EMIT (THE EMIT SAGA) (23 page)

I had bumped into John a few times in the lobby
and he told me that Luke was having a great summer. John worked in the city during the week and went upstate on the weekends.

On the drive, I started to relax.
Mom would drop me off and then drive Marina to the mid-town restaurant.

After a list of instructions,
they left. Anna was cranky at the beginning, so I distracted her with a new toy that Mom had brought for her.

While I fed Anna
dinner, she grabbed the spoon and tried to feed herself. The high chair got smeared and baby food was everywhere, even in her hair. The more I laughed, the bigger the mess she made. I reached for my cell and took photos as Anna scowled at the camera.

She desperately needed a bath, so I carried her at arms length out of the kitchen.
She had so much fun splashing around with the toys, but when I noticed her wrinkled fingers, I pulled her out.

I put on her jammies and
read her some books including my favorite, “Goodnight Moon.” I noticed that the pink dream catcher, a Native American object used to ward off bad dreams, I bought Anna was hanging on the doorknob. When I was young, I had a lot of nightmares and when someone told Mom about dream catchers, she got me one.

Mom had made up a song and sang it to me every night while rubbing my back. Tonight, I sang the
same song to Anna at least six times.

Ba
d dreams go away

Anna doesn’t want any bad dreams today

Only happy happy dreams

Happy dreams today

Think of happy things, think of happy thoughts

Think of playing games, taking a bubble bath, reading books,
(Mom put in whatever I did that day)

And now it’s time for bed

Now it’s time for bed

My little munchkin head,

Mommy and Daddy and Aunt Paige love you so

and now it’s time for bed

By eight-thirty, Anna
was sound asleep. After cleaning the kitchen floor and the high chair, I called Lily and we talked about nothing. I glanced out the dining room window to discover that there was a dark car parked across the street. I set the house alarm, closed the blinds and sat on the couch watching TV. Around midnight, I heard Marina and Martin come in, I waved hello and without talking went to the guestroom to sleep.




In the morning,
Marina offered to drive me home later if I wanted to spend the day with them. Of course I did, anything to postpone going back and dealing with psychos.

We took Anna to the mall and wandered around the stores. I saw Pierce casually strolling behind us. What a dull assignment it was watching me. I’m sure it was exactly what he thought he’d be doing when he signed up to be a spy.
Follow a teenage girl around.
Ridiculous!

After lunch,
Marina drove me back and all the anxiety returned. I really wanted to go for a jog but I was too terrified. I spent the rest of the day playing games on the computer while watching a One Tree Hill marathon on the TV. I heard Mom come in and ran downstairs.

“Hi S
weetie, did you have fun with Anna?” she asked.

“Yeah
, she was great. I have pictures on my cell that you have to see.” I grabbed my phone.

Mom laughed.
“She’s quite the character.”

“
Oh, Mom, I’m going to the movies tonight with Billy, Eden’s brother.”

“
Isn’t Billy in college?” she asked sounding confused.

“Yes, he goes to Boston University
.”

“Okay, have fun.”
She knew the family, so she didn’t overreact this time.

Dad was on the phone in the living room. When he hung up, he came into the kitchen and said,
“Marina just told me a strange story. Her next-door neighbor said there was a suspicious car parked across the street all last night. When she called the police, they told her that a security team was guarding somebody.” Turning to me, he asked, “Did you see anything?”

“I saw a car with dark windows
,” I answered truthfully.

My parents
left for a charity auction and told me to walk Amber if I got home before them.

Billy
wanted to see some action movie and I really didn’t care. It actually was very exciting with all the explosions and speeding cars. I glanced around and spotted Pierce. Was he the only agent they had? At the same time, he was the only one I knew.

After the movie
, Billy put his arm around me. I really didn’t want him to, but I didn’t know how to take it off. He talked about college all the way back to my building.

To get away from him, I used Amber as an excuse, but it backfired. He
offered to walk her with me. If my parents were home I wouldn’t have to deal with Reed. I called and when there was no answer, Reed quickly added, “It’s late. I’ll go with you.” I didn't know how to say no politely, so I said fine. When we got into the apartment, I needed to use the bathroom. Billy went and sat on the couch to wait and he tried to pet Amber, but she ran away.

When I returned,
Billy was leaning on the couch with his eyes closed. It looked like he had fallen asleep, so I went over and shook him.

“Billy, wake up,” I said totally
annoyed. All I wanted to do was go to sleep. Billy’s eyes opened and he grabbed me in a bear hug. He held me tightly and started kissing me.

“Please stop!” I said.
Struggling from his grasp, I was getting really angry. “Billy, stop.” Pushing him off wasn’t working; he was too strong and I was getting nowhere.

“Paige, I really like you.” He
forced me down on the couch. His hands began roaming over my body and he groped me with one hand while he held me tightly with the other.

“W
hat are you doing?” I screamed. He kept trying to force his tongue in my mouth. Repulsed, I thrashed my head from side to side and held my lips firmly closed. “Billy, stop!” I screamed whenever I was able.

Momentarily,
he stopped, but continued holding me down firmly and pleaded, “Come on, don’t tease me. You’re driving me crazy.”

“
Please stop,” I begged.

