He eased onto the bed next to me and lifted my hand gently to his lips to kiss it, whispering, “Happy Graduation, Laurel.”
“Please tell me this isn’t for me; that it isn’t real,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. I couldn’t possibly accept anything more from him.
He laughed a little, his cheeks blushing the tiniest bit. “I saw these the other day in the jewelry store, after our interview, and thought about how wonderful they’d look on you.” He took the bracelet and secured it gently to my right wrist before kissing it again. “See how beautiful it looks?” He moved my hand from side to side, letting the diamonds catch the rays of light coming through the window. “I’m not good with earrings, so I’ll let you get those. The whole stabbing them through your ear thing isn’t something I’m into.”
“I can’t accept these. You’ve already done too much for me and now this. You’re overwhelming me,” I admitted.
His hand reached up to caress my face. “I’m doing this because I want to, end of story. Just accept it and know that I plan on buying you things from time to time.”
“Thank you. But…”
“No hesitation here, Laurel; please put your earrings and shoes on, we need to get moving.”
He was right. I didn’t have time to argue with him, as we only had three hours until graduation. I rushed over and grabbed my shoes, putting them on and admiring how they matched the dress and the little clutch I’d found at a discount store. The shoes had a designer label I’d never heard of, something from Italy. I had to admit they were the most amazing shoes I had ever worn. I liked being four inches taller and they were so comfortable compared to heels I’d borrowed from Hannah.
He came up behind me and reached for one of my hands. “Let’s see how your sugar is doing before we go. You should probably have some candy on hand during the ceremony, just in case you start to feel lightheaded.”
Well, duh! I’d already thought of that, but I wouldn’t argue with him. I was getting used to the finger pricks as he took a drop of blood and placed it on the testing strip. Within seconds, the monitor registered 90.
He seemed content with the results. “We can probably grab some lunch close to campus after we do a final sweep of the dorm and drop off your key.” He took my cap and gown in one hand and placed the other at the small of my back, leading me towards the door.
When we walked out of the hotel, Thompson was already waiting at the side of the curb with the door to the town car open. “Good day, Mr. Andrews, Miss Hart.”
I smiled. “Good day, Thompson.”
We reached the dorm in no time. Garrett told Thompson to keep the car running because we’d be only a few moments.
Hannah was walking out of the building as we reached the steps. She rushed up to me and gave me a big hug. “I was so worried about you yesterday! Why haven’t you called me?” Her voice rang with relief and frustration.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, hugging her tight. “The episode took a lot out of me and I wasn’t really myself until this morning. My apologies for not calling, but thank you for directing everyone on what to pack for me.” Tears started forming in my eyes. “You don’t know how much I appreciate you and how much I’m going to miss you!”
Hannah took a step back. “No tears now or you’ll make me cry. Remember, we’re friends and we’ll keep in touch, no matter the distance. There’s always cell phones, email, and Skype, and don’t think for one minute that I’m not planning on coming to Orlando for a visit. All those theme parks and wonderful clubs to go to—you haven’t seen the last of me!”
“We’ll definitely keep in touch! Maybe I can even visit you in Chicago. I’ve always wanted to go and check out the Windy City.” I felt Garrett’s hand on my back, rubbing it gently to try and calm me.
One of Hannah’s eyebrows rose in suspicion at his actions. “Listen, I need to run. I’m meeting up with my parents for lunch and then I’ll see you over at graduation.” She leaned in for one more hug as she whispered, “I can tell something is going on between you two. I want all the juicy details ASAP.”
I nodded in agreement and watched her walk away. Oh, there were some good details.
We did a quick sweep of my dorm room, checking all the drawers, nooks and crannies of the room and bathroom. He was right, his helpers had managed to get every last thing. Nothing of mine or Hannah’s remained in the room; it was as empty as the day we moved in.
As we were about to leave, Garrett reached down to pick up an envelope that was left on the floor by the door. He turned it over and handed it to me. “It’s for you.”
I was puzzled as to who left this. Hannah and I had exchanged our graduation cards and small gifts several days earlier. I opened the envelope up to see a graduation card wishing generic sentiments on the front, but when I reached the inside, I dropped it like a hot potato and wrapped my arms around my stomach in an effort not to heave.
Garrett’s eyes flared in alarm as he pulled me tightly to his chest. “Who sent the card?” he demanded.
When I couldn’t respond, he picked it up and saw the note written on the inside:
You may have thwarted my efforts to contact you for a while, but now that I found you, I’m NOT letting you go. You are MINE and I OWN You. I’ll GET you SOON! – Chase
Garrett practically growled; his eyes were full of anger and his hands fisted. He took a step away from me and carefully placed the card back into the envelope. “We need to keep this as evidence. I want to report this to the campus police and see if they have any pictures of him on the security cameras in the area. How long has he been bothering you, Laurel?”
