Page 50 of Under His Protection
I unlock my phone and hand it to her. I figure it can’t hurt to have another friend.
She quickly taps as she creates a new contact for me. “There you go. My last name is Pearce.” She hands my phone back. “Now send me a text so I’ll have your number, too.”
After we finish exchanging info, Andrea and Christian leave.
A moment later, the door opens and Melissa walks in. “Hey. How’s it going?”
“Fine. How about you?”
“Good. I just got done with track practice.” She pretends to sniff her armpit. “I reek. I’m going to grab a shower and then settle down to do homework. What about you?”
“Same. I mean homework.”
Melissa sets her things down and grabs her shower bag out of her closet. “See you!”
I stay in my dorm room for the rest of the afternoon and evening, not wanting to venture out except to take a shower before bed.
I’m starting to understand how Ruby Foster feels. She’s the girlfriend of another one of Philip’s friends, Miguel Rodriguez. Ruby has agoraphobia and rarely leaves their apartment. I could never understand that before, but now it’s starting to make sense. When you feel that the outside world isn’t safe, you just want to hole up in your safe place.
I’m starting to loathe the idea of leaving my dorm room because when I’m out in public, I can’t help but feel like someone is watching me. In reality, I know that’s not the case, but tell that to the irrational part of my brain.
The truth is, someone out there is thinking about me when they shouldn’t be. Someone is fixating on me for no reason. I just wish I knew who it was so I could do something about it.
Something awakens me in the middle of the night, sending my pulse racing. I’m on the verge of a panic attack. Melissa’s sound asleep in her bed; I can hear her breathing.
Still, I can’t shake feeling paranoid. I slip out of bed and walk to the door to test the knob and make sure it’s locked. To make sure I’msafe.
My heart pounds, and I expect the door to fly open at any second with Freddie Kruger standing on the other side ready to slice me open with his blade-like claws. I really should stop watching horror movies.
Despite the shivers crawling down my spine, I reach out in the dark, groping around to find the doorknob so I can make sure it’s locked. I grasp the knob, turn it, but it doesn’t move. It’s locked.
Thank God.
I climb back into bed and pull the covers up to my chin. I’m wide awake now, and my mind is racing. I want so badly to call Philip, just to hear his reassuring voice, but it’s two-thirty in the morning. He’s asleep, and I don’t want to wake him just because I’m freaking out. Same with my parents.
As I lie there wide awake, I reexamine every conversation I’ve had with anyone here. Everyone I’ve talked to.
I keep checking the time on my phone, watching the minutes pass by. Then the hours.
At some point, I guess I finally doze off because the next thing I know, early sunlight is peeking through the curtains. Melissa’s closet door is open, and I hear her quietly rummaging around in there.
I check the time. It’s six-fifteen.
When she comes out dressed in her workout clothes, she sees I’m awake. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”
“No, you didn’t. I was tossing and turning all night.”
“Is everything okay? Can I get you something?”
“I’m fine. Just a bit stressed, I guess. Are you going for a run?” She usually runs every morning.
“Yes. Go back to sleep. You don’t need to be up this early.”
As she leaves the room, I listen to be sure she locks the door behind her.
Philip will be getting up soon. So will my parents. I should call them. Tell them what’s happening.
I’m so exhausted, I try to fall back to sleep. I don’t have class until nine, so I can get a couple more hours of sleep in if I’m lucky.
