Bless the Broken Road

Later that night, I couldn't help but remind myself about that strange man. What if he was following me? Or even Zak? I didn't know and I was not going to find out. I've dealt with a stalker before in the past, but he was just my crazy ex-boyfriend who took a hard time in letting me move on. We only dated for two months, but I quickly ended the relationship after I started noticing aggressive behavior. It all started and ended with verbal abuse. He may have hit me once, but let me tell you something about myself: if you hit me, I WILL hit you back. He would threaten to hurt me and my two horses I have back in Florida. That's one thing you don't do; that's a line you should never cross! After I ended the relationship, he tried stalking me for a couple of weeks by calling me saying that he was watching me and hacking my computer and phone, tracking me. At first he thought he was successful in stalking me, until I went out and bought a gun. One night, he came up to my front porch in the middle of the night. Let's just say I put my gun to use. And no, I didn't kill him, just shattered his leg. This was the second time I saw this guy and to me, this was a red flag. I didn't let my guard down, at all. Even when I was going to go to bed! I made sure my windows and door was locked. My silence and guard was broken when my phone rang. I sighed in relief once I saw that the caller I.D. was Zak. I answered the phone with a smile, "Hey!" I said in happiness. "Hey sweetie!" Zak replied sounding like he had a smile on his face. "I'm glad you called! Even though you my phone scared the living shit out of me!" I said making Zak laugh. "I'm sorry! I thought you weren't scared of anything?" Zak asked. "Well then you startled me." I said embarrassed that his phone call actually scared me. "I'll take that story. Excuses, excuses." Zak joked. "I just feel a little uneasy right now." I said. "Sweetie don't worry about him." Zak assured. "I know but that's the second time we both saw him!" I said concerned and worried. I continued, "I just don't know what to think. It's hard to not think about what he could do next.." "Trust me sweetie, I won't let him hurt you." "Can I call you my bodyguard now?" I laughed. "I don't see why not!" Zak said happily. Right then I heard a soft knock on the door. There was only one other person it could be, my stalker. Out of fright I grabbed and loaded my gun from my suitcase in my bedroom. I hid it behind my back and told Zak I would call him back. The soft knocks on the door turned into hard, loud bangs. This wasn't enough to scare me. I had a military background in Germany and believe me, you haven't seen tough unless you've been in the German army. I opened the door and not to my surprise, my stalker was standing there, not saying a word. "What do you want?" I asked sternly, but curiously. He didn't say anything, but just stared at me. "Are you fucking deaf? I said, what do you want?" I said with anger. Still, he said nothing. I got the impression that he wasn't alone. "If you don't go away right now you're going to get hurt!" I threatened. He was asking for it, though. He made the bright idea to come towards me and try to grab me. That's when I aimed my gun towards him. "If you fucking touch me I'll shoot!" I threatened cocking my gun. He back off, turned around, and walked away slowly. Who was this guy? Michael Myers or something? As a matter of fact, that's his new nickname, Michael Myers. I must have looked like a badass wearing only a tank top and baggy pajama pants. I quickly shut and locked my door and ran to my phone, calling Zak back. He answered within the first ring. "Hello?" Zak said worriedly frantic. "Hey, I had Michael Myers show up at my doorstep." I said calmly. "What happened?" "I pulled a gun on his ass!" I said making some light on the situation. "Did you really?" "Yeah! He didn't say anything the whole time! After I pulled the gun on him, he just turned around and walked away slowly like Michael Myers or something. Fucking weirdo." I said making Zak chuckle. "I'm sorry, just the way you said it was cute." Zak confessed and continued, "Do you want me to come over or do you want me to come and get you?" "I wouldn't mind. As long as you're not busy." "Okay sweetie, I'll be over there in a few minutes." Zak said. We ended our conversation and I sat in the living room of my motel waiting for Zak. Within thirty minutes of waiting, I heard a car door shut and soon after, a soft knock at my door. To my relief it was Zak. "Yay! My bodyguard is here!" I laughed giving Zak a quick hug before he entered my motel room. "So, how long are you wanting to stay?" I asked. "For however long you want me too sweetie." Zak smiled. We hung out for quite a while chit-chatting and watching movies like "Halloween". Zak joked about my stalker as the main character in "Halloween", but I found humor from it, not fright and discomfort. "I really think this stalker is a joke, I can protect myself." I said making myself feel more secure. "Nah." Zak joked. "Oh like you can?" I poked back playfully slapping him. "Oh you wanna go?! You wanna throw down?!" Zak threatened playfully walking up to me, bumping his chest against mine. I couldn't take this seriously. "Yeah let's go! Let's go somewhere to eat!" I said laughing pushing him away. "I think I can take you