See Me (30 page)

“The dynamic duo strikes again,” Margolis sneered. “How much did it cost you this time?”

“I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about,” Lily lied sweetly, her accent as sultry as ever.

“Of course you don’t,” Margolis said. “I wonder what the manager and the waitress would say if I put them under oath.” He let the comment hang, with all its implications, before finally going on. “But there’s no reason for that, is there? Now that you’ve rescued your good friend Colin again.”

“There was no need to rescue him,” Lily drawled. “He did nothing wrong.”

“That’s funny. Because I recall something like this happening on at least two other occasions when you two were there.”

Lily feigned confusion. “Are you speaking of those other occasions when Colin happened to be out with us and, again, did nothing wrong?”

“Keep telling yourself that. You’re just postponing the inevitable. Colin knows who he is. Just ask him. He’ll tell you.” He turned toward Colin. “Isn’t that right, Colin? Since you like to convince everyone you’re as honest as the day is long?… Even though you’re always on the verge of exploding.”

Maria saw Colin’s eyes narrow as Margolis jerked his head at Evan. “You need to thank Evan here for pulling you away when he did. Had even one of those guys around you touched you, you and I both know that we would suddenly be spending a lot of time together, with you back in the cage and me telling the DA to throw away the key.”

“Colin didn’t touch anyone,” Evan interjected.

Margolis shifted the toothpick to the other side of his mouth. “I was thinking more along the lines of assault. I was told the waitress was terrified by the fact that Colin was screaming at her, and I’ve got a dozen witnesses in there who could vouch for that.”

“He just wanted to know who sent over the drink,” Maria protested.

As soon as Margolis’s eyes met hers, she felt herself flinch. “Oh, that’s right. Because of the so-called stalker, right? I’ll make sure to review the report for you.” Maria said nothing, regretting she’d chimed in.

“Oh, wait. You haven’t filed a report? Have you even talked to a lawyer?”

“She is a lawyer,” Lily said.

“Then it’s even stranger, don’t you think? All lawyers do is file reports.” He turned toward Maria. “I’ll tell you what, though; if you ever do get around to it, ask for me, okay?”

“Leave her out of this,” Colin growled.

“Are you telling me what to do?” Margolis demanded.

“Yes,” Colin said.

“Or what? Are you going to hit me?”

Colin continued to stare at him before reaching for Maria’s hand. “Let’s go,” he said, beginning to walk away, Evan and Lily close behind.

“Go ahead,” Margolis called out from behind them. “I’ll be around.”

 

 

“How much do I owe you?” Colin said.

“Let’s worry about that later, okay?” Lily answered.

They’d followed Evan and Lily back to Evan’s place, the four of them congregating on the front porch. It had been a quiet ride, Maria’s thoughts too fragmented for conversation, and Colin in no mood to break the silence. Even now, Maria felt like an observer to her own life.

“What the hell were you doing tonight?” Evan demanded. “We’ve talked about this! And Margolis is right! What would have happened if Lily and I hadn’t been there?”

“I don’t know,” Colin answered.

“You damn well know exactly what would have happened!” Evan ran a hand through his hair. “Why the hell do you keep doing this? You’ve got to learn to control this thing.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t say okay!” Evan shouted. “Like Lily, I’m sick of you saying that all the time, because it’s a cop-out! I thought we’d gotten past this last year, after that guy accidentally spilled his drink on Lily.”

“You’re right,” Colin said evenly. “I made a mistake. I lost control.”

“Gee,
really
?” Evan spat out. He turned, starting for the front door. “Whatever. You two deal with him for now. I’m done.” The door slammed behind him, leaving the three of them on the porch.

“You know that Evan’s right, Colin,” Lily said.

“I wasn’t going to hurt her.”

“That doesn’t matter,” she said, her voice soft. “You’re big and strong, and when you’re angry, people can sense the innate violence within you. The poor waitress was cowering and crying and you wouldn’t let up until Evan put everything he had into pulling you away. And then, I was almost certain you were going to hit him.”

Colin’s gaze dropped to the ground before slowly coming up again, and for a moment, his confidence was gone. In its place Maria saw shame and remorse, maybe even a flash of hopelessness.

“It won’t happen again.”

“Maybe,” Lily said, kissing him on the cheek. “You said that the last time, too.”

She turned toward Maria and offered a hug. “And I’m absolutely certain that all of this must feel both overwhelming and terrifying to you. If someone was stalking and taunting me, I would have already been off to Charleston by now to hide out with my parents, and knowing them, they’d send me out of the country. I’m just so sorry for what you’re going through.”

