Obsession (23 page)

Marnie took the gun from me, went to my bedroom, and was back in less than two minutes. “It’s in the night table drawer. You don’t have to look at it unless you need it.”

I nodded. “All right. Now I need you to do me a favor.”

“Name it.”

“Take Onyx for me. I don’t want her getting hurt…not the way Peaches did.” My voice cracked.

I didn’t want to believe it, but in my gut I knew it was true. That Peter had killed her. She’d gone missing the first night I walked out on Peter, the night Andrew had shown up at the house to talk to me. If Peter had driven by and seen Andrew’s car, he could have easily lashed out at my cat.

The phone rang again. Both Marnie and I groaned.

“I’ll do one better,” Marnie said. “I’ll take Onyx, but I’ll take you, too. Peter doesn’t know where I live. You’re gonna stay at my place.”

For the next few days, Onyx and I stayed at Marnie’s place. I went home only to get mail and water my plants. I had to clear both my home voice mail messages and cell messages, because Peter had called so much, he’d taken up all the space.

He loved me, he said, why didn’t I see that? All he wanted was a future with me. Even if I wasn’t pregnant, he wanted us to get married. He would treat me right, never raise his hand to me again. He would go to counseling with me if I wanted.

He repeated the same things over and over again.

He was insane. I was sure of it now.

For three days, Marnie had put off seeing Robert because I was around. That evening, when he called, I told her to spend time with him, that I was a big girl who could handle a solo sleepover in her apartment.

So Marnie did and I, as much as I thought I’d be okay, was depressed. Depressed over being pregnant, depressed that I had to avoid my home because I didn’t know what Peter was capable of.

I decided to head back to my place that evening. I continued to hold out hope that I’d see my cat on my doorstep.

I didn’t find Peaches, but I did find three envelopes. I opened one, saw
“Bella,”
and knew all of them were from Peter.

I ripped the notes into small pieces and threw them in the garbage. Then I parked my car in the garage, in case Peter decided to come by.

Because tonight, I was going to sleep in my own bed.

Tonight, I wanted to feel normal.

Nothing was even close to normal. Every sound had me bolting upright. More than once in the night I crept to the window at the front of the house to peer outside.

Each time, thankfully, I saw no sign of Peter.

Late the next morning, Marnie called me on my cell. “What happened, girl? I came home to find you not here and I was terrified.”

“I just wanted to come home. I can’t hide out at your place forever.”

“Sophie, I don’t trust Peter. If you have to stay here for the next five months, that’s okay with me.”

“I parked my car in the garage,” I told Marnie. “He won’t know I’m here. I’m keeping a low profile.”

“All right. Well, that’s good.”

“Plus, I don’t want to intrude on your life.”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Marnie said. “You’re my best friend. My sister, as far as I’m concerned. Keeping you safe is not intruding on my life.”

“I’m okay,” I told her. “I’m gonna paint. Spend my time and energy focusing on the positive.”

I tried, through my artwork, to forget about my problems. But I couldn’t. How could I forget about being pregnant? How could I forget about the fact that Peter was hounding me like a stalker?

By early evening, I was calling Marnie again, needing someone to talk to. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do,” I told her. “Pregnant?”

“Okay,” Marnie said. “Enough. Tonight, you’re not going to think about Peter, or Andrew. And you’re not going to worry about the baby, either. It doesn’t matter if it’s Peter’s or Andrew’s—it’s yours. And there’s no crime in raising the baby alone.”

Emotion made my throat clog. “I can’t believe I’m really pregnant,” I said softly. I sounded like a broken record but I couldn’t help it. “Now, at the worst possible time. Andrew and I don’t have a solid marriage anymore, but he wants to work on it. And now—”

“Didn’t I just say you weren’t going to worry about being pregnant?”

“I know, but—”

“No buts. Look, you’re going to have to make a decision, but it won’t be tonight. And whatever you do, don’t choose to stay with a man if the relationship isn’t what you want. Because a baby sure as hell won’t help you grow closer.”

