Page 208 of Don't Leave Me

“Don’t be sorry, Hana. This wasn’t your doing,” he said softly.

But I could have fought harder.Something about being in Jack’s presence made me crazier than I already was. He had the ability to break me, to wipe my slate clean and tell me what life I was supposed to be living.

We both jumped when we heard Michael’s phone vibrate on the bed. I could see who was calling: it was Emily.

“Hey,” Michael answered eagerly.

“Hey, I’m here. What room are you guys in?” I could hear Emily’s voice.

“Floor 11. 1108,” he answered.

“K. See you guys in a second.”

I felt relief flood through me as Michael tossed the phone on the bed and dressed himself quickly. I paced the room as I waited for the next two minutes for her arrival, and finally there she was, knocking on the door urgently. Michael answered after looking through the peep hole and I almost sobbed when I saw Emily rush in, her face full of relief as well.

“Han,” she said to me before giving me a big hug.

“Em,” I whispered, finally sobbing.

Emily held onto me tightly for what seemed like minutes, then let go of me and cut straight the point.

“What did he do to you?” she asked angrily - I knew her anger was directed at Jack and not me.

I could barely even blink before Michael I interrupted.

“Emily, I think she needs some time,” he started to say gently, but I cut him off as I shook my head.

“It’s okay, Michael,” I assured him.

Michael crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching us.

Emily’s eyes were wide as she waited for my response. She seemed like she was ready to pounce.

“Let’s sit down,” I guided her towards the couch calmly.

“Did he really drug you and kidnap you? Did he really force you to do everything - marry him, all that fucking shit?” Her voice was shaking.

I sighed. I didn’t know where to start.

“Technically – yes, he took me to his loft after he drugged me…” I trailed off, diverting my eyes to the floor. I could see Emily’s chest rising up and down quickly, but she kept quiet as I began to tell her the very long, detailed story about mine and Jack’s previous 6 weeks. Her eyes were widened with horror and full of tears as I finally looked up at her, my face drenched with tears and my hand clutched in hers.

“Hana,” Emily started, gently and calmly. “You need to go to the police. He can’t get away with this. Clearly he’s dangerous! He has a gun! He could still be tracking you somehow!”

She stood up and walked towards Michael, as if pleading to him more than me. Michael shook his head, his arms still crossed, anger clearly on his face. It was the first time he had heard a more in depth, detailed version of my past 6 weeks and I knew he was seething. His eyes were dark and clouded with rage.

“She won’t,” he shook his head, them speaking to each other as if I weren’t even there.

“Why?” Emily exclaimed, turning back to me desperately. “I don’t understand, Hana!” she raised her arms in the air with confusion.

I couldn’t explain myself. I burst into tears, covering my face with my hands. I couldn’t explain my guilt, my need to protect him despite everything that had happened. They didn’t know about all of the good times in between the bad. There was more good than bad, there was more love and desire than feeling scared or in danger. There was more of the old, sweet Jack than the scary Jack. They had no idea how much he made me feel loved and wanted and desired, how his tortured soul was just looking for someone to love, that his erratic and possessive behavior was caused by the fact that I had let him down so many times. They could never possibly understand what we had been through together.

But I knew how stubborn I was being. He would never stop trying to find his way back to me. He would do everything he could to get me back. I knew he was dangerous – I knew what he was capable of. I knew that I needed to turn him in. That was the smart, logical thing to do. That was the safest thing to do. But I justcouldn’t. Maybe Jack was right about me all along.

“Let’s give her some time, Emily,” I heard Michael say between my sobs, my face now buried in the pillows on the bed that I had ran to.

I heard Emily sigh heavily. “I’m gonna try to get a room here, stay off the radar too,” she said feebly, sounding exhausted.

“Good idea,” Michael responded, his tone matching hers. “I think she just needs some time and space. This all happened so fast.”

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