He Made Me Feel Lost, So I Became Someone He’d Never Find Chapter 09
Once everything back home had been dealt with, I was ready to return to school.
At the departure gate, I ran into Grant again.
He waved his boarding pass at me. He was headed to the same place I was.
“Grant! What do you want now?”
I spoke through clenched teeth, making no effort to hide my disgust.
“Elena, I’m going abroad with you while you study.”
“I can’t stand the thought of you being alone an ocean away. It isn’t safe.”
I scoffed.
So now Grant cared about my safety?
“When I told you the wiring in that old house was dangerous, you didn’t care about my safety. When you were in on that GPS prank, you didn’t care about my safety. When you dumped me alone on the outskirts, you didn’t care about my safety either!”
“And now you suddenly care?”
“Too late. It’s all too late!”
Travelers passing through the airport began glancing our way.
All I wanted was to get rid of him, but Grant stuck to me like glue and refused to leave me alone.
His voice was almost pleading.
“Elena, I can’t live without you. I know you hate me, but you wouldn’t hate me this much if you didn’t still care, right?”
His eyes reddened.
“Elena, hit me if it’ll make you feel better,”
Before I could react, Grant dropped to his knees. He grabbed my hand and started slapping himself with it over and over.
“I’ll do anything if you’ll forgive me.”
I felt embarrassed.
“Fine, fine. I forgive you, Just get up.”
“Really?”
Grant clutched the hem of my dress with both hands.
“Really,” I said.
“But I’m worried about my mom. Stay here and help her deal with everything that’s left.”
“Okay?”
Grant smiled at me.
“Okay.”
The moment I saw my chance, I boarded before he could change his mind.
When we were together, I had never realized Grant could be this obsessive.
I never imagined he would resort to clinging to me this relentlessly.
Did that mean he truly loved me and couldn’t bear to let me go?
I didn’t think so.
A few days later, I received a series of texts from him.
Grant: [Elena, your mom won the case. The court ordered Camille to give the new house back.]
Grant: [Camille wasn’t happy about the ruling. It made me angry, so I’m going to get revenge for you.]
Grant: [I waited for her outside the courthouse and locked her in the maze too.]
Grant: [She’s been in there for three days and still hasn’t found her way out. She’s so stupid. She’s nowhere near as smart as my Elena.]
Grant: [When she finally came out, she was acting completely unhinged. She said the maze was haunted and kept leading her in circles.]
Grant: [I sent her to a psychiatric hospital.]
A chill ran down my spine as I read the messages.
Grant didn’t even seem to realize that something was wrong with him too.
Adrian Cole handed me a latte.
“What’s wrong? You look pale.”
Adrian was a classmate I had met in grad school. He was two years older than me, steady and thoughtful,
and he had always looked out for me.
I showed him Grant’s messages.
His brow furrowed.
“That’s the creepy ex-boyfriend you told me about?”
“If he comes near you again, I’ll show him exactly how I deal with unwelcome visitors.”
A sense of unease settled over me.
The very next day, Adrian and I walked out of the library and found Grant standing right there.
The moment Grant saw the man beside me, his expression darkened.
“Elena, who is he?”
I deliberately slipped my arm through Adrian’s and answered loud and clear.
“He’s my boyfriend.”
“Elena Whitaker! You said you forgave me! I’m your boyfriend!”
I smiled.
“Forgive you? Not a chance. I was just messing with you.
Fury flashed in Grant’s eyes.
I kept going.
“What? You’re allowed to lie to me, but I fool you once and suddenly you can’t take it?”
The anger seemed to drain out of him. His shoulders sagged, and he unclenched his fists.
“You’re right, Elena. I was wrong. You can punish me however you want.”
After that conversation, I seemed to acquire a permanent shadow.
Grant was always following me, never too close but never far away.
Even after Adrian hired people to warn him off and they beat him badly enough to leave his face bruised and swollen, Grant still refused to stop.
After going back and forth over it, I finally went to the police.
They caught Grant in the act of following me and arrested him.
He was deported and barred from reentering the country for five years.
Another year passed, and it was my birthday again.
My boyfriend Adrian and I went to a fireworks show.
Amid the cheers of the crowd, I turned and looked at the person I loved most.
Bursts of color from the fireworks shimmered across his face.
In that moment, I was so happy I wished I could stop time.
