She awoke in a different place, and at first, her heart began pumping as she blinked her eyes open. She quickly realized where she was and how she had got there, but in those few seconds, before she did, she felt as if she had run a marathon. She was trying to keep her reaction to herself, but Sasuke who was already in his lab coat and walking down the hall could read the panic written all over her. He tried to smile to ease her mind but the fact way she now knew this was her reality, she was going to have this reaction probably for the rest of her life knowing that he was still there like a shadow in the background just lurking always waiting. There had never been a rhyme or reason to when he struck, she had talked to a few other survivors before and they all suggested that it was always some event in their lives that had set their stalkers off, with her she had flat out refused to date so it couldn't be that, she worked hard but never reacted to promotions, she lived alone and never went out with friends, so in the cold reality it hit her a long time ago that he struck whenever he felt like it, it had been so random that she at times would begin to feel normal and then the low blow of a taped message, house break-in, or one of the gifts.
They weren't real gifts. They had been the reason she had stood in a courtroom before a judge pleading with him to help protect her, she had been humiliated and broken in that room, but in the end, the judge had agreed and placed a ten-year restraining order in place. She remembered right afterward a woman walking right up to her and saying, "Congrats. You now have a piece of paper to stop him. Get a gun they work better."
She had been taken back from a complete stranger saying that but now she understood why it was a piece of paper in the end and most people even police didn't care about its existence. He certainly didn't. The woman who had come up to her had a haunted look in her eyes that she knew well, it was the same look of tiredness and paranoia that she could see reflected in the mirror now. She looked up at Sasuke as he looked like he wanted to say something and raised her brows as if prompting him to speak, "Maybe you should stay here today?", he asked cautiously.
"I thought about that. I don't think it would be smart to be alone all day.", she said, and he was thinking again.
"Possibly.", he said.
"Sasuke, the threat isn't just from him but now myself as well.", She started to explain," Everything sets my nerves off. A small sound from the back of the house can give me a panic attack. When I am on high alert, it gets dangerous just go around me."
"I doubt you're dangerous, but I do understand. Then instead of staying home why don't we take my car and put yours in the garage, so it's not in the open?", he suggested.
"That wouldn't be a bad idea.", she said. "As far as I know, he can't get into the building, so if my car isn't there, he might think I went underground."
"It's horrible that you have even to think this way.", Sasuke muttered under his breath.
"I know it is. Give me five minutes, and I'll be ready to leave.", she said as she hopped up and headed back to his guest room where her things were located.
"Take your time!", he yelled at the back of the house.
She thought to herself how lucky she really was to have the friends she did have. People, when they listened to her story, found it a work of fiction or she must be exaggerating the parts of it. Her friends the few and far between knew the full account and did everything they could to help her. Sasuke was no different. He had offered her a place to stay many times before, but she had never taken him up on it, this time she had no choice. Most of her friends were tired of it, the whole situation and sometimes acted like she must have skipped some steps in trying to make him stop, she had thought to herself in the beginning there really needs to be a manual on how to rid yourself of stalkers and crazy ex-boyfriends but there wasn't and the sad fact was no one really believed her anymore. She didn't bring it up to people, she covered her late-night terror rather well, but people still made the comments. Sasuke never did. In this, at least right now, he was willing to help her, and she would jump on the offer and let him share in the burden of what she really dealt with every day. At least someone else would be able to speak for her if something happened. That was the cold reality of her life.
A few minutes later she stepped out of the room and was ready for the day. As prepared as she could be with a tight neck from the weird position from the couch. She would muscle through the day after she of course popped some kind of pain reliever when she got to work. He handed her a travel cup filled with coffee and then headed to the garage where she placed her bag in his car along with the cup, and as he pulled out of the building, she hopped in her car and pulled her car in it. The door closed slowly as she walked out and got in his car. He lived about thirty seconds from the gate, but their mutual building was about fifteen miles from his house. They both pulled their id's out from the inspection at the gate and were waved through and their day began. As they got to the building which was still earlier than her normal, they both saw teams in the parking lot and after they parked she spotted her direct supervisor standing around. He also spotted her and the fact she was getting out of Sasuke's car. His beady little eyes widened and his mouth slightly dropped.
"That's new.", her boss said.
"Not what you think.", she stated. "What's going on?"
"Bomb threat.", he stated.
"Again?", she asked.
"Looks that way.", he said. "At least we will be the most prepared building on base if ever there really is a bomb."
