Maya
looked over her shoulder one last time before putting her groceries in the back
of her car as a cold feeling crept over her. She wasn’t sure if the constant
feeling of paranoia was her instincts trying to keep her safe, or if she was in
fact, finally going crazy. She sighed tiredly and slammed the trunk down before
returning the cart. She scanned the parking lot of the grocery store again as
she reached for her keys and spotted a dark shadow moving away from the light
by the corner of the building and paused with a frown. She swallowed nervously
and hurried back to her car. It was probably nobody she knew.
But then again …
Paranoid
or not, it was better to be safe than sorry. She locked her car doors as soon
as she got in and drove quickly out of the parking lot and out onto the road
with a squeal of tires. It had been a month since she’d kissed Pule Matafeo
because she’d been certain Carter had found her. The very next day Pule’s
police car had been trashed. Unfortunately, Posey Tyler had been arrested for
destruction of a Police Vehicle. Maya snorted at the thought of Posey taking
spray paint to Pule’s car and sticking a switch blade in his tire. The girl was
head over heels in love with the Pule. Everyone had assumed Posey had lost it
out of jealousy because she’d seen her kiss Pule, but there was no way a little
quiet thing like Posey would turn to violence.
Not,
that had been all Carter.
She
shivered silently as she automatically touched her lips. Violence came so easily
to some people. And violence came especially easy to Carter Ellison. They’d
only been together four months when he hit her the first time. She’d broken up
with him immediately and threatened to call the cops on him if he came near her
again, but he’d wheedled his way back into her life and she still couldn’t
figure out how he’d done it. Two months later, he lost his temper again and
gave her a black eye. At that point, she smartened up and told her family and
her friends and the police what was going on. She had put a restraining order
on him, but that had just enraged him and he’d come after her while she was
walking home after a night out with her friends. She’d ended up with three
broken ribs, assorted cuts and abrasions and a concussion because he’d kicked
her repeatedly in the head. If a neighbor hadn’t heard her screams and called
the police, she’d be dead.
Maya
drove through the streets of Fircrest and smiled cynically at the quaint little
town and all of the happy people who walked through life feeling safe and free.
Would she ever feel safe again? She’d started to. After moving to Fircrest six
months ago, she’d thought she’d gotten away from Carter. She’d left Dallas
behind and hadn’t looked back. She purposefully picked a small little town far
away so Carter would never find her. All she wanted to do was live in peace.
But in her bones, she knew he’d tracked her
down.
Maya
pulled in front of her Condo she rented month to month and tried to get a grip
on herself. Living in fear constantly was draining emotionally and physically
and she was so tired of being scared. She glanced behind her, to see if she’d
been followed and then hurried out of her car, grabbing her groceries and
running up the stairs to her door. She heard the sound of a car driving slowly
down the street and refused to turn around. She felt the hairs on the back of
her neck stick up as she fumbled with her keys in her haste to get inside. She
could feel the powerful engine of the car directly behind her and pushed the
door open, slamming it shut and locking it as she began to gasp with fear. She hurried
to the window and pushed the curtain aside. The car she’d felt and heard behind
her was idling right in front of her condo. She couldn’t see through the tinted
windows but she could feel that someone was looking at her.
Maya
covered her mouth with her hand and backed away from the window. She hadn’t
been able to convince Pule that Carter had been the one to vandalize his car.
She couldn’t prove that Carter was the man in front of her condo now. But her
gut was telling her she was in danger and she refused to ignore her instincts
anymore. The last time she had, she’d ended up in the hospital.
She
picked up her bag of groceries and walked unsteadily into her kitchen. If she
was right, and it was Carter, he knew where she lived and what’s more, he wanted her to know that he knew. Scaring
her to death and driving her insane was probably part of his plan. If that was
the case, she didn’t have much time before he made his move. It would be so
easy for him to break into her house and all she had to protect herself was a
little piece of paper that hadn’t stopped him last time and some mace. She put
the milk away and then sat down, suddenly too tired to put the rest of her
groceries away. She rested her head in her hands and felt a wave of
hopelessness surround her.
What
she wouldn’t give to feel safe again. She closed her eyes and gave in to the
despair that threatened to drown her. She reached for her phone to call her mom
and then pulled her hand back. No.
She refused to worry her mother any more than she already had. She could call one
of her friends back home. They would understand. They’d seen her in the
hospital and knew what Carter was capable of. But in the back of her mind, she
knew that someone had to have told Carter where she’d moved to and she wasn’t
sure who she could trust anymore.
