The police took ages, asked lots of questions, and treated my bathroom as a crime scene. They advised I should spend the night somewhere else and to change all the locks on my doors and windows. That would be job number one tomorrow. In all honesty, none of us felt like going out to dinner after that, so I packed my work clothes, pajamas, makeup, toothbrush, and of course, Bunny, into an overnight bag and moved myself and Theo into Isaac's. Brody's would have been preferable, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
Theo seemed okay after his run-in with the car, but I kept a close eye on him and decided I would take him to the vet tomorrow. I had their emergency number on speed dial in case I needed it.
I will report that I was now clothed and slightly embarrassed I had run into the street naked. I made a mental note to avoid the corner shop for a while since I did remember seeing Mr. Wilks looking at me with a very big smile on his face.
Sitting on Isaac's couch, waiting for our pizza to be delivered, I looked up from patting Theo to find Brody staring at me, his thoughts unreadable. I was actually pretty freaked out about what had happened, but I tried my hardest to shrug it off and act normal. Well, normal for me anyway. Giving Brody a big smile, I averted my eyes to concentrate on Isaac. Unfortunately, he too was staring at me. His thoughts, however, were far from unreadable.
"You know, Isaac, you should paint a feature wall in here." I smiled, hoping to divert his attention.
"You can't distract me that easily, young lady. We need to talk about what happened to you."
"No, we don't, Isaac. We've already talked about it. Honestly, I'd rather forget it ever happened." Denial was the best policy in my book.
"How can you say that? You were attacked!" I could hear the emotion in Isaac's voice as he squealed, causing Theo to jump with fright.
"I'm fine. The man was asking me where it was, and I think he just got a bit distracted," I said, rubbing Theo's ears for comfort. If Isaac kept talking about it I would have a very hard time staying in denial.
"Where what was?" asked Brody, his voice quiet in contrast to Isaac's.
"I have no idea," I replied, grateful the conversation was straying from me being attacked.
I knew those memories would creep out of their hiding place sometime in the middle of the night. I looked at Brody and wished that, even if it was just one night, I could spend tonight snuggled in his arms, safe and dream-free.
"I heard you say to the police you thought he was familiar. Do you know who it was?" asked Isaac, chasing my thoughts back to reality.
"No. It's just that when he pushed his body into mine…I felt a feeling of deja vu. Not the violent part, just the feeling of his body and the smell of his breath." Geez, conversation got back to this pretty damned quickly. "I'm sure it was just me being stupid. Fear makes you imagine the most ridiculous things."
Thankfully, our conversation was put on hold as there was a very loud knock on the door. Saved by the pizza delivery guy!
An hour later and with a belly full of pizza, I felt fatigue make my body heavy. Brody settled on the couch next to me as we watched my favorite feel good movie, While you were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock. The guys had decided I got to pick the movie because I'd had a stressful afternoon. In actual fact, it was Isaac's favorite too, but he acted very macho in front of Brody, which made me smile.
Their plan to distract my thoughts away from my attacker worked exceptionally well though. The more Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman characters fell in love with each other, the more I felt the tug on my heartstrings when I looked at Brody. Shit!
As the movie drew to a close, he yawned and turned to Isaac. "Is it okay if I sleep on your couch tonight?" I saw Isaac's Adam's apple bob up and down a few times as he gulped at the thought of Brody on his couch.
"Sure!" croaked Isaac.
"What? Why?" I asked.
"I'd feel better if I was here."
"So would I," squeaked Isaac, his voice resembling that of Minnie bloody Mouse.
"Brody, I'm fine. Whoever it was has gone. He was gone by the time you went into my house. I'll have the window locks changed tomorrow so he won't be able to get back in." The thought of Brody sleeping under the same roof as me was both scary and…oh let's face it, it was just plain scary.
"No. I'm staying. I'll sleep a whole lot better."
Well, that makes one of us, I guess.
* * *
I almost made it through the night without visiting Brody on the couch. Almost. I'd fallen asleep quite easily since the day had taken its toll on me, but just as I thought, the nightmares started around two in the morning. I dreamt about the man in my bathroom. He was back, touching me again, only this time I ripped off his mask and found Jack. He took Theo to the kitchen, drowned him in caramel ice cream, and put him in the freezer. Every time I tried to save Theo the balaclava reappeared, and we started the whole sequence again. Waking up, I felt around the bed for Theo. I found him curled up on my pillow, and my heart rate decreased.
I decided a glass of water was what I needed, so I got up and switched on the hallway light. I made my way down the stairs and past the lounge.