"I know who keeps calling them in.", she said.
"We do too, if only we could prove it.", he stated. "You sure know how to pick them. Hopefully, this one is better." He made a head motion towards Sasuke who was talking to people in his own division.
"Didn't I just say not what you think.", she said.
"Why not, Kid?", he asked. "He seems decent enough. Well, a little weird to be honest but not your average psycho which seem to like you."
"Not having this conversation with you.", she stated.
"He is a good guy. He also likes you. What is wrong with having a little fun. You're young enjoy it.", her boss said.
"Not enough coffee in the world can make me want to respond to that.", she said.
"One bad apple, kid. Don't let the bad one spoil the entire bunch.", her boss stated.
"Are you my father now?", she asked. "He isn't just a bad apple, boss. He is poison."
"Well, we can all see that.", he stated. "When have you eaten a real meal?"
"What?", she asked.
"When was the last time you really ate something?", he asked again.
"I don't know.", she replied as she thought about it.
"Kid, we all see it. You have lost to much weight. You're a shell of what you were. You can't let him take the rest of you too.", her boss stated, and the thought brought tears to her eyes.
"He found me again last night.", she stated.
"Now it makes sense why you're with him this morning.", her boss said as he motioned to Sasuke. "What did he do this time?"
"Broke into my apartment and trashed it. The police did nothing, again. I will swear though he was still there when I decided to leave.", she said.
"If you think he was, then he probably was.", her boss said flatly. "I know you think people don't believe you but we, at least the ones who know you here, all see the changes in you.", he thought for a minute. "What are your plans now, move again and wait for him to find you again then repeat the process?"
She knew her boss's matter of fact behavior and what seemed like a callous question was really him trying to help her, "I don't know what to do.", she stated back. "I really am at the end of mt tether CJ."
"Well, you have to reach the end before you want to strike back.", he stated.
"Well, I am here now.", she said.
"Okay. Let me think for a few on it, and we will come up with a game plan. You have the support of more people than you realize. Let him,", her boss said moving his head move in Sasuke's direction, "Take care of you until we figure this out. He is reliable and pretty sturdy even though he doesn't look like much."
"Alright.", she said in defeat.
"Kid, you will get through this.", he said as he put his arm around her shoulders to hang there.
"I hope so.", She said softly. Her boss walked off, and Sasuke ambled over.
"What was that about?", Sasuke asked softly.
"Wondering why we arrived together. Plus the bomb threat. Oh and I told him about last night.", she said.
"That explains the face.", Sasuke stated.
"Face?", she asked.
"The look is back. For a few minutes on the drive, it was gone.", he said softly.
"Sasuke.", She started, "Its always there, the fear. I have to learn to move past it. For a few minutes, an hour, a day however long it's just always there. So a few minutes where my guard is down is a win for me."
"You can let your guard down around me, Princess.", Sasuke said very softly almost a whisper.
"I know I can. I'm trying.", she said.
"Looks like they cleared the building.", he said as the teams were headed out.
"They are running Sasuke.", she said as she had an instant of panic and she grabbed him and pulled him behind a car.
"What?", he asked.
"Get down!", she yelled at him.
The explosion rocked the building and parking lot but didn't come from inside. It came from in back of the building. They could still see the flames and the rising smoke from the blast. She stood, and for some reason, she looked at her watch. It was her regular time to be in the parking lot of walking into the building. She looked around, and the three main bosses of the building were also looking at her as one tapped his watch as if to say this was planned out to affect her. They knew it, so did she. She was trying to hold it together and failing miserably. Sasuke noticed and immediately wrapped his arm around her and faced her toward him, so no one else saw her fall to pieces in the parking lot of their building. It felt like everyone was looking at her but in reality, everyone was just grateful no one had been hurt in the blast. There were no blaming eyes faced in their direction when she finally stopped. She was weak and lightheaded as he moved her to a wall so she could sit down and take it all in. She knew at that moment everyone around her was a target, and she wanted to curl up into a ball and just hide but what surprised her was other people started coming over to her and asked her questions. She looked at Sasuke who just tried to smile and knew for the first time in years she really wasn't alone, even though by supporting her they placed a real target on their heads they didn't care about any part of that they just wanted to help in some way. Her breathing eased, and a sense of calm took over. Her walls that she had built to keep people out came tumbling down, and she opened her mouth and spoke, people were listening, and better yet, they seemed to understand.