Relief slid through her as she bent and scratched her new pet behind the ears.
The fairy tales were right. There was a Prince Charming out there for her. He’d arrived in her life the day after she broke up with Eric.
And like in all fairy tales, he’d come into her life from an unexpected place, the animal shelter, in an unexpected guise, wearing a black mask with black ears, and sporting a thick black and golden doggy pelt.
They’d bonded immediately. He was extraordinarily attuned to her moods. While she didn’t always trust her own reactions these days, she quickly came to trust Prince’s without question. If he responded to sounds in the night, as he did last night, then she knew it wasn’t just her anxiety. She needed that assurance badly.
“Good boy.” She rubbed his back affectionately a couple of times before straightening up. Prince was the best thing to happen to her, maybe ever. As long as she had him she was safe.
She picked up her cup and moved to put it in the sink. She hadn’t been able to force herself to return to bed after her night visitor had been chased away. Instead, she’d curled up beneath a throw on the sofa, where she could sleep with one hand on Prince’s back as he lay on the rug beside her, and hold her cell phone in the other in case she needed to call for help. If the sheriff’s office would believe her. The Raleigh police hadn’t.
The cup rattled hard against the porcelain sink, an indication that the adrenaline-charged anxiety attack had yet to recede. Shame splashed through her at the realization that after all this time, her body could still betray her in this way.
She should have recognized the signs sooner. From the beginning of their year-long relationship she was often uncomfortable in Eric’s presence. Yet, she’d never told anyone about her uncertainties concerning him. Life had long ago taught her to doubt herself. Besides, who would believe her? Eric could be outrageously generous and so charming. She was a lowly temp. She was lucky to have attracted the attention of a man with money and good looks, who took her on secret glamorous vacations.
Yet Eric could go from charming guy to complete asshole in the time it took to knock back a few tequila shots. Gradually, he became critical of her, avoided her friends, seldom took her out in public after the first few weeks of their relationship. She gave in more and more to his point of view because it was easier than facing his stern disapproval. But there was a deep well of resentment growing inside her that she hadn’t realized was there until a few weeks ago. Even she had a limit.
Rough sex, he’d called it.
Shay clamped her teeth over her lower lip to stop its trembling.
She couldn’t quite believe what was happening. Afterward, she’d locked herself in his bathroom and called the police. That brought the next shock.
Eric was so quick to confess that he’d gotten a little carried away, and apologized so convincingly, she could tell the police began to doubt her version of deliberate assault. Still, they said they would take her in for testing and she could file charges and take him to court.
Court. In her fury and outrage, she had forgotten. The last thing she wanted was to go to court where her personal history might be pulled up again for public view. No, her life would be ruined all over again. Mortified, she had recanted her story.
Shay shivered, recalling her feelings of helplessness and outrage.
It was the sight of Eric’s smug expression, knowing he was going to get away with what he’d done, that spurred her to blurt out that their relationship was over, right there in front of the two law enforcement officers who could not help her.
Eric didn’t respond but she saw the cold fury in his expression that no one else seemed to notice. There’d been a promise in his last look, and it terrified her. She knew in her bones that he was going to get even. When she let her guard down. When she stopped worrying. When she was most vulnerable.
Shay looked out the window above the sink at the morning light reflecting off the silver surface of the lake. Its serenity didn’t calm her this morning.
Since that night a month ago, she couldn’t shake the panicky feelings of being followed and watched. Anxiety had her running from her own shadow. Checking and rechecking the locks. Glancing repeatedly over her shoulder until her friends became concerned by her increasingly paranoid behavior. One morning she couldn’t even force herself to leave for work until Angie came and got her. Unable to explain the cause of her panic attack, she watched Angie’s sympathy turn into concern for her sanity. Two days ago, she had fled Raleigh, seeking refuge in the one place where Eric wouldn’t know to look for her.
Yet he had found her.