I paced back and forth in my room while a million thoughts raced around my mind. What in the world was I thinking? I couldn’t just start over. I couldn’t be Stephanie Tompkins again. With Alaric close by, I had a false sense of security. As though somehow, I could take on the entire world and make this all work. Without him near, reality crept in on me and reminded me who I was running from and why I had to remain Stella. A knock on the bedroom door snapped me from my thoughts. I walked over and opened the door to find Alaric standing in the doorway. “You alright?” he asked as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back. I stood unable to answer for a moment. “I’m fine” I finally breathed out as I walked over to the bed and sat down. “May I?” he asked as he waved a hand toward the room. My eyebrows crushed down in confusion. This was his condo and yet he was asking permission to enter a room? “This is your home.” He stood unmoving as he smirked lightly. “This is your room, S

I screamed, sitting straight up in bed as I gasped for breaths. It was just a nightmare, I assured myself as I looked around my rented room in Alaric’s condo. It seemed despite my physical escape from Ace abuse, my unconscious mind was still trapped. I was haunted my nightmares every time I slept, and they were becoming more and more vivid. I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and slowly got up. My body was still sore, and the bruises seemed to darken each day. I knew from experience they would peak in a couple days before slowly beginning to fade over the next couple weeks. It was never fast, but the mental trauma would last the rest of my life. I wandered downstairs and almost expected to find Alaric dancing around in the kitchen like he so often did. Instead, I found an eerie and quiet home. I grabbed some orange juice from the refrigerator and a glass from the cupboard. I set them on the counter and poured my cup when I noticed a note. Steph- I got called overnight to the

I woke up alone in Alaric’s bed. I laid there for several minutes, soaking in the feeling of being in his bed once more as I knew it would be the last. Last night had awaken me to that fact. Someone was definitely after me. They hadn’t forgotten, like I had deluded myself into believing. I wouldn’t let them hurt Alaric. I would obtain my GED, and then I would escape this town. I would take myself and my problems far away from here so they couldn’t hurt Alaric. I found a note from Alaric informing me he had left for work. I took the opportunity to take a long, hot soak in his jacuzzi tub. My body still ached, but not as it once had. I got out, showered, and dressed for the day. I made lunch before studying and then welcoming Alaric home shortly before dinner. As the days moved forward, a comfortableness developed between us. Being around Alaric felt natural. It came so easily being around him. I found myself waking with an optimistic outlook on life that I haven’t had in years. I smil

The doorbell chime woke me up. I groggily opened my eyes and looked around the pitch-black condo. I slowly sat up from the couch; my mind slower than my body as it started to question who would be ringing the doorbell at this time of night. My heart began to thud in my chests as I rose unsteadily to my feet. I pulled Alaric’s suit jacket tight around me as I walked toward the front door. I flipped the light on inside first and squinted as it blinded me. Once my eyes adjusted, I peeked out the spyhole into the dark night. No one was there, and the security light outside clicked off. It would have been activated by movement that was now gone. Hesitantly, I punched in the code to turn off the alarm and slowly cracked the door open. I peeked out, my eyes searching frantically for any movement but saw nothing. I opened the door further and slowly stepped out, glancing around in all directions. Nothing but silence. I took a couple steps out, wrapping my arms around myself as I stood in the

I woke up and rubbed my tired, swollen eyes. For the first time in a while, I found myself waking up and hating my life. My heart ached painfully as I dragged myself from bed. I tried to give myself a pep talk as I showered and dressed. For all I knew, this woman could have just been a one-night stand to Alaric. She could mean nothing. He may never see her again. Despite what he decided to do, the hook-up had made one thing obviously clear to me: I loved Alaric. I had laid in bed sobbing over him all night long. Seeing him with someone else had awoken a jealousy within me I didn’t even know existed. I couldn’t squelch it, just as I couldn’t heal my broken heart. I had taken Alaric for granted all this time. I just assumed he would wait, apparently forever. I had been selfish and stupid to think that. Of course he wasn’t just going to sit and wait his entire life for me. I had waited too long, making excuse after excuse, and now I was at risk of losing him. I was going to talk to him