She nods. Nina’s involvement here feels off, but what would her motive be to scare the shit out of her best artist? That part doesn’t make sense.
“Where do you think you ran into this guy? Where’d his obsession start?”
“I’m not sure. I usually don’t go to many parties or anything. I bring my works to Nina’s galleries, I buy groceries. Sometimes I go to the movies or out to eat by myself. I guess I could’ve met him anywhere because obsessions are rational, right?”
This time I do look up to stare her straight in the eye. “Damn straight. That’s all on him and nothing to do with you.” It’s fucked up that victims think that they’ve done something to bring trauma upon themselves. Amidst her fear and anxiety, Bell doesn’t need to deal with guilt, too.
She sighs in relief and in sorrow. “I don’t know who it is. That’s part of my anxiety. It could be anyone. I never really liked going out much anyway but now I’m looking at every strange face in every store, restaurant, and gas station wondering if that’s the person who is stalking me. It’s hard to sleep and sometimes even to breathe.” She presses her hand against her stomach. “Even talking about it makes me upset.”
I take the chicken off the pan and shred it into the soup mix. Silently, I ladle up a bowl for her and sprinkle some cilantro on top. “Eat. It’ll make you feel better.”
As she digs into the soup, I chow down on my sandwich. The only thing that is going to make her feel better, besides my cock, is getting rid of the stalker. She said that me being with her means I’ll become bait. That’s actually perfect. Like I said, I want to be the bait. We need to be out there, as open and obvious as possible so the asshole comes after me.
“We’ll stay at your place,” I tell her. “But we need a new bed. Let’s go shopping.”
CHAPTER14
BELL
I fallbackwards on the mattress and bounce. “This one is soft.”
“The fuck you looking at?” I sit up to see Jackson glaring at a man in the store. I’d guess him to be a few years older than Jackson. He’s got a whole hipster vibe, his hair partly up in a bun.
“Nothing, I ah. Nothing.”
“Then go stare at nothing somewhere else.” I put my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing because it’s not funny, but it kind of is.
“Jacks, he’s only mattress shopping.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize it’s the first time I haven’t been suspicious of someone in a long time. I know it’s because Jackson is here with me. I’m safe.
“No, he was watching your tits bounce.” I look down at my boobs. I’m in a sweater and jeans. The sweater is a bit snug.
“You’re crazy.” He offers me his hand to help me up from the bed.
“Crazy for you.” He drops his mouth down onto mine. I melt into him, forgetting that we’re in public. I guess PDA doesn’t bother me. I never got the chance to try it before Jackson. “You like that one?” He motions to the bed.
“Shouldn’t you try it out too?”
“I saw how bouncy it was. I like it.” I giggle, shaking my head at him.
He grabs a salesman, and in no time, he has the thing bought and paid for. They don’t have anyone that can deliver it today, but Jackson has a whole team of people. With one call, he has a truck and three men loading the mattress onto it and taking it back to my place. Jackson has them toss my old one in the garbage, saying my spare room should be for my art supplies. Most of them are still in boxes.
I’ll open some and take a few things out, but then I always stop for some reason. I can’t put my finger on why. In my old place, I wasn’t some clean freak, but I kept things in order. Here, not so much. The boxes are starting to symbolize the state of my life. I think on some level I believe I’m going to have to run again. So I don’t allow myself to get too comfortable.
“You all right?” Jackson wraps his arms around me from behind. I relax into his hold. I love having him here with me.
“I should unpack.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”
“That’s not true. I’ve had to do a lot of things I didn’t want to do.”
“Baby.” He turns me in his arms. “You want to go back to the city?”
“No,” I answer honestly. “I suppose that’s the silver lining in all this. If it weren’t for what happened, I wouldn’t have found this place, those chickens, or your sister. She’s pretty cool when she’s not accusing me of witchcraft. And I can’t forget the couple next door, they're full of laughs.”
“And me.” I didn’t know Jackson could pout, but there it is. It does not make him any less handsome.
“Oh yeah, you too,” I tease.