Marnie was right. I wouldn’t decide anything tonight. And I didn’t want to think about my dilemma, because it was driving me crazy.

“What did you have in mind?” I asked her.

“How about that club Illusions on International Drive?”

“Girl, you want me to shake my pregnant behind?”

“You’re only pregnant. Not dead. Besides, it’ll be good exercise. May as well get a head start on that if you’re going to gain fifty, sixty pounds.”

I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling. “Thanks, Marnie, for giving me
that
to look forward to.”

“Hey, I’m just telling it like it is.” I could hear a smile in Marnie’s voice. “You ready to go shake your butt and burn some calories?”

I didn’t need any more convincing. A night of dancing was exactly what I needed. “What time?”

Marnie and I made plans to meet at ten. Early enough to avoid the major crowds that tended to show up around midnight, but not too early that the place would be a ghost town when we arrived.

The DJ was lively, playing an old school mix that had everyone in the club dancing. It was the kind of music that pushed everything but fun thoughts from your mind.

Marnie and I got silly on the dance floor, busting out moves we used to do in college. I laughed. She laughed.

It was just what I needed.

“You ready for a drink?” Marnie asked when the music slowed down in tempo. “Nonalcoholic, of course.”

“Definitely,” I told her. I fanned myself. “I haven’t danced this much in ages.”

“I promised you fun. Did I deliver?”

“You sure did.”

I walked with Marnie to the bar. She ordered a margarita for herself, while I opted for a Sprite.

I noticed men looking at me, but I didn’t make eye contact long enough to indicate I might even remotely be interested in getting to know anyone. And as a result, no one bothered me.

“Oh, my goodness,” Marnie began when the music morphed into an upbeat song. “Heavy D!” She placed her nearly empty drink glass on the bar and pulled me by the hand. “I need to dance to this one!”

Giggling, I hurried with Marnie to the edge of the dance floor. She pulsed her hips, waved her hands in the air. I sipped on my Sprite, bopping my head to the beat beside her as opposed to dancing.

I was in the groove, enjoying the moment when all of a sudden I felt hands in my hair. Before my brain could process what was going on, my head was being jerked backward violently.

I was too shocked to scream.

“What the fuck are you doing, Sophie?”

The sound of Peter’s voice in my ear made a chill pass through my body. What was he doing here?

He was pulling my hair so hard, tears filled my eyes and I lost my balance. I slipped and fell to the dance floor, my glass of Sprite crashing beside me.

I looked up then. Saw Peter’s face filled with absolute rage. Then I looked at Marnie, whose eyes were wide with alarm.

She started for me, offering me her hand. But Peter grabbed me by my hair again, yanking me up.

I cried out in pain, the sound drowned out by the throbbing music. But some people around me noticed what was going on. Noticed, and were staring.

“Peter, let me go!”

His grip grew tighter, pulling at my roots until I couldn’t help sobbing. Only then did he let my hair go and take hold of my arm. “We’re leaving. Right now.”

Marnie threw herself between me and Peter, trying to push him away from me. “What the fuck are you doing, Peter? Sophie’s a grown woman. You can’t come in here, grabbing her up like this. Like you fucking own her. She can do what she wants.”

Peter released me, and I gasped with relief, grateful that Marnie’s words had gotten through to him. But then he put his hand on Marnie’s face and shoved her so harshly that she stumbled backward, slipping on her heels and falling onto her butt.

“Stop it!” I screamed, and pounded Peter on his chest.

He grabbed me by the wrist. Anger brewed in his eyes. “Is that what you’re doing here?” he asked. “Doing what you want? Maybe flirting with other men? Deciding who you’ll take home like you did with me?”

“It’s over, Peter! Leave me alone!”

“And what the fuck were you drinking?” Peter kicked the broken glass I’d been drinking from. “You’re pregnant!”

The glass went flying, hitting a woman’s ankle. She whirled around with a pissed-off expression.

“You better leave, Peter,” Marnie said as she got to her feet. “Because I’m reaching into my purse right now for my cell to call the cops.”