I saw Brody, the hallway light bathing him in soft light. I stopped in the doorway and watched him for a few minutes, the scariness of the dream lingering. Watching his slow, even breathing, a feeling of safety engulfed me as my fear evaporated. I couldn't help myself.
I moved silently into the room and sat on the floor in front of the couch, just listening to him breathe. Placing my head on the edge of the cushion, I closed my eyes and felt peace. I know it wasn't the same as being snuggled up next to him, but this was a good second.
I woke a few hours later with Brody's fingers entwined with mine and covered in his blanket.
* * *
Later that afternoon, after work, I agreed to go with Brody to the Weight Watchers meeting. Really, it was just a hunch as we didn't even know if Lucy attended this meeting, if any at all. I'd never been to one before, and I will admit to feeling a little bit apprehensive as I waited for Brody to pick me up.
This was also the first time I'd been back in my house alone. Until yesterday, my house was my safe place. I was determined for it to remain that way, so I put on my brave girl panties and sucked up any lingering fear. The locks had all been changed with Brody overseeing the whole thing. He was a real sweetie, leaving me a personal alarm with a note saying I was to keep it on me at all times. I'd given it a trial run earlier and nearly burst my eardrums from the noise. I made a note-to-self to only use it in absolute emergencies.
I was still slightly embarrassed about last night. Sure, Brody had seen me naked yesterday, but waking up holding his hand had felt a lot more intimate, and I was still having a hard time looking him in the eye. So I decided to dress slightly better than normal in the hope of giving myself some extra confidence. I slipped on my little, fitted black skirt and pink, knitted top with the deep V-neckline, applied my third coat of mascara, and waited for the knock on the door. Hearing my gate swing shut, I expected to see Brody standing on the other side of the door, but instead found Isaac.
"Afternoon," he said, his scowl already in place. I felt myself sigh.
"Hi, Isaac, what's up?" I asked, reminding myself to do yogic breaths in order to control stress levels.
"Well, aren't you even going to invite me in?"
"Sure, but Brody will be here soon, and we're going out," I replied, allowing him entry.
Theo padded down the stairs and stretched himself before approaching Isaac for the obligatory snuggle. I'm sure Theo thought everybody came to the house just to give him a cuddle. I sighed again. Oh, to have Theo's life.
"You sigh a lot," commented Isaac.
I answered him with a glare. I mean, he was half the reason I had to sigh.
"Where are you going with Brody, and why wasn't I invited?" he asked indignantly.
"We're going to Weight Watchers to see if we can find the owner of the pedometer. You're welcome to go instead of me if you want." I watched Isaac rub his belly, ever so slightly.
"Oh, no. I'm fine, thank you." Yeah, I thought he'd say that.
"What's the sad face all about?" I asked. His face turned from sad to scowling again.
"Adam comes home today, and I still haven't forgiven him. What should I do?" he asked, dropping himself onto my couch.
"Forgive him and make up. Life's too short to fight."
"I have to tell him I got the job and accepted it. I start training in three weeks' time." Isaac smiled.
"You did? Wow, that's great news," I replied. I walked over to him, reached up, and gave him a hug. "Adam will be really happy for you. I know he will. He loves you. You need to give him some credit for that."
"I know he loves me, but how do we make this work?"
"You will. And if it doesn't, then it wasn't meant to be. You know I believe in Fate and that everything happens for a reason, and I believe you were meant to get this job," I said, tugging my top back into place.
"I'm just really scared. I'm so angry at him for the things he said to me, but I don't want to lose him either." I watched as Isaac's brows knitted together. "The girls are looking perky this afternoon," he commented, nodding towards my cleavage, which I will admit, had had some help from a new push-up bra.
I ignored him and continued on. "Smile. Be happy, and when Adam gets home, sit down and talk to each other. You can work anything out." I saw Isaac's shoulders relax just a little bit. "What time does he get home?"
"About eight o'clock tonight."
"Okay, well, go and pamper yourself and make yourself beautiful. Adam won't be mad at you for long." I grabbed Isaac's arm and led him towards the front door as I could see Brody through my window, walking across the street. As I opened the door, he walked through my little gate.
"Hmm…I see why the girls are looking so perky," Isaac whispered to me as he simultaneously gave Brody the once over. I swatted his arm and gave him a little push out the door.
"Oh! Will you take Theo with you?" I asked. "I don't like leaving him here alone at the moment. He gets scared really easily."
"Of course! Come here, little man," cooed Isaac, bending down to scoop Theo up. "Uncle Isaac's got some lovely treats at his house," he said, using his very best baby voice. It didn't matter what voice he used though. Theo heard the word treats, his ears picked up, and I'm positive a big smile broke out on his little face.