Shudders ran through me at his simple words. Deep down, I knew he was right.
“What am I going to do?”
“What happened today? What brought you to me?”
“I hadn’t seen him for a few days. I thought he’d grown tired of it. I needed some things, so I went to the store. But he was there, and I ran. I just left all my groceries in the cart, and I ran. I live about two blocks from here. But he followed. Grabbed me and pulled me into the alley over there.” She pointed to the side of the building. “He told me I was his. I belonged to him, and I needed to stop making him chase me. He said he was getting mad, and I wouldn’t like him if he was mad. His eyes—” I swallowed and shivered again “—his eyes were crazy. I was terrified. I told him I wasn’t his. I said that I had a boyfriend and I was on my way to meet him. He shook me so hard, screaming in my face, telling me he was my boyfriend and we were meant for each other.”
“What did you do?”
“I stomped on his foot. He let go, and I ran around the corner. Saw the pub.” I met his intense, worried gaze. “Found you.” The tremor in my voice grew more pronounced. “I’m sorry.”
He studied me, then shook his head. He reached across the table and took my cold hands in his, chafing them.
“I’m not.”