“When I dropped the swim team, he kept following me around campus, but I was always with someone and he couldn’t get me alone. Then he resorted to harassing notes and letters stuffed under my door. Once he graduated, he sent them to my post office box on campus. I switched to a different mailbox, without forwarding my mail, hoping it would frustrate him and force him to stop. I hadn’t heard from him in several months, until today, but he probably knows I’m graduating.”
He’d been rubbing his temples and pacing around the room as I finished my explanation. He pulled me back into his warm embrace and kissed my forehead gently. “Do your parents have any idea of what happened? Do they know you’re being stalked?”
My voice was as shaky as my hands. “No. I was too embarrassed to tell them. I thought it was my fault; I didn’t want a lecture about making better choices. Only Grace and Hannah know what has been going on with Chase.” I looked at my feet and went on, mortified. “My parents don’t even know about the low sugar issues yet. I want to get things under control before telling them. Otherwise, I’ll get another unwanted lecture.”
He pulled me closer to his chest, where I could feel his heart beating fast. “I understand now why you’re anxious to leave the area. Hopefully, we can throw him off track until we can find him and put the fear of God in him.”
Tears trickled slowly down my face. “I never wanted any of this, Garrett. I just want him to leave me alone. That’s all I’ve ever wanted; just to forget what happened and move on with my life.”
Garrett looked in the bathroom for some tissue and came out to dry my eyes. “Let’s go get some lunch and calm down before we meet your parents. We can keep this between us, but I will find him and put a stop to this. As for the sugar issues, you should probably tell at least your mother, she is a nurse.”
After I turned in my dorm key, I sat in the back of the Town Car while Garrett talked with Thompson a few feet away from the vehicle, out of earshot. Thompson took the card from him, nodding, and then made a couple of phone calls as Garrett joined me in the back seat.
He put his arm around my shoulders and drew me close to him, holding onto one of my hands. “Try not to worry, love. Thompson used to be in special ops and worked for the CIA for several years. He has contacts all over the world. He’s requesting some security for you during the graduation ceremony and afterwards with y
our parents until we can get a definitive location on Chase.”
“I can’t have a couple strangers follow me around close to my parents. They’ll worry and start asking questions,” I said in a panicked voice.
“Don’t worry, Laurel, they’re very discreet. I’ll know they’re there, but you and your family won’t have any clues,” he reassured me.
Thompson came back to the car, nodding some unspoken signal to Garrett, and then drove us to a small bistro close to campus for lunch.
My phone rang towards the end of lunch. I mouthed the words, “It’s my mom,” to keep him from being alarmed. They were running late with their lunch and wouldn’t be able to get to the ceremony in time to see me before everything started. “That’s all right, Mom. I know you’ve both had a busy day. Just keep your cell phone on and we can meet up as soon as the ceremony’s over. Love you guys and see you soon.”
Garrett looked over at me with a disapproving look. “You didn’t tell them about me. Are you ashamed of me?”
“No, not at all; I wanted to tell them, but thought we would wait to do the introductions in person, after the ceremony.” I leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which appeared to pacify him. “After all, I can’t drop the ‘I can’t wait to introduce you to my boyfriend that I’m not dating but just sleeping with’ over the phone! They’d go crazy through the whole ceremony.”
The graduation ceremony was nerve wracking. So many eyes upon me made me nervous; I kept wondering if Chase would dare to show his face here and cause a scene in front of everyone.
Garrett reassured me, after walking me to my reserved seat, that Thompson had two of his contacts watching nearby. He gave me a chaste kiss on the lips, and slipped a small bag of Skittles into my hand. “Thompson and I will be watching from the wings. No one will hurt you; not if I can help it.”
I took my seat as other graduates started piling in. I jumped as my phone rang. I grabbed it quickly. “Hi, Mom.”
“We just got here and found a seat in the bleachers; section C, row 15. What section are you sitting in, so we can find you afterwards?” she asked, full of enthusiasm.
“I’m so happy you guys made it! I’m located on the far right, in the middle section. My department will be fifth to go up on stage for diplomas. The arena will probably be chaos when the ceremony is over. Why don’t you sit tight and I’ll make my way to you?” I suggested.
“Okay, sounds like a plan. Just so you know, Laurel, we’re so proud of you!” I could hear her choking up on the other end of the phone.
“I need to go now, they’re about to start. I love you both.”
“We love you too, sweetie!” I heard both their voices this time, and smiled. Then the call was gone.
My phone instantly buzzed with a text. It was Garrett.
Garrett: Who’re you talking to? You look like you’re about to cry.
I quickly typed.
Me: My mom just wanted to let me know they were here. Section C, row 15. I told her I would find them afterwards.
I glanced up, trying to see where Garrett was and spotted him off to the right side of the stage with a scowl on his face. I noticed him texting something else into his phone, but was surprised I didn’t receive it. I turned my phone to vibrate for the ceremony and settled in. If the practice was any indication, this was going to be long.
