Broken Road (28 page)

Both girls glanced at each other and then Ileana abruptly stood up and said, “We have to get to class now, so time to wrap things up.”

“Movie?” he said, looking at Angel adoringly for a brief moment before looking down again.

“Um…I don’t know. I guess any romantic comedy,” she said apprehensively.

“Do you have…a…b-b-boyfriend?” he said, looking up at her immediately, but this time keeping his head up while awaiting the response.

“Yes, she does,” Ileana answered as she grabbed her friend by the arm and pulled her up from her sitting position. “A big, strong, muscular one who eats graduate students for breakfast. Time to go, Angel. Now.”

“Sorry. Good luck with your paper, Benjamin,” Angel called out as Ileana literally dragged her away.

Ileana looked behind her as they walked away and noticed Benjamin just stood there watching them.

“He was weird,” Ileana said. “He gives me a bad case of the heebie-jeebies.”

“He was strange, wasn’t he?” said Angel.

“He was looking at you as if he hadn’t eaten in over a month and you were a big ol’ cheeseburger platter with a side of fries!”

“Yeah, he made me nervous too.”

“If you see him again, make sure to stay clear of him.”

“I will. You too,” Angel said.

“I have a strong feeling it’s not me he’s interested in.” Ileana glanced back one more time and found that even though he was barely a speck in the distance, he was visibly still watching them. Or rather, watching Angel.

Benjamin stood there watching her walk away and thinking to himself that she was the most perfect being on the face of the earth. Everything about her drew him to her. Her voice, her body, her hair…she was captivating beyond words. He drew a deep breath and whispered to himself, “I l-l-ove you, my b-beautiful Angel.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

U
pon Angel’s return to her dorm after her last class that afternoon, she was pleasantly surprised to find Jarrod waiting for her outside the building. Happy and excited to see him, she gave him a big hug.

“Hi!”

“Hi yourself,” he said before he pressed a kiss to her lips. He looked at her deeply and thought to himself how beautiful she looked even when she wore her hair in a simple ponytail and wore plain jeans and a modest style T-shirt tucked into them. He loved how she barely wore nor needed to apply makeup, just a touch of mascara and a hint of color on her lips. Her cheeks were naturally tinged with a soft, rose color, and her eyes were so dazzling and brilliant that there was no need to add anything to them to attract attention to them.

“What are you doing here?” she asked happily.

“My class got cancelled, so I thought I’d surprise you. Are you happy I did?”

“Way happy,” she said before she tiptoed and gave him another kiss.

He grabbed her books and they walked together hand in hand toward the entrance to her building. By the time they reached her room, they were laughing about some story Jarrod had told her about Dave, his roommate.

Angel opened the door slightly and poked her head in. She saw Ava was sitting at her desk studying and said, “Hey, Jarrod’s with me. Can he come in?”

“Sure,” Ava responded, closing her book. “I’ve studied enough for today anyway and could use a short break.”

Jarrod followed Angel into the room and greeted Ava. He liked Angel’s roommate a lot. She was outgoing, sweet, funny, and made friends easily. He only wished he had a friend he could hook her up with. Unfortunately, none of his friends took the time to get to know her and see that there was so much depth to her. They only saw that she was too tall, too thin, and way too blind. She wore glasses with thick lenses, preferring them to contact lenses due to comfort and ease.

Ava smiled at them both and then motioned to Angel’s bed, where her mail lay. “Picked up your mail for you.”

“Thanks,” Angel said.

“No problem. Listen, a few of us are going to the Enigma Rock Cafe tonight. Do you guys want to join us?”

“So you’ll be out for awhile?” asked Jarrod with a hopeful gleam in his eye.

Ava immediately picked up on his enthusiasm and quickly said, “Not that long, lover. I have an early class tomorrow.”

“Oh.” He didn’t even bother to hide his disappointment.

Angel smiled at him and then at Ava. She was dying to be alone with him as well, but she was also afraid of having too much time alone. She knew he was hopeful of taking their relationship to the next level, and although she wanted that just as much as he, she wanted it to be in the right setting, at the right time. Well, at least she was almost certain those were the reasons. She still was nervous and unsure about taking such a monumental step. She had always believed and hoped to remain a virgin until her wedding night, but things just felt so perfectly right with Jarrod. She felt confused and torn between what she had been raised to believe was the right thing to do and what her heart and body were telling her was the correct path to take. She had no doubt of the deep, enduring love that existed between the two of them, so why this uncertainty in expressing it physically?

Jarrod sat on Angel’s bed and inadvertently began to rifle through her mail. He noticed a large manila envelope with no return address. Written boldly beside her name and address were the words “Be Mine,” enclosed within a drawn heart. He eyed it curiously and held it out for Angel to take. When she saw what was written on it, she stopped what she was doing and opened her eyes wide.

“No,” she said.

She had become visibly pale, and her hands began to tremble. Ava noticed the change and swiftly helped her sit down on a nearby chair. She rushed to the mini-fridge and retrieved a bottle of water, giving it to Angel to drink. Jarrod had rushed to Angel’s side and asked her, “What’s wrong?” She didn’t answer, only stared at him, obviously frightened.

“Angel, what’s wrong? Tell me,” he said forcefully.

“It’s him again,” she responded, distressed, as her eyes began to well up.

“Who?” asked Ava. Nothing had been said to Ava, so she was totally in the dark about the entire situation. Ileana had advised Angel to let Ava in on what was happening, but Angel decided against it, not wanting her roommate to fear every new person she came across. She realized now that Ileana had been right. She should have told Ava, Jarrod, and the police. Perhaps even her parents.

