He Smiled as I Bled

The Man From My Past

The hallway smelled like lilies and metal.

Mark stood between us and the door, bouquet in hand, smiling like he'd just come home from work instead of stalking me for two weeks, the white petals were crushed at the edges, like he'd been gripping them too hard.

"Aliya," he said, my name on his tongue still made my skin crawl, "I brought you flowers, for coming home."

Lena stepped in front of me without thinking, her whole body was a wall,"You're trespassing, Mark, Get out before i call the police."

His smile didn't waiver, "You don't have to call anyone Lena, I'm just here to talk to my fiancee." "I'm not your fiancee," I said, my voice shook, but it came out.

Mark's eyes flicked to me for half a second then back to Lena. "She's upset, she doesn't mean it, don't you baby?"

The word 'baby' hit me like a slap, that was the word he used the night that he pushed me, the night i almost fell.

Lena's phone was already in her hand "Last warning." Mark sighed like we were being unreasonable "Fine if you won't talk to me here i'll wait downstairs," he set the lilies on the floor carefully, like a peace offering, like he wasn't holding the whole building hostage.

Then he looked at me, really looked "We're not done, Aliya." He walked away, and the sound of his footsteps faded down the stairs.

For ten seconds nobody moved, Lena exhaled and grabbed my arm,"We're leaving, Now, he knows where you live, he's not safe to be around."

I nodded but my legs felt like water, the photo in my pocket burned, Lena's photo taken from her bedroom doorway at 1:01 AM, he'd been inside her apartment.

We made it to her car without seeing him, Lena drove fast, hands tight on the wheel, and didn't speak until we were three blocks away. "You're staying with me tonight," she said, "And tomorrow, we go to the precint, i'm done waiting."

---

The precinct smelled like coffee gone cold and old paper.

Lena filled out the paper while i sat in a plastic chair, staring at my hands, They'd stopped shaking an hour ago, but i still felt like i was vibrating on the inside.

"Aliya Chen-Darbo?" I looked up.

A man stood in the doorway of the interview room, tall, late twenties, short hair ,eyes that has seen too much and still chose to be kind.

Jake Morales.

My stomach dropped in a way that had nothing to do with fear, "Jake?"

He smiled, but it was careful, like he wasn't sure if he was allowed to smile at me. "Hey Aliya, it's been a while."

Three years since I'd quit my old job at Meridian Legal and started dating Mark, Since Jkae had left for the police academy and i'd told myself nit was for the best. Lena stood up fast,"You know each other?"

Jake nodded, "We worked together, Aliya was my paralegal before..." He stopped, like he wasn't sure how much to say in front of her. "Before i met Mark," I finished for him.

Jake's eyes dropped to my face, to the faint yellow bruise on my jaw that makeup couldn't hide, to the way i held my ribs when i breathed.His jaw tightened, "Can i talk to her for a minute?"

Lena looked at me, then at him,"Five minutes, and I'm right outside." She left, and the door clicked shut.

Jake didn't sit right away, he just stood there, studying me like i was a case file he didn't want to read. "You look like hell," he said finally. "So I've been told."

He pulled out the chair across from me and sat down "Lena told me what happened, the balcony, the restraining order, the stalking, Aliya...why didn't you call me?"

Because i told myself you moved on, because i told myself i didn't deserve help, because i was ashamed."I didn't want to drag you into it," I said instead.

Jake leaned forward "You're not dragging me, this is my job and you're my friend." Friend, the word felt like a lifeline.

"I can get you an emergency protective order today," he said, "it'll be stronger than the temporary one, he violates it, he goes to jail, No warning."

I should have said yes immediately, i should have grabbed it, but all i could think about was the look on Mark's face when he said 'we're not done.'

"What if he makes it worse?" I whispered.

Jakes expression softened. "Aliya, he's already worse. He broke into Lena's apartment, he took photos of you sleeping, that's not love, that's obsession, and obsession doesn’t stop because you're nice."

I closed my eyes, for a second, i let myself imagine it, a life where i didn’t check locks three times, where i didn't jumped when my phone buzzed, where i didn't feel guilty for breathing. "Okay," I said, "Do it,"

Relief flickered across Jake's face. "Good, I'll have it filed in an hour."

He stood and for a second, i thought he was going to hug me, he didn't, he just put a hand on my shoulder, it was light, professional, safe.

"You don't have to do this alone anymore Aliya."

---

We left the precinct at 6 PM

Lena was quiet in the car, watching me in the rear-view mirror, i knew what she was thinking, Jake, the way i looked at him, the way he looked at me.

"Don't start," I said before she could. "I'm not starting anything," she said "I'm just saying... it's good to see you talk to someone who isn't trying to control you." I didn't answer.

We were two blocks from her apartment when my phone buzzed, Unknown number, I almost didn't open it, the message was a photo

It was me and Jake leaving the precinct, taken from across the street, my hand was on his arm, his hand was on my shoulder, it looked intimate, it looked like something it wasn't. Underneath,one line "I TOLD YOU NOBODY CAN TEAR US APART."

Lena saw my face change, "What is it?" I showed her the phone, her knuckles went white on the steering wheel, "He's escalating," I nodded, my throat went dry.

We pulled into her buildings parking garage, and that's when i saw it, A black car parked in the corner, engine running.Mark was leaning against it,arms crossed, watching us, he hadn't been at the precinct, he had been waiting here.

Lena put the car in park and reached for her door, "Stay here," she said to me, "I'll handle this," "No," I said, i count let her face him alone, Not again, We got out together.

Mark pushed off the car and smiled, but it wasn't the same smile from the hallway, this one was tight, dangerous. "You went to the cops," he said, Not a question .

Jake stepped out from behind a pillar, i hadn't even seen him follow us, "Mark Rivera," Jake said, badge out "Step away from the vehicle Now," Mark's eyes flicked between me, Lena and Jake, something ugly flashed across his face "You," he said to Jake, "I remember you, you were in love with her, werent you? Jake didn't answer. Mark laughed low, bitter "Figures she always did like the safe ones, the ones who play by the rules." He looked at me,"You think he can protect you? he 's just another man trying to own you, Aliya, just like me."

"That's enough," Jake said, stepping forward. Mark didn't move, instead he pulled something from his pocket, A phone, he held it up, screen facing me, on it was a video.

Jakes jaw tightened, his eyes shifted from Mark to me, slow like he was deciding if i was still worth listening to.