Peter’s lips curled in a smug grin as he regarded me. He must have seen the question in my eyes, the question that asked,
How do you know that I’m definitely pregnant?

“You thought I would believe you when you said you weren’t carrying my baby?” he asked. “I know you’re pregnant,
bella
. And I know that
you
know it too.”

Two bouncers suddenly appeared, one on either side of Peter. “Is there a problem here?” one of them asked.

“Yes,” Marnie replied. “This guy is bothering my friend. The motherfucker needs to be arrested. He grabbed her by the hair like he’s Tarzan or something.”

“She’s my girlfriend,” Peter said, his eyes on me as he spoke. “She’s pregnant with my child and she’s out here flirting like a fucking whore!”

“All right, buddy,” one of the bouncers said. It wasn’t his job to mediate domestic disputes, just to squash any possible problems. “You need to leave now.”

“Sophie, come on,” Peter said.

Each bouncer took one of Peter’s arms.

“Sophie.”

When Peter didn’t start to move, the bouncers began to forcefully pull him toward the door.

“Sophie! Come with me, Sophie!”

I stood and watched, tears streaming down my face, as Peter wrestled with the bouncers. He didn’t stop making eye contact with me, and the expression on his face was one of abject disillusionment.

“Sophie!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.

The bouncers turned Peter around, twisting his arms behind his back, and picked up their pace as they led him to the door. I watched every second of the drama unfold, not breathing until Peter was out the door.

“What a fucking creep!” Marnie said, her chest heaving.

“How did he even know I was here?” I asked, though I knew Marnie couldn’t answer the question. Instead of an answer, she put her arms around me and wrapped me in a hug and held me while I cried.

I pulled away from her, wiping at my eyes as I tried to regain control of my emotions. “How did he know I was pregnant?” I asked. “How did he know I was here? Is he checking my garbage, following me around?”

“All I know is that guy is totally off his rocker, so anything’s possible.” Marnie made a face as she shook her head. “He needs to be arrested. We can leave here and go to the police station, get some sort of restraining order.”

“No,” I said. I noticed that people were staring at me, and I wondered what they were thinking. Empathy for me? Anger? I blocked out the stares and concentrated only on Marnie. “I don’t want to get into a long, drawn-out fight with Peter. I don’t want this to get messy. If I ignore him, he’ll eventually go away, right?”

“I don’t know about that,” Marnie said. “He’s way too intense.”

I looked around. Even though everyone around me was dancing again, some were definitely shooting sidelong glances at me.

“I want to get out of here,” I said.

“No way. We can’t leave yet. What if Peter is waiting in the parking lot?”

“Oh, fuck. You think so?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“You’re right. Damn, you’re right.” I sighed. “But I don’t want to be here anymore. Everyone’s staring at me.”

“If you really want to leave, I say we get security to walk us to our cars.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Let’s do that.”

Marnie and I made our way to the door, where the two bouncers who’d escorted Peter out of the club now stood. Marnie explained to the men that we needed their help in leaving, just in case Peter was still lurking somewhere, waiting for me to appear.

“No problem.”

The taller and bigger of the two bouncers walked with us. “Where’d you park?” Marnie asked.

“At the far end of the lot.”

“My car’s right here.” She pointed. “You can get in my car and I can drive you to yours.”

We both surveyed the parking lot. Neither of us saw Peter anywhere, though there were several gold-colored SUVs.

“You two okay now?” the bouncer asked when we stopped at Marnie’s Nissan Sentra.

Marnie nodded. “I think so. We should be all right.”

The bouncer left. Marnie and I got into her vehicle, and I directed her to where I had parked.

I didn’t see an SUV like Peter’s near my car, and I was relieved. I knew he could be anywhere, but I was getting the feeling he had probably left.

Thank God.

“Why don’t you get into your car and follow me to my place?” Marnie suggested. “I don’t want you going home.”

“All right. That’s a good idea.”

I got out of Marnie’s car and started toward mine. But I stopped abruptly when I took a good look at my Honda Civic.