32. Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Two

Mia

It’s been two weeks since I’ve been back home. I’ve gotten into a bit of a routine. Go to work, come home, eat dinner alone, and cry myself to sleep.

I wanted my life to go back to normal. How much did I hope for getting my old life back where I could stop worrying about who was behind me or if I was safe? Now, I have it back and it doesn’t feel the same anymore. I don’t feel the same anymore.

I’m beginning to wonder if Eric changed me forever. Maybe I’ll never be able to get over him.

It was a long day at work as I put on a smile for everyone and pretended to be happy. The last thing I want to do now is shower, but it’s been a couple of days. I know I need to force myself. Maybe a hot shower will breathe some life back into me.

I’ve never experienced depression before. It’s exhausting when every little task feels like a marathon. I keep hoping that one of these days I will wake up and the cloud will have lifted. But it never happens. It greets me every morning like an unwelcome house guest. If I could evict it, it’d be gone in an instant. Why can’t we evict unwanted feelings from our lives?

I step under the steady stream of water and close my eyes. Waiting for that usual feeling I get of relaxation and relief, but it never comes. In the absence of my usual feelings of contentment, I just feel the crippling feeling of loneliness.

Part of me was hanging on to some kind of hope that he would reach out to me. But after fourteen days of silence, I have to face the facts. He wanted me gone and meant every word he spoke.

I don’t know how long I stand under the spray of the hot water. After I get out, I wrap myself in a towel and walk into my bedroom. As I open my dresser drawer, a sound coming from downstairs distracts me.

My hand clutches the top of my towel as the rest of my body freezes. I wait in silence to see if I hear anything else. I’m sure I’m imagining things, but I still find myself tip-toeing to the door of my room.

I lean my head out of the door. I hold my breath as I listen, but I don’t hear anything. Still, something feels off. I feel it in my body. I continue to tip toe out of my room to the top of the stairs and peer down to the front door. It’s closed.

I breathe a sigh of relief. I’m sure I was just imagining things. I stand up straight and feel a surge of panic when I see Don standing there in my home. My pulse thunders in my ears. I can’t believe he’s here, inside my safe space. His eyes are fixed on me with an unsettling intensity. My heart races, a frightening blend of fear and disbelief twists in my stomach.

I feel trapped, like every exit is blocked by the weight of his presence. Memories of his control and manipulation flood my mind. I’m forced to confront the reality that he’s crossed another line, and now there’s nowhere for me to hide.

He looks nervous as he pulls at his neck. “Hi, Mia.”

“Don,” my voice catches in my throat . “What are you doing in my house?”

He clears his throat like he always did when he was scared. “I just wanted to talk.”

“Talk? Don, you don’t break into someone’s house to talk.”

I shouldn’t be talking back like this to him. If he has the capability to break into my house then I know it’s dangerous to make him mad. I knew my attitude was going to get me in trouble one day.

“I know but,” he takes a step towards me.

I take a step back and put my hand up. He stops in his place. I’m on the edge of the top step. I sneak a glance down the stairs wondering if I should just make a run for it now.

“You never listened. You blocked my number,” he continues. “What was I supposed to do?”

I look back up at him. “You accept that it’s over and move on.”

“I can’t. Not without understanding what happened. I just wanted to talk it out. I knew that if I got you to listen to my side, you’d change your mind about us. We’re perfect for each other.”

Tears fill my eyes as I listen to this. How am I going to get out of this?

At the end of the day, even if I hear him out, will he give up after I tell him it’s still over?

“I can’t do this with you,” I say as tears roll down my cheeks. “This is not okay, and it has to stop. You can’t stalk me, and you can’t break into my house. That’s against the law. You should be arrested for the fear you’ve caused in my life.”

“Fear?” he asks as his head falls to the side.

It’s like he can’t even comprehend why I would be afraid of him. It scares me even more that he doesn’t see how his behavior in the last several months has been crazy and obsessive.

“Look, I need you to leave. I’m going to go downstairs and grab my phone. If you don’t leave, I’m calling the police.”

I lift my shaky leg and place my foot on the first step below me, not sure if it’s safe to turn my back to him.

He starts towards me as he sees me trying to walk away. “Wait, Mia, no.”

I’m in the middle of moving my other foot to the step below when I see him come after me. I try to move my other foot quickly to take another step, but my brain isn’t moving fast enough to catch up with my body.

My foot misses the step entirely and I feel the weight of my body start to fall backwards. I reach for the railing but can’t get a grip on it. I feel my back hit the stairs first in a crash that sends pain throughout my body.

Then my body rolls and tumbles down the stairs as I feel my head knock against a hard surface. Then everything goes black.