She
could call Pule and tell him about being followed home except she wasn’t sure
he suspected her of making Carter up just to get close to him. Her face burned
with embarrassment at the way she’d thrown herself at Pule all with the end
result in mind of being protected by him. She hadn’t wanted a boyfriend. She’d
wanted a body guard. And he’d seen through her from the very beginning and had
run as fast as he could into Posey’s arms.
She
sighed and ran her hands through her long, brown hair and stared at the
ceiling. First things first, she couldn’t stay here anymore. She glanced around
the apartment she’d grown to love and felt like crying. As a teenager girl,
she’d been so strong and fearless and now, here she was running for her life
and living in fear. She swallowed the bitter shame and pulled her laptop over.
She
pulled up the local classified and looked over the available apartments. She
wanted to stay in Fircrest so she could be close to work. There were only five
apartments available in Fircrest and three of them were out of her price range.
She groaned as she read the next one. Must
love cats since I have seven. Nope. She closed her eyes before looking at
the last apartment ad.
Need a roommate. Can’t be weird. Can’t be a
drug addict and can’t have cats. I like things quiet and by quiet, I mean
someone who likes to play X-box and watch all the movies I like. I don’t mind
sharing my food if you clean the bathroom. Interested? Call Tristan. You can
move in immediately.
Maya
grinned at the ad and reached for her phone. Immediately worked for her. She
dialed the number and waited impatiently while it rang four times.
“Hello.”
Maya
frowned at the masculine voice. She could have sworn Tristan was a girl’s name.
“Uh, I saw the ad online for the apartment. Is
this Tristan?” she asked, as she began to chew on her thumbnail.
The man
sighed on the other line before answering. “Yeah, this is Tristan and no,
Tristan is not a girl’s name. Look it up. Tristan and Isolde. Great
literature.”
Maya
groaned and leaned her head in her hands. “Dang it. I really needed this
apartment,” she said, feeling the tightening in her throat as she fought back
sudden tears.
“I
don’t care if you’re a girl. You can come look at the apartment right now since
I’m here. I’ve got practice in an hour though so it’s now or never. I’ve got
someone else coming to check out the apartment tomorrow morning. First one with
the deposit wins,” he said, yawning loudly into the phone.
Maya
blinked back the moisture and sat up straight. “Wait, seriously? You’d be okay
with a girl for a roommate?”
Tristan
blew out a breath as if he was bored with the conversation. “It doesn’t bother
me. If it bothers you, then I’m sure there are plenty other apartments out
there.”
Maya
tapped her fingers on the table. Should
she? It might be nice having a guy as a roommate. She could kill two birds
with one stone. Carter would think she was living with a boyfriend and might
back off. She made up her mind.
“Give
me your address. I’ll come over right now,” she said in a strong voice as she
smiled.
Tristan
gave her the address and hung up without even saying goodbye. Maya stared at
her phone and shrugged. Her future roommate was a little grumpy. All the
better. She grabbed her keys and her purse and hurried outside, looking up and
down the street for the car that had followed her. She followed the directions
but gave up ten minutes later and used her maps app on her phone to find the
place. She drove down towards the Puget Sound and felt a little excitement slip
in. An apartment by the water would be incredible. She turned down a gravel
road and stopped in front of an older house that looked like it had been built
in the seventies. The flat roof and the glass made her smile as she got out and
lifted her face to the salty air.
She
rang the doorbell and glanced around, noting the flowers and trees and bushes. The
man might be grumpy but he obviously loved beautiful things and took care of
them. The door opened suddenly and she blinked in surprise. He looked familiar.
Very familiar. She frowned as she
looked him up and down, noting that he had to be at least six feet two inches. His
bright blond hair was cut super short and he’d grown a short beard, but there
was no mistaking those silver eyes.
“You’re
Meredith’s brother, aren’t you? I’ve seen you at a couple rugby games and at
the diner. We’ve met before,” she said, frowning in disappointment.
Tristan
looked back at her coolly as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, I’m
Meredith’s brother and you’re the yoga instructor who’s after Pule, right?”
Maya
blushed and flipped her hair over her shoulder as she lifted her chin. “Good
luck finding a roommate. I’ve decided I’m not interested,” she said with as
much dignity as she could and then turned and walked away, taking out her car
keys and cursing the day she’d come to Fircrest.
“Not so
fast.”
Maya
paused and looked over her shoulder. “What?”
Tristan
leaned in his doorway and narrowed his eyes at her. “You came all this way, you
might as well look at the place.”