“Thank you,” Maria said. Suddenly exhausted, she barely recognized the sound of her own voice.

“Would you like to come inside?” Lily asked when she pulled back. “I’m sure Evan is calmer by now, and we can work through some options or ideas… or we can just sit and listen if you feel like you need to talk.”

“I wouldn’t even know what to say,” she said.

Lily understood, and with a gentle click of the door as it closed behind her, Maria and Colin were alone on the front porch.

“I’m sorry, Maria,” he mumbled.

“I know.”

“Would you like me to bring you home?”

In either direction, most of the houses were already dark.

“I don’t want to go home,” she said in a small voice. “He knows where I live.”

Colin stretched out his hand. “C’mon,” he said. “You can stay with me.”

Leaving the porch, they walked around the side of the house, toward the downstairs entrance. Once inside, Colin turned on the lights as he led the way. Hoping for any distraction from the lingering knot in her stomach, she took in the room. Average sized, with a kitchen off to the right and a small hallway directly ahead that no doubt led to the bedroom and bath. Surprisingly neat, without clutter piled on the coffee table or on the counters. Neutral color scheme for the furniture, with no photographs or personal items, like no one lived here at all.

“This is your place?”

He nodded. “For now. Can I get you something to drink?”

“Just water,” she said.

Colin filled two glasses in the kitchen, bringing one of them to her. She took a sip, suddenly remembering that she was being followed and seeing again Colin’s anger as he’d demanded answers from the waitress, his muscles tense. She remembered the split second after Evan had jerked him off balance and the utter wildness and uncontrollable fury in his expression.

“How are you feeling?” he finally asked.

She tried to force the image away and realized that she couldn’t. “Not good,” she said. “Not good at all.”

 

 

Neither of them seemed to know what to say to the other in the living room, nor later, when they were in bed together. Instead, simply needing to be held, Maria rolled over, resting her head on Colin’s chest, conscious of the lingering tension in his body.

She’d hoped that by staying here, with Colin beside her, she’d feel safe.

But she didn’t feel safe. Not anymore. And as she lay awake, staring into the darkness, she was beginning to wonder whether she ever would again.

 

 

In the morning, Colin drove Maria home and waited in the living room while she showered and changed, but he didn’t join her for brunch at her parents’. He understood that right now, she needed to be alone with her family, a haven of stability and predictability amid a life that suddenly felt wildly off course. He walked her to her car and while they embraced, she found herself holding back slightly.

At the house, her parents were oblivious, but Serena figured out something was bothering Maria as soon as she stepped inside, something Maria didn’t want to share with her parents. Serena played along perfectly, maintaining a stream of commentary as they cooked and ate, filling any silences with the sound of her voice and keeping the conversation from drifting toward anything serious.

Afterwards, Maria and Serena went for a walk. As soon as they reached a safe distance from the house, Serena turned and said, “Spill it.” On a bench beneath an elm tree with leaves that had begun to turn gold, Maria told Serena everything that had happened, reliving the terror of the past several days, and when she started to cry, Serena began to cry as well. Like Maria, Serena was upset and scared; like Maria, she had more questions than answers. Questions at which Maria could only shake her head.

 

 

After lunch, Serena and her parents headed off to Maria’s uncle’s house, an informal family get-together like countless others, but Maria begged off, claiming she had a headache and wanted to take a nap. While her dad accepted the explanation without question, Maria’s mother was dubious, though she knew enough not to press her. On the way out the door, she hugged Maria longer than usual and asked how things were going with Colin. The sound of his name brought a sudden wellspring of tears, and on her way to the car, Maria thought,
I’ve officially become a basket case.

Even concentrating enough to drive was strangely difficult. Despite the traffic, all she could think was that someone was watching her, waiting for her to return… or maybe he was even following her now. Impulsively, she changed lanes and made a quick turn onto a side street, her eyes glued to the rearview mirror. She turned again, then once more before finally pulling over. And though she wanted to be strong – pleaded with God to help her be strong – she found herself bent over the steering wheel, sobbing.

Who was he and what did he want? The nameless, faceless man in the baseball cap – why hadn’t she looked for him? All she remembered were shadows and fragments, nothing at all…

But there was more, too, something that kept her anxious and on the verge of tears. Without thinking, she put the car in gear and started driving, eventually making her way to a quiet stretch of Carolina Beach.