Jarrod didn’t wait for a response. He immediately ripped open the envelope and pulled out the contents. Enclosed was an eight by ten photo of Angel and himself taken in the parking lot of the mall. Angel was leaning with her back against the passenger side door, while Jarrod was standing directly in front of her with both his hands on her waist. They were both looking into each other’s eyes and smiling. The photo had been taken a few seconds before he had leaned in and kissed her. A bright red heart encircled Angel’s face. A big
X
was drawn across Jarrod’s face in bold black marker. Written below the
X
was one word.
Die
.

“How many of these have you gotten?” Jarrod asked.

“That’s the second one. The first one is in my top drawer.” She hadn’t looked at the picture that was received today. She was too frightened. Ava, on the other hand, picked it up off of the bed, looked at it, and said, “Oh shit.”

Jarrod retrieved the picture from the top drawer. He turned to face her, fury written across his own. “Were you planning on ever telling me about this?”

Ava walked over and placed a supportive hand on Angel’s shoulder. “I’ll leave you two alone. You okay?”

Angel nodded, so Ava left the room, leaving the two to figure things out. Jarrod just stared at her in angry silence, waiting for her to respond.

“I didn’t want to worry you,” she said nervously.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, right? Please tell me that you’re kidding.” He began to rub his face, concentrating mainly on his forehead as if he could rub away the fear and worry. How could she hide something as important as this from him? What the hell was she thinking?

She didn’t answer, so he knew she wasn’t kidding. Of all the stupid, crazy, irresponsible things a person could do, this was right up there on the list. “What else are you hiding from me?”

She kept her head low, afraid to look into his eyes. She had never seen him so angry. “I’ve been receiving phone calls. He doesn’t say anything…he just breathes heavily.”

Jarrod rolled his eyes in frustration. Angel had never noticed what a big vein he had on his forehead before. Seeing how it protruded now, she wondered how it was she had never observed it. He quickly shook her out of her insignificant thoughts by saying as calmly as he possibly could, “Angel, how many times has he called and how often?”

“Um, about five or six times total. Not every day. It’s been going on for almost…a month now.” She closed her eyes tightly in preparation for the tirade and tongue-lashing she was about to receive.

“A month! I can’t friggin’ believe this. I don’t understand you. How could you not tell me? This is important. There’s some crazed maniac out there stalking you, and you don’t say anything? Do you have any idea what kind of danger you may be in?”

She glanced at the picture he had laid on the bed and began to cry. When she saw what was written below the mark placed over his face, she felt as if she had been punched in the stomach, knocking the wind completely out of her. Not only was she in danger, but now, due to her lack of thought and responsibility, she had also placed him in that position.

Between sobs she was able to utter, “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.”

There was one thing that Jarrod could not handle and that was a woman’s tears. His anger immediately turned to sympathy, and he pulled her into his arms and held her there until she was able to compose herself. When he noticed she was breathing softly and no longer gasping for air, he tilted her head upward and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you. I’m just worried sick and wish you had told me about these pictures and phone calls. I have a right to know. I love you…and I want to protect you, but I can’t if you aren’t honest with me and tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m sorry. Ile was right. I should have listened to her.”

Jarrod’s anger suddenly flared up again, but he tried not to let it show. Angel noticed the sudden tenseness in his body as he gritted his teeth and mumbled, “You told Ile, but you didn’t tell me?”

Angel pulled back a bit from the embrace. “I was afraid you would get all worried and then want to spend every minute of the day with me. Not that I would mind spending so much time with you, but I just couldn’t take you away from all the things you need to get done. You would be distracted and neglect your other responsibilities.” She paused and added, “Oh, and you better not let Ile hear you call her that.”

At a loss, Jarrod asked, “Call her what?”

“Ile. She doesn’t let anyone call her that except for close friends and family.”

“What the hell am I supposed to call her then?” he said as he frustratingly tousled his hair with his hand, mussing it into complete disarray. He separated himself from their embrace and began to pace the limited space the dorm room offered.

“Ileana. You have to work your way into her heart before she allows you to call her Ile. It’s a familiarity quirk.”

Jarrod shook his head in perplexity.

“Getting back to the issue at hand, you should know by now you’re my number one priority,” he said. “Everything else is secondary. Don’t you know that?”

“I do and I love you for that, but it’s important that you continue with your studies, rehab, and baseball training,” she said vehemently.

Jarrod took her into his arms again. “Baby, I’d give everything up for you. All of it. You mean more to me than my own life.” He placed a soft kiss on her head. “When I look into your eyes, do you have any idea what I see?” She shook her head no. With a bent finger, he lifted her chin so she would look directly into his eyes. “I see all the tenderness and love you’ve brought into my life. And when I kiss you, it’s as if you bring a light back into my heart that until I met you was shrouded in darkness.” Placing a soft kiss on her lips before pulling her tightly into his embrace, he let her feel all his strength and love and then whispered, “And when I hold you in my arms, I feel a sense of inner peace that spreads throughout my entire body. Angel, I believe…deep in my heart…that you’re the reason I was born. I was born to love you forever.”

Her eyes welled up, threatening to spill over while she pulled him close. She never knew she could feel all the incredible emotions that he stirred within her. Her heart felt so full and her mind reeled with untapped awareness. She loved him so much that she could no longer imagine her life without him. How was it possible that one man could make someone feel so incredibly loved and cherished?

“Jarrod, I love you so much,” she said, crying. “I will love you forever. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you. Can you forgive me?”

He answered her with a kiss. A slow, deep kiss of sweet languor that consumed them both entirely.

Suddenly the door burst open and Ileana came rushing into the room. She hadn’t bothered to knock or show any signs of regret at catching them in the midst of their romantic embrace.