“You’re right,” Colin said evenly. “I made a mistake. I lost control.”
“Gee, really?” Evan spat out. He turned, starting for the front door. “Whatever. You two deal with him for now. I’m done.” The door slammed behind him, leaving the three of them on the porch.
“You know that Evan’s right, Colin,” Lily said.
“I wasn’t going to hurt her.”
“That doesn’t matter,” she said, her voice soft. “You’re big and strong, and when you’re angry, people can sense the innate violence within you. The poor waitress was cowering and crying and you wouldn’t let up until Evan put everything he had into pulling you away. And then, I was almost certain you were going to hit him.”
Colin’s gaze dropped to the ground before slowly coming up again, and for a moment, his confidence was gone. In its place Maria saw shame and remorse, maybe even a flash of hopelessness.
“It won’t happen again.”
“Maybe,” Lily said, kissing him on the cheek. “You said that the last time, too.”
She turned toward Maria and offered a hug. “And I’m absolutely certain that all of this must feel both overwhelming and terrifying to you. If someone was stalking and taunting me, I would have already been off to Charleston by now to hide out with my parents, and knowing them, they’d send me out of the country. I’m just so sorry for what you’re going through.”
“Thank you,” Maria said. Suddenly exhausted, she barely recognized the sound of her own voice.
“Would you like to come inside?” Lily asked when she pulled back. “I’m sure Evan is calmer by now, and we can work through some options or ideas… or we can just sit and listen if you feel like you need to talk.”
“I wouldn’t even know what to say,” she said.
Lily understood, and with a gentle click of the door as it closed behind her, Maria and Colin were alone on the front porch.
“I’m sorry, Maria,” he mumbled.
“I know.”
“Would you like me to bring you home?”
In either direction, most of the houses were already dark.
“I don’t want to go home,” she said in a small voice. “He knows where I live.”
Colin stretched out his hand. “C’mon,” he said. “You can stay with me.”
Leaving the porch, they walked around the side of the house, toward the downstairs entrance. Once inside, Colin turned on the lights as he led the way. Hoping for any distraction from the lingering knot in her stomach, she took in the room. Average sized, with a kitchen off to the right and a small hallway directly ahead that no doubt led to the bedroom and bath. Surprisingly neat, without clutter piled on the coffee table or on the counters. Neutral color scheme for the furniture, with no photographs or personal items, like no one lived here at all.
“This is your place?”
He nodded. “For now. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Just water,” she said.
Colin filled two glasses in the kitchen, bringing one of them to her. She took a sip, suddenly remembering that she was being followed and seeing again Colin’s anger as he’d demanded answers from the waitress, his muscles tense. She remembered the split second after Evan had jerked him off balance and the utter wildness and uncontrollable fury in his expression.
“How are you feeling?” he finally asked.
She tried to force the image away and realized that she couldn’t. “Not good,” she said. “Not good at all.”
Neither of them seemed to know what to say to the other in the living room, nor later, when they were in bed together. Instead, simply needing to be held, Maria rolled over, resting her head on Colin’s chest, conscious of the lingering tension in his body.
She’d hoped that by staying here, with Colin beside her, she’d feel safe.
But she didn’t feel safe. Not anymore. And as she lay awake, staring into the darkness, she was beginning to wonder whether she ever would again.