Page 54 of More Than a Match

“If you ever, and I mean ever, touch Mina again, I will kill you,” I growl, staring straight into his eyes. For the briefest of moments, I can swear I see fear flicker through those typically emotionless eyes of his, but as soon as it arrives, it’s gone.

“Oh, you’ll kill me? I’m so scared.”

“You should be,” I snarl. “Try me.”

At this point, I realize we have witnesses. Several other staff members and a few patients stand motionless in the hall, mouths agape as they watch this unfolding. I release him and take a step back.

“I mean it, scumbag. One more time. That’s a promise.” With that, I turn on my heel and stride away, eager to put distance between that monster and myself. As I step into the cool fall air outside the hospital, I realize that my heart is racing. I can’t believe I just did that.I straight up threatened to kill a man. On the heels of that thought comes another. If Mina asked me to, or needed me to,of courseI’d kill him. No questions asked. For her, I’d do anything.

I pace nervously, and at this point I’m pretty sure I’m wearing a path in the floor of my apartment.

The sun is setting and I haven’t heard from Mina. She went home hours ago, and with every passing minute, my worry grows.

She promised she’d let you know how it goes, I remind myself. But damn, this waiting is killing me. Normally I’d be starving by this point in the night, but I just can’t focus on anything other than her silence. I force myself to sit on the couch, but that doesn’t last long. I can’t sit still.

I decide to head outside and get some fresh air. Maybe that will clear my head. I pop on a light jacket and lace up my running shoes. Might as well burn some calories, and maybe burn some of this stress away, too.

I jog around my apartment complex and make a left, turning down one of the quaint little neighborhood streets that lie behind my complex. It’s always peaceful back here, and I haven’t jogged in quite a while. This slight change of scenery is nice.

As I jog, I let my mind wander. I imagine us living in one of these cute little houses, coming home to each other every day, decorating for the holidays, raising a family… I never envisioned my life would look like that but now, it’s all I want.

I keep going up the street, and I notice a few houses with signs in the yard. For sale, for rent, for lease. My imagination churns harder, and I send out a silent wish to the universe. My birthday wish came true in the most unexpected of ways, so maybe the universe will hear me again. It’s silly, but I can’t help the sliver of hope burning deep in my heart.

It’s dark out now, the sun long gone. I turn and head back the way I came, my head feeling much clearer, although I’m still worried about Mina. As I near my building, my phone chimes.

I quickly type a response and start running again, this time moving with speed and purpose toward my apartment.

I reach my apartment and burst inside, heading straight for the shower. I don’t want to greet her all gross and sweaty, although I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. I shower quickly, the hot water washing away the last of the worry and stress I had been holding all day, wondering how she was doing. Just as quickly as I got into the shower I get out, furiously towel-drying myself like I’m on a deadline. I slip into some clean clothes just as I hear a soft knock on the door. I open it with a smile.

“Hey baby, you don’t have to knock. You’ve got a key now, remember?”

“Oh yeah.” She fumbles in her purse for a minute and grabs her keys, holding them up. “Did you want that back now?”

“No, you goof,” I chuckle as I pull her inside and close the door. “That’s yours. You’re always welcome here.”

“Thanks babe.”

I decide to take a risk. “Hell, you can even leave some clothes here for yourself if you want to. Preferably not in huge, dirty piles all over the floor, but I can make some drawer or closet space for you.”

That gets a chuckle out of her, thankfully. “Yeah I’ll think about it!”

“Cool. Now tell me how it went with your family. You’re still alive, and you haven’t been sent to a nunnery, so that alleviates my two worst-case-scenarios.”

“A nunnery?”

“I know, right? Just imagine. I’d have to disguise myself as a gardener or something to sneak in and visit you.”

“No disrespect to nuns but I just don’t think I could rock that outfit.”

“Please, you’d look fabulous in a potato sack. You’d be the hottest nun there.”

“Pretty sure that would defeat the whole purpose of being there.”

“Eh, whatever. You’re not there, you’re here with me.” I pull her close for a quick kiss. “So, talk to me. What happened?”

“Long story short, my parents were very upset that we lied, but they acknowledged that I’m a grown ass woman and can make my own decisions about my love life.”

“Wow, that’s better than you could have thought, right?”

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