CHAPTER 7

Steve was exhausted as he drove home after work the following day, not having slept a wink.

The last rays of sunlight ventured through the woods as the sky got ready to settle down for the night.

Longing for the comfort of his bed, he nonetheless braced himself for another sleepless night; he was too shaken up.

He felt stupid. Just what had he seen in her?

It hadn’t been just a physical attraction; he was sure of that.

When Alisa had brought her dad’s Porsche to the garage to get it checked, when they’d looked at each other for the first time, something had sparkled inside of him.

And when they’d started dating, he’d felt surrounded by a mist of happiness.

Yet, he had failed to see her for who she truly was.

Not entirely, though, because even on their first dates, he’d had a little feeling at the bottom of his gut that something was not right about her.

Now he could see it clearly, and not just because of what she’d done to that poor dog.

It was how she was always trying to control him, to invade his mind, wanting to know what he was thinking all the time.

From the very beginning, there’d been tons of warnings floating around him that their relationship was toxic.

But he’d chosen to ignore the red flags.

He rubbed his eyes as his building came into view, deciding he’d need to have a couple of shots of vodka as soon as he was home to calm down. He made a right, pulled into the parking area next to the building, and felt a sudden jolt in his chest.

Alisa was waiting for him, leaning against her father’s car, arms crossed, dressed in tight jeans, high-heeled boots and a leather jacket.

Dread slithered into him. He gulped and had to fight an urge to turn around and speed away. His body was slick with sweat.

Steve gazed into her eyes, and the hatred he saw in them made his blood run cold. He felt a nervous quiver in his fingers. Alisa looked as though she was growing, becoming a more powerful and dominant figure.

What should he do? Right now, his car felt like the only shield protecting him from her wrath. Having to step out of his car felt like the most challenging task he’d ever come across.

But where could he go? Sooner or later, he’d have to get out of the car, and he’d have to deal with her.

He could call the police and tell them…tell them what?

That the girl he’d been dating was waiting for him at his address?

It would sound ridiculous. And he’d also be playing with fire if he got the police involved.

So far as he knew, Jeff Dowling had contacts in the police department.

No, he had better get it over with now.

He took a deep breath and parked the car a couple of slots away from hers. Then he stepped out, pulled up the zipper of his black nylon jacket, and forced himself to look at her. A cold, fierce stare met him.

“Alisa, I–”

“Just what did you think you were doing?”

She took a couple of steps closer to him, and he flinched, his body tensing. He was the taller of the two, yet she projected an undeniable sense of power.

“You have any idea how much you’ve hurt me, you selfish bastard?”

Her words felt like a brutal stab in his gut. He knew he shouldn’t have ended their relationship through a text message, and he shouldn’t have blocked her. It wasn’t the right thing to do, and he cursed Kevin for convincing him to go along with it.

But that didn’t give her the right to speak to him like that. He wanted to defend himself, to defend his dignity, but what came out instead was: “Alisa, I’m sorry. I behaved like a prick.”

“You bet you have,” she snapped. “You think you can ignore me like you did? Huh?”

“No. I didn’t mean to ignore you or disrespect you. I just needed some time, is all. Please, let’s just talk about it.”

Alisa smirked. “Oh, so now you want to talk about it, huh?” She shook her head. “Oh my God. You are so pathetic, you know? Look at you. You can’t even look me in the eye.”

Her words gripped his dignity and crushed it in their fists. He looked around, hoping one of his neighbors would notice what was going on and would come to his aid, but they were alone in the parking area.

With one more step, she found herself face-to-face with him. His breath caught in his chest as Steve swallowed hard, stopping himself from backing away.

But Alisa could detect the fear in his eyes, and she scoffed, “Look at you. You fucking sissy.”

Steve instinctively threw his hands up, palms outward, as a shield. “Alisa, please…”

“What?” Alisa’s wicked grin was plastered across her face. “You afraid of me?”

Steve lowered his head, a whirlwind of shame disabling him. Alisa thrust her palms against his chest, hard, catching him by surprise, and he collided against his car, startled.

“Answer me. Are you afraid of me, you piece of shit?”

Feeling humiliated, but also knowing he needed to get away from her, he muttered, “Yes, I am. I’m afraid of you.

Okay? Are you happy now?” His breathing sped up.

“You’ve proven your point.” He made himself stand up straight.

He wanted to go to his building, but Alisa was blocking the way, and she was mere inches away from him.

“Please, just let me go home.” There was a hollow, defeated tone in his voice.

She smirked. “You wanna go home, sweetie? Do you realize just what a sorry-ass scumbag you are?” She laughed. “You can’t even stand up for yourself. You’re a poor excuse for a man.”

He waved a hand. “Yeah, whatever, just please step aside.”

Alisa refused to move. “Or what? Huh? What are you going to do to me if I don’t?

” She brought her face a couple of inches away from his, and whispered, “I’ll tell you what.

Nothing. You’re not going to do a damn thing, because you are useless.

” Her eyes were sparkling. “Our relationship is over, yeah, but just because I want it to be over. I curse the day I let you into my life. If your mother were alive, I bet she’d curse the day she brought you into this world. ”

The slap reverberated throughout the parking lot. Only when his hand started to throb did he realize what he’d just done. Several times, he blinked, his eyes wide with bewilderment as they focused on Alisa’s left cheek.

What the fuck have I done?

Time glided by at a slow pace, with only the wind encircling them, blowing around the leaves on the ground. Steve’s body filled with horror, and he gazed at his hand, stupefied, as if wondering whether the hand actually belonged to him.

With a gentle movement, Alisa lifted her gaze towards him. The wind caught her hair, sending strands dancing and swirling. Her eyes were two narrow slits; gusts of wrath were shooting out of them.

“Oh, God,” Steve heard himself say in an uneven voice. “I’m sorry, Alisa, I’m so, so sorry. I don’t know what happened to me.” He reached out a shaky hand. “Please, let me–”

She smacked his hand away. Then she pointed a finger at him, her other hand on her left cheek, and said in a trembling voice, “Don’t you touch me, you motherfucker.”

Steve raised both hands. “Okay. I won’t. Do you want some ice for your face? Let me get some ice for you. I can run up in a second and get some.”

The tiny smile on her face chilled his bones. “You’ve made the biggest mistake of your life. Oh boy, are you going to regret what you’ve just done.”

Steve swallowed hard as a shiver ran through his body. He felt small, so much smaller than her. “Please forgive me, Alisa. I don’t know what came over me.” His hand was throbbing, his heart was hammering, and he felt like the worst human being on Earth for having hit a woman.

Alisa smirked as her left cheek reddened. She straightened, looking satisfied. Her cheek hurt, but she’d hurt him more with that comment about her mother. She was proud of herself because of it.

“You’ll be sorry,” she hissed.

“Alisa, please, let’s talk.”

“I swear to God, you will be sorry.”

She spun around and then climbed into her car. When she turned on the engine, Steve wanted to go to her and beg her to stay, to please forgive him, but his feet were glued to the pavement.

As her vehicle left the parking lot, she glanced at him, her cold eyes freezing him. He watched her pull out and speed down the street until the car vanished, and he remained there a while, his body enveloped by the cold air.