I dragged my feet as I made my way back to the interrogation room, yet not even the slowest pace made up for the fact that the bathroom was only a few yards away. Did Detective Johnson tell Killian about the guy who followed me? I wasn't sure which scenario would be worse.
Coming to a halt at the partly opened door, I overheard Killian's voice. "Dad..." he muttered. "You can't keep eating all this junk food."
A scoff filled the air. "Do you think I've gotten weak? I can still take you down easily."
That didn't sound like they were discussing me or my case... I peered inside the room. Killian leaned on the table his face exasperated. With a shake of his head, he pleaded, "You have to watch your health. Give me your schedule. I'll bring you food. If you keep going like this, you won't even be able to—"
His sentence was abruptly cut off as he glanced up and noticed me. "Tay."
My mouth twitched when Detective Johnson continued to rant, seemingly oblivious to the interruption. "When we were in the army," he said, "they made us march long distances with full gear. I can still do that easily."
Killian rolled his eyes, straightened up, and locked his gaze on me. "You ready?"
"Yeah," I replied, clasping my hands together. "Thank you for your help, Detective."
Detective Johnson waved me off. "Of course. This one has mentioned you—"
Killian's eyes widened, and a distinct shade of red colored the tips of his ears. "Dad," he interjected urgently. "It's time to sleep. We're leaving."
"Sleep? But I'm on the night shift—"
"Whatever. Tay needs to rest. So, we're heading out."
Had he just said Killian mentioned me...?
Detective Johnson offered me a reassuring smile. "Kel can be a bit reserved sometimes. Don't take it to heart too much. You have my number if he causes you any trouble..."
Reserved? Killian?
A stupid grin stretched my face. Oh, this would turn the tables a lot.
Killian snatched the back of my jacket and began dragging me out. "Don't make me pick you up," he grumbled under his breath.
"If I remember correctly, I picked you up as well." I twisted, trying to see over his shoulder. "Perhaps I should discuss this with your dad. I bet he's interested to know what his son has been up to these days..."
The whole no ambulance thing made much more sense now. If Killian got sent to the hospital, I'd bet his dad would find out within an hour.
"You can try," he warned.
"Aw... don't be shy, Killian."
All traces of humor vanished from his voice. "Before that, Princess, you have a lot of explaining to do."
I clamped my mouth shut. Here's to hoping he'd forgotten about that.
Killian opened the passenger door, and I tried to ignore the way my heart fluttered as he waited for me to get in. All the way to the apartment the silence between us was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
As soon as he switched on the lights in their apartment, I knew the time to sort out my thoughts had run out. With a dark face, he dropped my bags and turned to me.
"So, explain," he demanded.
"What exactly?" I stalled, pretending to be fascinated by the couch. It was a nice couch. Big and comfy.
The line of his jaw hardened. "Don't give me that bull," he ground out. "Let's start with the reason you reported a stalker case and why dead animal parts were delivered to your door. How about that?"
"I didn't know what was inside until today," I mumbled.
"Tay..."
Fine.
Taking a deep breath, I recounted everything that had happened. The letters. The threats. The packages. I kept my voice detached as if I spoke about somebody else's business. The only detail I left out was the encounter with the strange man while out on a run. Judging by the way the muscles on Killian's neck twitched, I was sure he would explode if I mentioned that.
His tone was that of barely suppressed anger. "How long has this been going on?"
"It started after we came back from vacation," I admitted.
"That was over a month ago," he exclaimed furiously. "And how many of those letters and packages have you received?"
"I'm not sure. I stopped opening them at some point..."
He pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled loudly. "And what did my dad mean by some strangers showing up?"
Shit. Of course, he would catch on to that. I blew out a few strands of hair away from my face. "Someone followed me when I was out running once. I didn't see their face, though."
"Don't—don't tell me that day you showed up at our doorstep was because some psycho followed you?"
My gaze bounced around the tidy apartment. Anywhere but him. My reaction must have been enough of an answer because Killian cursed loudly and started pacing back and forth, repeatedly running his hand through his hair.
"Why? Why didn't you tell me then?" he questioned, the growing frustration evident in his voice.
"What do you mean, why?" I countered, my voice rising to match his. "I can't rely on you for everything."
"Everything?" he asked loudly. "You barely rely on me for anything! And every damn time you do, it's like I'm pulling your teeth out."
"Well, I thought, it might be just a prank. That it would stop."
"And when it didn't stop... Wait. That's what you meant when we talked in the car?"
I nodded, relieved that he sounded slightly calmer now.
He sighed. "So, you're telling me, Suz is letting you run around even after you were chased by a stalker?"
I paused. "Um..." In view of recent events, I might have forgotten to tell her.
Killian's eyes followed the way my face fell. And just like that he exploded. "You cannot be serious!"
"Her mom got into an accident, and she was rushing over there. Are you telling me I should have made her feel guilty for going to her family?" I retorted, my anger flaring.
He threw his hands up. "Please tell me you talked to anyone else at least."
