When Sasha’s name flashes onto my screen, I stop pacing. I’ve been waiting for Eric to check in, since she should be in bed already.
“Sasha, sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
“N-nothing’s wrong.” She stutters a bit.
“Then why are you calling me?”
“Wow, Vincent. Really rocking the whole boyfriend thing. Does this mean that you’ll never want to talk on the phone?” I can hear a smile in her voice, and it has some of the tension releasing from my body.
I should probably be offended, but hearing her call me her boyfriend has me practically preening. “I’ll always have time to talk to my girl.”
Sasha hums. “Good answer.”
“So, are you really just calling to tell me how much you miss me, or is there something else?”
I can hear her sigh over the phone and that has me tensing all over again. “Nothing’s wrong, I just can’t sleep.” She starts talking quicker and I know she doesn’t want to be telling me these things. “I know it’s safe, but I just can’t relax. Every sound has me jumping and… And I know I won’t get to sleep by myself.”
“I’ll come over.”
“No, Vincent, you can’t. I’m sure Annie’s already sleeping. And I don’t want you to wake her, or anyone else who would have to come stay with her.”
This feeling of affection spreads through me so rapidly I have to put a hand on the wall for balance. This woman. She shows such thought and consideration for a child that isn’t even hers. If I had any lingering doubts about this relationship, her worry for Annie has evaporated them.
Ignoring my emotions, I focus on our conversation. “Then come to me.”
“I want to. You know I want to. But that defeats the whole point of me coming here tonight. I need to stay here.”
“I’m beginning to rethink your stubbornness as being a positive quality.” I sigh.
“You love it.”
“Maybe.” Definitely. “Okay, so if you won’t let me come there, and you won’t come here, then how can I help you? Do you want me to stay on the phone with you until you fall asleep?”
“Oh! That’s a good idea.”
She sounds surprised, so it has me wondering. “If that’s not why you called, then what was your plan?”
“Umm, so just hear me out.”
“I have a feeling I’m not going to like this.”
Sasha chuckles. “Probably not. Okay, I couldn’t sleep, right. And I just kept getting more and more freaked out and I realized that I needed someone else nearby. My mind knows that Eric is here, and that the other security guy is down in the lobby, but I still felt creeped out. So, I came out to the living room and I asked Eric if maybe I could stay out here with him or if he could stay with me.“
I clench my teeth. “Sasha.”
She cuts me off. “Not to like share a bed or anything. I just need to see another person. It doesn’t have to be weird. Eric said he would call you, but I wanted to be the one to explain it to you.” Her voice is quiet by the end of her explanation.
“Let me talk to Eric.”
“Don’t get all mad, this was my idea.”
“I’m not mad, sweetheart. Just let me talk to him, okay?”
I use the time listening to the shuffle on the other end of the phone to calm myself. I understand what she’s saying. I really do. And I understand her reasons for wanting to stay in her apartment. I do. But I don’t like it. I don’t like a single thing about it.
“Boss.” Eric’s tone is no nonsense. Good.
“Eric.” I shake out the fist I wasn’t aware I was making. “My Sasha needs to sleep. But so do you. You’re no good to her if you’re dead on your feet. Here’s what you’re gonna do. Drag that couch down the hall and park it right outside her bedroom door. The hallway is wide. It’ll fit. And leave the door open so she can see you. Stay there all night. And if you get up to go to the bathroom or walk the perimeter, leave a flashlight lit on the couch. I don’t want her stepping out of the room to find it empty and not know where you are. You understand me.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And Eric, if you so much as lay an inappropriate finger on Sasha, I’ll castrate you myself and sink your body in the Mississippi. You understand me.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Good. Now let me talk to my girl.”
