Dear Chaser

Chapter 7: Arrested

While Jake was resting on the couch with the blanket covering his torso, he eventually fell asleep. At the same time outside in the dark, Hardin hastily arrived at Lisa's apartment to confront her but after ringing the doorbell 4 times, no one answered. Frustrated and fueled by his anger, Hardin resorted to pounding on the door with increasing aggression, his fists striking it with a forceful intensity.

"She must not be home," he muttered to himself, his voice a harsh whisper in the quiet night. His thoughts churned in frustration. "Where the hell did that moron take her? Wish I knew where he lived so I can beat the crap outta him!"

From next door, a light flicked on, and the sound of footsteps approached. The neighbor, a middle-aged woman with sleep-rumpled hair, opened her door and glared at Hardin. 

"Hey, what the hell is going on?" she demanded, her voice edged with irritation. "It's 2 a.m., and some of us are trying to sleep."

Hardin barely glanced at her, and answered disrespectfully. "Mind your own business!" he snapped. "At least I'm not bothering you. Shut it and go back to sleep." 

The neighbor's patience wore thin. "I should be telling you that! This isn't your apartment, and you're ruining everyone's peaceful night with that infernal banging."

She held her ground, crossing her arms. "You better leave now, or I'm calling the police!"

Realizing that his actions were attracting unwanted attention, Hardin begrudgingly relented, his anger momentarily tempered by the neighbor's intervention. With a dismissive grunt, he backed away from the door. "Forget it. I'll go. No need for you to be so damn rude."

When Lisa woke up the next morning, the surroundings felt unfamiliar and disorienting as she couldn't help but be confused. Blinking away the remnants of sleep, she glanced around the room, her mind racing as she tried to piece together the events of the previous night.

"Wait a sec... Where am I?" she thought to herself. She added, "This isn't my apartment."

A few seconds later, Jake came into the room to check up on her and saw she was awake looking perplexed. Blushing slightly, she met his gaze, unsure of how to explain her bewilderment.

"Oh, you're awake," Jake said, his voice carrying a note of relief. "Are you feeling better?"

Lisa's gaze fixed on him, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "Jake! Umm... How did I get into this room? I don't remember what happened last night."

Jake took a deep breath. "A lot happened. But basically you were at the nightclub with your boyfriend and he and I had gotten into a fight." 

He looked concerned and said, "Then you fainted. But I didn't know where you lived so I brought you here to my dorm that I share with my friend Peter."

Lisa's eyes widened in realization. "I hope he didn't try to follow us here..."

Jake shook his head. "Nah, I don't think he did. I drove away as soon as I could after I got you out of there."

His expression grew more intense. "I hate how he treats you. You don't deserve to be with a psycho control freak like him. He and his 'friends' were peer-pressuring you into drinking and smoking. I got sick seeing that."

Lisa felt more embarrassed, but relieved upon hearing that. She said, "I thought I had blacked out...I'm sorry I lied to you about where I was going." 

She looked down, the weight of her admission hanging between them. "I was too ashamed to let anyone else know I was dating a piece of crap."

Jake stepped closer, his tone gentle. "Don't say sorry, Lisa. It's not your fault. I knew something was up anyway. Good thing I trusted my instinct and followed you there without being caught by him."