His hand
was sliding under my T-shirt and he unsnapped my bra. His hands were grabbing my breasts. Panic was setting in and I tried pushing his hand away. He reached for my jeans and was trying to pull the zipper down. I screamed and he covered my mouth with his hand.

Suddenly,
there was loud banging on the door.

A
voice called out, “Open up in there or I’m calling the police.” It sounded like Daniel.

Billy
got startled and he dropped his hold on me. I escaped and ran to the door.

Daniel was standing there
looking furious. “Are you okay?” he asked, looking at my disheveled clothes. Embarrassed and ashamed, I couldn’t speak and Daniel rushed in.

“Get out!” He
stared at Billy. Billy didn’t move. Daniel screamed, “Now.”

“
Hey, Buddy, calm down, everything’s fine. We were just fooling around, that’s all,” he said smirking.

Fury
flashed on Daniel’s face and he stepped towards Billy with his fists clenched. It looked like he was going to punch him. “It’s time you left, Buddy,” Daniel hissed.

“No, it’s time you left
, Buddy,” retorted Billy.

Daniel looked at me and
asked angrily. “Would you like me to escort your date out or do you want him to stay?”

“
Get him out of here,” I pleaded and looked at Billy with disgust.

“Paige, I thought we were having fun.”
He actually looked confused.

“How dare you? You pig, I said no
! If you don’t leave right now, I will call the police,” I screamed. I really wanted to hit him; I was so enraged and felt so violated. His hands had been all over my body and I was sickened at the thought.

“I thought you were playing hard to get.”

“You’re an idiot!” I screamed. “No means no, you jerk.” He walked out the door without apologizing. I sat on the couch trembling.

Daniel stood there seething. “What are you trying to do? Are you trying to hurt yourself on purpose or is this just a maturity thing because I’m about to
lose it!” he snapped.

“What are you talking about?” I couldn’t breathe and my legs were shaking.

“Why did you invite him to your apartment?” Daniel implied lividly.

“
Are you saying that I asked for this?” I was so mad that my voice cracked. Daniel just stared at me and didn’t answer. Amber came out of the den and smelling Daniel she got all excited. I still had to walk her. Following me outside, we walked in silence. I couldn’t wait to get back inside the apartment and forget this ever happened.

“How did you get
by the doorman and get to me so fast?”

“We
have an apartment in the building,” he said, ignoring my gaze.

“You what…?” I screamed.

“We need to be close. Tonight, you were lucky that we were. A thank you would be nice,” he answered angrily.

He was right. If he hadn’t been here, I don’t know what would’ve happened.

“
Thank you, but please leave me alone. I can’t take this anymore,” I yelled and headed for the door that Max, the doorman, was holding open. He looked at me with concern, but said nothing. If Daniel lived in the building, what did the doormen think was going on? All six doormen were probably as confused as I was.

The elevator
opened and when I didn’t exit, Daniel put his arm around me and escorted me out. Taking my house keys out of my hand, he opened the door and led me to the couch.

Daniel put his ar
ms around me and said, “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I know all of this has been a lot for you to deal with, but you have to be careful.” It felt so good being in his arms. “I was so angry that I really wanted to hurt him.” He looked at me with such concern that it was hard to believe that he didn’t care.

“I can’t do this anymore.” I got up and faced him. “
I know what they’re looking for.”

“Yo
u do? What is it?” Daniel asked looking really confused.

“
I’ll be right back.” I went to my room and got the envelope. This would all end tonight. I wanted my life back, even though I’d never see Daniel again. I thrust the envelope into his hand. “Here, I don’t know what this is. It’s just a bunch of numbers.”

Daniel opened the envelope and looked
at the sheet of paper. “I have to tell you something.”

“
I don’t want to hear it. Do whatever you need with it. Just please, leave me alone.” I ran upstairs and slammed my bedroom door. Tears streamed down my face and I was miserable knowing that I no longer had a hold on him. I washed my face, put on my pajamas and went downstairs to get some water. I jumped to find Daniel still in the living room petting Amber.

“Why are you still here
?”

Daniel stood up and said,
“We have to talk.”

“
I told you I’m done, so I don’t want to know anything. I want my house debugged immediately or I’m telling my parents.” No more nonsense. I tried moving around him to go in the kitchen, but he stood in front of the door. I had no choice, but to listen.

“Only you can take care of this issue with the envelope.
It has to be you.”

“What are you talking about?
Only me what?” I asked puzzled by his words.

“You have to give it to them,
” he said.

“I’m getting out of here.” I started walking back upstairs.
He was crazy!!

Daniel
rushed over. “Please! You have to listen.”

I stopped, looked at him and said,
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not doing anything. Take the info and give it to them yourselves.”

Enough with this insanity; he had to leave. My parents couldn’t
find him here. I walked over and opened the front door, hoping he’d get the hint. I found his uncle glaring at me.

“
Can I come in? Is everything all right?”

Why did he look so perplexed? Hadn’t they been listening to my every word? “Sure.
Maybe you can get Daniel out of here,” I said, as Daniel defiantly sat back down.

James
shut the door and walked over to Daniel. “What’s going on? Is this about the fellow that you threw out?”

“No. Paige, found the info we need.”

“That’s great news,” said James.

“
Paige refuses to be involved anymore. I’ve been trying to reason with her.”

I stood in the foyer wishing they’d both leave.