles and going nowhere.
How could I be so stupid? How did I think I could live a normal life?
