Endless obsession

Chapter 19

I cried until I couldn't anymore, my eyes were puffy and sore. My head throbbed immensely as I stood up. I made my way to the couch and curled up in a ball. It hurt to mourn a person that was gone, let alone never even existed. I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep. I heard the front door open and close softly. Derek was back from wherever he went. I kept my eyes shut, hoping he'd think I was asleep. I felt the cushion near my feet dip slightly. I was tempted to kick him but I decided against it. His hand glided gently over my leg, rubbing it in a soothing motion.

"I should have killed Adrian for what he did to you peaches. The nerve of that little prick to lay his hands on you like that."

A weird sting surfaced in my chest. He truly sounded like he wanted to protect me. But that didn't excuse his actions, the people's he's killed.

The sound of his breath exhaling filled the silence. I shivered involuntarily. I felt the cushion raise near my feet. I tried to stay calm, did he know I was awake? My fear melted away when I felt a soft blanket drape over my body. He smoothed my hair out of my face, tucking a few strands behind my ear. He placed a kiss on my forehead. I listened as his footsteps walked away.

There was so much I didn't know, so much I wanted to ask him. I'd been hostile towards him for so long, I'd never stopped to listen to reason. I never wanted to hear his reasons for what he'd done. I sat up, wrapping the blanket around me. I had to know. If he loved me as much as he says, why would he subject me to all this pain.

I slid off the couch, making my way down the hallway. There was a dim light coming from the door at the end of the hall. I pushed the door open, revealing Derek on a laptop.

"Alexandra?" He quickly closed the laptop.

"Why did you do it?" I could feel the tremble in my voice. I didn't sound nearly as strong as I wanted to.

He stood up, making his way around the desk towards me. I raised my hand up, taking a step back. He stopped, staring at me intently.

"Why did you do this to me? Why did you pose as my English Professor? Why did you follow me everywhere? Why did you almost kill Andrew?"

Tears were streaming down my face. Questions I've been aching to ask for almost a year were finally surfacing. I couldn't hold back the pain any longer. He agreed to tell me everything I wanted to know. We went back to the couch, I sat on the far end away from him. Cocooning myself inside my blanket. He sat on the middle cushion, almost touching me.

"I love you. I always have."

"What does that have to-"

"It has everything to do with it! I never wanted to hurt you Alex. I knew after what happened with Andrew you'd never take me back. So, I changed my identity."

I stared at him for a little while, letting this new information sink in. He went to such lengths just to get me back. I would have forgiven him for what happened with Andrew eventually. But he was right, I don't know if I would have taken him back.

"Nick owed me a favor, he had nothing waiting for him outside. He agreed to serve the remainder of my sentence."

"So what, you just made up this whole persona to trick me into falling for you again?"

He opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it. I knew what he was going to say. It worked didn't it? That didn't make it hurt any less. We sat there in silence for a while. I twirled the ends of the blanket between my fingers. He didn't have to answer why he followed me, I already knew. He wanted to keep me safe, the same old bullshit.