"Well, at first, I thought maybe it was Chris. And I talked to him."
"What?" Killian eyed me as if I finally lost it. "That does explain a lot. Let me guess. He acted like the tool he is, and then you thought everyone else must think the same?"
My face burned. "No..."
"So, your best friend is out of town, and your response is not to talk to anyone? What would Suz say about that? How do you think she would feel knowing that you kept all this to yourself while she dealt with family matters?"
"You are blowing this out of proportion," I argued.
"Out of proportion?" he echoed loudly. "Tay, someone left you a pig's heart, broke into your apartment, and followed you. And you think this is out of proportion?"
I swallowed hard. "There's no proof it was the same person."
"They found the same letter inside! Fuck! I knew it."
"What?" I sputtered, my hands fisted at my side.
"I can't leave you alone for even five minutes. Look what happens."
I raised my voice. "It's just some weirdo who gets a kick out of scaring people. It's no big deal. Calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down!" he shouted. "You have a fucking stalker, Tay.
"I don't get why you're getting so mad about this!"
For a moment, he looked stunned. "Why? Because I give a fucking shit about you," he yelled. "That's why."
"Could've fooled me, considering it's you who's literally yelling at me!" I fired back.
His blazing eyes fixed on me. "I give a shit. And I know you do too, so stop with your excuses. I care, so yes, I will fucking yell at you and I'll tell you when you fuck up. Deal with it."
I blinked, my chest rising and falling rapidly. I'd never had to explain myself like this. No one had ever gotten this angry on my behalf. What did that say about me?
Cody chose that moment to come out of his room, appearing casual as if Killian and I hadn't been shouting at each other for the past few minutes.
"Oh, hey guys," he said nonchalantly. "'Fancy seeing you here. I thought I heard your dulcet tones. Don't hold it in. Let it out.'"
The tension broke. I had to give him props. He had some good taste in books. That was a perfect imitation of Fred and George.
I faced Killian again. "Are you done with the lecture, professor?"
"Depends," he replied.
"On?" I crossed my arms.
"Whether my student understood the assignment."
I shot him a nasty look. "You always have to have the last word, don't you?"
"And you just cannot admit when you are in the wrong, can you?"
"Maybe because—"
"Guys," Cody interjected, sounding a bit exasperated. "Relax. Shouldn't we set up the room for Tay?" he asked, giving Killian a sidelong glance. "From what I and our neighbors have gathered, Tay is going to stay here for a bit, right?"
I fidgeted. "Well, I don't want to intrude, but until they install the cameras at my apartment—"
"Until that fucking psycho is caught, yes," Killian interrupted me.
"Well, feel free to ask me if you need anything," Cody said to me with a warm gaze.
"Thanks." I gave him a small smile. "I will."
"Fucking joke of the century," Killian muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
I decided to ignore him. "It's only until Suz is back. I can probably crash at her place if they aren't done by then."
"No," Killian bit out.
I glared at him through narrowed eyes. "You cannot decide—"
"Goddamn it, you have to make everything so fucking difficult, don't you? That's right I can't. But I can call Suz and Jules and ask about their opinion. Maybe you'll finally see the point if it is them lecturing—"
"Fine," I shot back. "Then I'll call your dad and let him know the way you've been talking to me!"
He snickered. "You want to snitch to my dad, really?"
"So?" I tapped my foot. "If you're going to keep—"
"This is about your safety. You do realize he's a detective, right? What do you think he would say?"
Oh. Well.
My mouth opened and then closed. Shit. I had just wasted my trump card.
Killian raised his brows. "We had a promise, didn't we? So can you please explain to me what you were thinking not telling us?"
"As I said, I did talk—"
"You better not count your ex—"
"I did tell Suz," I snapped. "At least most of it. And I called the police..."
Killian's nostrils flared and I wouldn't be surprised if flames came out of them. "Yes, and thank God. But you could have talked to us. To Cody. Jules. Me. Did you ever think about that?"
So many times.
"Okay!" My voice rose again. "You know what? Fine. Maybe I should have talked to you. But you don't..." I bit my lip. He didn't know how hard it was for me to confide in people ever since the fiasco at my last university. I knew I shut people out. This was why it had taken so long for me and Suz to properly get close in the first place.
"We've known each other for how long?" I asked. "A few months? You don't know me. It's not that easy for some people to..."
His eyes seemed to drill into my head. "I know you better than you think," he said, his tone softening. "And I never said it was easy, Princess."
"Well, I was going to talk to you when Suz and I went to that party to talk to Chris, but then you got mad out of nowhere, and then..." I trailed off, feeling a blush creeping up my cheeks. And then we kissed...
"Fine, so that's on me. But, Tay. You need help. You just don't know how to ask for it."
"I don't want to take advantage of you because of this situation," I confessed quietly.
"Advantage?" he asked incredulously. His hand reached up, gripping his hair. "What advantage?
Ah, fuck it.
"Cody told me about Alicia." There it was. The thing that had been weighing on me.