Maya
raised an eyebrow and smiled. “You have a rule against cats and I have a rule
against jerks. No thanks,” she said and sighed as she realized she’d have to
start looking for a new place in Tacoma. She hated driving through Tacoma’s
busy traffic with a passion but it would be worth it if she could feel safe.
“Look,
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that about Pule. I get how women can get hung
up over a guy and not think straight. I won’t bring up your love life. Really,
you can come look at the place and I won’t say a word.”
Maya
frowned and turned around slowly as she stared at the man. He had some goofy
smile on his face as if he wasn’t used to smiling and wasn’t sure how to do it
anymore. He looked all stiff and weird.
“What’s
really going on? Who’s coming to look at the place tomorrow?” she asked.
Tristan
sighed and ran a hand through his bright hair. “An old college roommate who
drives me nuts. He drinks, he smells and he was always having people over. I
like things quiet.”
Maya
rolled her eyes and considered it. The man was grumpy and rude but that might
work to her advantage if Carter ever tried to come to the door. And he was
huge. Carter was only five feet ten and Tristan would intimidate anyone. Maybe
she should check it out.
“Fine,” she said half-heartedly and
walked back to the house.
Tristan’s
face relaxed, not into a smile, but something that could be a close relative. “Welcome
to my home,” he said as he moved back so she could walk through the door.
Maya
blinked to adjust her eyes as she walked down the hallway and into a large open
area that made up the family room, eating area and kitchen.
“I
knocked down a few walls to open the space up,” Tristan said, as he flipped on
a few lights.
Maya
noted the hardwood floors and the warm yellow walls and smiled. “You have good
taste. It’s very inviting.”
Tristan’s
mouth quivered on the side and Maya watched in curiosity wondering if the man
was incapable of smiling. She walked over to the French doors that led out to
the back yard. She opened the door and stepped out onto a large patio and
gasped.
“Your
view,” she whispered as she held a hand over her heart.
Tristan
moved to stand next to her and they stood in silence as they watched the boats
skim across the water of the Puget Sound. “I spend a lot of time out here,” he
said pointing to the comfortable lounge chairs.
Maya
walked over to the railing and lifted her face to the wind as she closed her
eyes and felt something she hadn’t felt in a while. Good. She felt good, standing out here so close to the water and
the sky.
“I’m
actually tempted now,” she said, opening her eyes and smiling.
Tristan
shrugged. “You haven’t even seen the room yet.”
Maya
blinked in surprise. “It’s nice?”
Tristan
turned and walked back into the house and she was forced to follow him. He led
her back down a different hallway to a large room with pale blue walls and a
crystal chandelier. There was a large, iron bed and an heirloom quilt that had
her running her hand over the soft cotton. She turned and noted the antique
dresser and the pictures on the wall that were photographs.
She
walked over and stared at the pictures of mountains and trees and turned to
look at Tristan questioningly. “Yours?”
Tristan
nodded. “It’s my hobby.”
Maya
blinked in surprise and had to admit that there was more to this surly guy than
she’d thought. “This room, this house… it’s amazing. But I’m curious. Why do
you need a roommate? I mean, this house is gorgeous and you’ve obviously spent
a lot of time and energy and money on it. Why in the world would you want some
stranger to invade your personal space?”
Tristan’s
eyes went dark and gray as he looked away from her. “A few reasons. I have a
dog and she needs more company than me. That, and my parents are worried that I
don’t interact with other humans enough. They worry. And the rent money is
going towards a boat I want to buy.”
Maya
laughed. “Just get a loan like everyone else does. You’re really going to save
the money before buying something you want?”
Tristan
rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen a lot of my friends declare bankruptcy in the past
few years. They all had the same theory on money as you do. I’m a little old fashioned,
but then again, I own my own house and my car. Do you?”
Maya
cleared her throat and looked away. She had a few credit cards and she
probably, definitely needed to be
better with money.
“Okay,
I get it. You’re a recluse with a bad attitude and a tight hold on his pennies.
Can I move in tonight?”
Tristan
blinked in surprise. “Really? You want to move in?”
Maya
glanced at the bed and then out the large bay window and smiled a little. “I
do. Where’s the contract?”
Tristan
didn’t smile but his eyes warmed briefly as he turned and walked out of the
room. Maya walked over and stared out the window for a moment before following
him. Two hours later she was unpacking her clothes as she docked her phone and
listened to I’m like a bird by Nelly
Furtado.
(c) Copyrighted Material 2015
