Don't Talk to Strangers

III

Dan pulled up at a small house after about an hour and a half of driving. I'd nearly fallen asleep somehow, and he had to shake me to wake me up enough to get out of the car.

I stumbled onto the driveway and he got out of the car. I leaned against it while he stood still, glancing around. He seemed extremely vigilant for someone who'd just driven nearly two hours away from the enemy.

Finally he moved and walked around to my side of the car. I blinked hard, trying to wake up. The cold air was helping. "Let's go in," he told me quietly. "This is..." he hesitated, "my house. Don't worry. You'll be safe here while we set things up to catch your stalker."

I shivered at the last word, and in my sleepy daze, didn't pick up on his hesitation. Was it truly his house? I couldn't focus on the thought and just let him guide me up the path to the door.

I blanked out and must have moved on auto-pilot, because the next thing I knew, I was laying on a couch. Dan was bustling around down the hall.

"You need anything? Are you comfortable?" he called.

I yawned. "I could use a blanket!"

"Got it," he answered. I heard doors opening and closing, and he entered the room with a stack of blankets.

I blinked. "I meant one... but twenty is great too."

He laughed. "It's only four, God."

We lapsed into silence and he cleared his throat. "So, uh, here you go." He dumped the blankets on the end of the couch. He unfolded one and gave it to me. "Tomorrow I'll tell you more. Tonight, just know you're safer than you would've been had you gone home. Alright?"

I nodded, hugging the blanket to me. I fluffed up the couch pillow and laid my head down. The blanket was thick, so I didn't feel like I needed another.

Dan continued to stand by the couch for another few minutes. Then he twitched and took a breath. "So... Goodnight, then."

"'Night..." I breathed. "Thanks."

He paused in the middle of leaving. "What, for saving you? You're welcome. Just doing my job."

"No," I shook my head, though he probably couldn't see it. "For caring. I don't think any other officer would've done something nice like this."

Dan didn't answer for some time. Finally, he whispered, "You're welcome." Then he left.

It was a few minutes after he'd gone out that I realized something. He'd never called me by name.

- Dan -
I climbed into the bed, turning over and trying to calm my spinning thoughts. I battled guilt, confusion, and an overall sense of unease.

I felt guilty for not telling her the entire truth. When she'd thanked me for caring... that really caught me off guard. And when she'd called me an officer, that nearly made me blurt out the truth. She was such a nice girl... I couldn't honestly remember why I'd decided to do this in the first place.

I turned over again and tried to shut off my brain, but, of course, it didn't work. More thoughts tumbled to the front.

I knew why I'd decided to do this—it was so that I could prove them wrong, that I was worth more than they thought. But why had I specifically decided on her? And why had I carefully avoided learning her name? It made no sense, even to myself. 

Besides, I told myself, desperately trying to convince my conscience, it's not entirely false. It's mostly truth.

I eventually was able to focus on the wall in front of me and find peace enough to go to sleep. My last concious thought was of how strange the girl in the living room made me feel.