down." I said, making Zak laugh like it was a joke. "No you can't." Zak said folding his arms. I took that as a challenge and charged for Zak, pinning him down on the couch. It wasn't long before Zak had me pinned on the couch with him on top. I wasn't giving up either, I was a fighter and I could pull through. He liked it rough, and I was going to give him rough and was going to prove to him that I wasn't some fragile little girl. But I will admit, he had me pinned down pretty hard. He knew not to take it easy on me. He wanted me to hurt him just to see how much power I had. And that I showed him. I think he was impressed. "Damn, are you half man or something?" Zak said out of breath. "No, I'm just a tough person. You're messing with a German soldier here." I said grinning. "You're in the military?" "I was in the German army for three years. I've seen and experienced a lot. If you're a German, you need to be tough in order to live." I said thinking about my past. "But I won though." Zak laughed. "Bitch no you didn't!" I giggled helping him up from the floor. I thought it was quite sexy to see him drenched in sweat, but I had to control myself. I can't fall in love with this man. We'd never make it. I live in Florida and I work my dream job while I get to ride my beautiful horses on the beach every weekend. I don't want to give that up, and I don't want a long-distance relationship either. "Well Zak, I'm going to go to bed. I think we both need well-deserved rest." I yawned while stretching. "Sounds good. I'll stay in the living room and you sleep all cozy in your room," Zak smiled, "I'm not going anywhere I promise you." "Thank you, Zak. Goodnight, sleep well!" I smiled before giving him a goodnight hug.
The bright sun woke me up the next morning. I actually slept really well knowing Zak was here. I didn't think he was wanting something from me, I think he actually really cared about me and my safety. He showed a great interest in me as well. I brushed my teeth and walked into the kitchen not giving a care in the world on what I looked like. If Zak possibly did like me, he would have to get used to seeing me look like crap every morning. But I noticed Zak watching television. At 8:30 in the morning? I know that can't be typical of Zak, actually being awake this early in the morning! "Do you always wake up this early in the morning?" I asked breaking his daze. "No. I stayed up all night last night." Whispered Zak as I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. "You stayed up all night last night?! Why?!" I asked with eyebrows raised. "I was making sure that guy didn't come back." yawned Zak. "Oh Zak, you didn't have to do that! It's not like the door isn't locked!" I smiled. "I wasn't willing to take any chances." "Well go to sleep! Do you want me to drive you home?" I asked. "With the way you drive I wouldn't want you taking me anywhere." poked Zak. "So are you going to sleep here?" I asked, "Or are you going to drive home like that?" "I see how it is, you want me to leave." pouted Zak. "No! I didn't say that!" I laughed, "Go ahead, sleep on the couch. I was planning to stay here all day anyway." I assisted. "Are you sure?" "Yes! Bodyguards need their sleep too!" I laughed. It wasn't long before Zak was out like a light and in a deep slumber. He looked so peaceful. I could see the stress he held on his face. I was surprised he wasn't gray yet. It was getting kind of boring just walking around my motel room. It was already clean and no more I could do. I wanted to watch television, but Zak's sleeping body took up the whole couch. But whatever, he wouldn't mind if I either sat on the edge of the couch, on the floor, or even on him. I decided to sit in the floor. As I flipped through the channels, a cheesy 80's horror movie was on. I kept yelling at the television saying, "You dumb bitch! If you know the zombie is in there then why the fuck are you going in there?!" I said. God people, especially girls, in horror movies are so fucking dumb. I heard a light chuckle from behind me. "Did I wake you up?" I asked knowing I just got caught cursing at the movie. "No, your weird mind did." "That didn't make any sense Zak." I said furrowing my brows. "Well do you want me to be a genius when I'm half asleep?" Zak poked. I didn't respond. "That's what I thought." Zak chuckled. "Can I have a cuddle buddy?" Zak asked with puppy eyes. I knew that this was going to feel weird in some way, but it felt warming and protective. I felt like this was an opportunity to actually feel like I was going to be protected and I wouldn't be having to look over my shoulder all of the time. I was going to take this chance, "You sure can, but I'm not laying on that couch!" I stated. He took my hint and got up, extending his arm to help me up from the floor. We went to where the bed was and laid down. I felt safe and wanted. I trusted him with everything I had. His arm around my waist represented the protection he was offering towards me. I was in his embrace and I wasn't leaving any time soon. It's rare that I trust people with all of the things I've witnessed and if I end up trusting you, you've done something right and better not do anything wrong. You can lose my trust easily, very easily. I didn't think this was going to be a problem with me and Zak. Zak had something special. We formed a tight bond.