Page 43 of Protect Me
The answer had been easy only a few months ago. Pineville was home. The thought of re-establishing myself somewhere new felt just as overwhelming as Timothy’s return. Here, at least, I knew people. They knew me. In a small town, safety lurked around every corner. In a new place?
Not at all.
The idea of leaving swamped me with further uncertainty. I’d rather surround myself with familiarity than branch out before I knew whether Timothy even thought of me anymore.
Vikram changed all of that.
Besides, I’d grown up here. Sure, I’d left for a few years to wriggle my way through college with a degree I didn’t care about now, then lived next to Vinita for a few years while I gained my courage back, but I hadn’t felt safe until I returned.
With a shake of my head, I sent those thoughts away, pressed my thumb into my palm, and thought of Vini. Instead of Vini, Vikram surfaced, and the desired sense of peace followed in a flood. His home. The locked doors. The sound of his humming while he fixed curry.
I’m safe,I reminded myself.
For the first time, it feltlike it.
Between Bethany Mercedy looking for new places to rent on the real estate side, and Dahlia asking every single local that came into the shop,somethingwas bound to pop up. Something protected and long-term and accompanied by a solid contract, at any rate.
I slipped into my car, closed the door, locked it, and let out a long breath. Getting that meeting with Kinoshi over felt like a step in the right direction. Like I’d done something to . . . move forward.
Create safety.
That was the thing about safety, though. You spent a lifetime trying to cultivate it, and a split-second decision controlled by someone else brokeallthat work.
Didn’t I know it?
Another text rang on my phone, pulling me from my thoughts.
Vikram:ChickenBiryani tonight.
My lips twitched into a smile.
Katelyn:Keep it from being too dry?
Vikram:Don’t offend me.
Feeling a great deal more vibrant, I set my phone aside, clicked on my seatbelt, and drove away from Kinoshi’s. For now, I’d done everything I could do. I was on my way to a safe house where I lived with the love of my life—though he didn’t know that—and tonight I would sleep more peacefully than I had in years.
Life was good.
A rock song accompanied me home.
I let the loud music swell through the speakers, banging in my head. It wasn’t often that I listened to music in the car. The drone of music and voices and noise in the coffee shop all day normally left me desperate for quiet, but today I didn’t want to think. I just wanted some other oblivion to crowd my thoughts.
Once I stopped at Vikram’s, I put my car into park, leaned my head back against the headrest, and closed my eyes. Drum solo notwithstanding, my thoughts surfaced through the chaos anyway.
I’ve got this,I told myself.I can go in there, be casual with him, hide the restraining order, and not fall deeper in love.
Who am I kidding?
I couldn’t love him more than I do now.
The song ended, shaking me from my stupor. I turned the car off, grabbed my purse, the file of papers, and headed inside. The smell of roasted chicken, and a cool sweep of air conditioning, welcomed me inside. Vikram’s head popped out from around the corner. He brightened into a smile.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” I replied, then closed the door, locked it, and set my purse on a hook in the wall. “Dinner smells so good.”
He disappeared as he snorted.