The president of the school came out and got everyone’s attention before delivering a short speech about how amazing this graduating class’s grade point average was. He went on to tell of wonderful opportunities, citing some of the prestigious company names many of the students had been given internships and/or entry level jobs with. He wished us all well on our future endeavors in life. I was very thankful that he left out the names of the students; it would be all I needed to have Chase know where I’d been hired.
There were a couple more speeches by faculty members, along with some of the students, before each of the department heads called up their graduates in alphabetical order. According to the program, mine was fifth on the list of seven departments that day.
Nearly an hour and a half passed before our department was asked to stand and proceed towards the stage. I was happy to see that Dr. Leonard was the person passing out the diplomas for our department. I would miss him as my mentor.
Dr. Leonard gave me a huge, proud smile as he saw me walk up the stairs. “Miss Laurel Alexandra Hart, graduates with a 4.0 in Bio-Medical Engineering.” I heard an eruption of applause coming from a few friends, my family, and to my surprise, several people in the wings of the stage, one of which was Garrett, with a grin of pride on his face.
“Congratulations, Laurel!” Dr. Leonard whispered with great delight as he handed me my diploma. “I wish you nothing but the best in your endeavors. I look forward to reading great things about your latest creations in the field of medical engineering.”
“Thank you, sir.”
I followed the line of graduates back to our seats and waited for the remainder of the groups to receive their diplomas before the commencement ended.
Blissfully, an hour later, it did. We all whooped and hollered as they announced “Congratulations to the Class of 2012!”
I stood up, collecting my purse and diploma and started to make my way towards the bleachers, being elbowed this way and that with the swarms of people rushing onto the floor to congratulate the graduates. It was a madhouse and I felt an unnerving presence of someone walking too close to me.
I turned to see a young man, maybe in his early thirties, with dark hair, a dark suit, and sunglasses. “I don’t mean to alarm you, Miss Hart. Mr. Andrews has been trying to text you to wait for him, but you aren’t responding, so he asked me to follow closely to assure your safety. He asks that you check your phone and wait for him at the bleachers once you find your parents.” When he was done speaking, he took a couple steps back but continued to follow me.
I reached into my clutch and noticed several text messages and one missed call, all from Garrett, asking me to wait for him. I quickly removed the silence function on the phone and texted.
Me: Sorry, forgot the phone was on vibrate. Thompson’s buddy told me to wait for you by the bleachers. He’s currently a few steps behind me. See you soon. ;)
As I continued to the bleachers, something finally dawned on me. How could someone who worked for a company as the Head of Human Resources manage to have a driver with connections to the CIA and Special Forces, dress as well as he does, and be able to afford the lovely jewelry and clothes? I know he mentioned Mr. Waters being overly generous to his best employees, but something felt off. Is he Waters’ son or something? I made a mental note to do a Google search on Garrett when I had a minute.
My mind quickly changed track when I heard my dad call my name and saw my mom walking towards me with her arms open for an embrace. She barely held back her tears as she threw her arms around me and drew me into the biggest bear hug I’d ever gotten. She then held me at arms length as she looked me over from top to bottom. “I can’t believe my baby girl is a college graduate. You look so grown up and now you’re ready to go out and conquer the world.”
My eyes got a little teary at my mother’s words of adulation. “Mom, please, you’re going to make me cry.”
Dad stepped forward, placing one arm around my shoulder and giving me a big squeeze. He never was one for much emotion, but I could see the pride evident on his face. “I’m proud of you, honey. I knew you could do anything you put your mind to. I just wish you weren’t moving so far away.”
“I know, Dad. But I had to go where I got the best offer. I’ll be able to visit soon and you both can do the same, too.” I smiled, trying to reassure him that I would keep in touch; I wasn’t moving to the Arctic, after all.
A pair of strong arms circled round my shoulders and I tensed before I heard a familiar voice. “So the school finally decided to kick you out, huh?”
My eyes grew large and I whipped around in excitement. “Donny!” I
cried. I swung my arms around my brother, beyond surprised to see him; I thought he couldn’t get time off from school or work to make it today. “What are you doing here?” He looked just like me, only taller and with short hair.
He gave me a fierce hug and smiled. “I couldn’t miss seeing my little sis graduate. Besides, I missed being able to bug you.”
I heard a deep voice behind me. “Hey there, Water Bug.”
No one had called me that name in years. It couldn’t be; but there he was, Freddie, my brother’s best friend, and mine, for as long as I could remember. We were like the Three Musketeers through school, always hanging out with one another.
“Freddie! What are you doing here?” I knew my face was nearly splitting in two with all the surprises today. I couldn’t believe how handsome he looked. Apparently, he had been working out, as his shoulders looked wider and more defined. He usually wore his sandy blonde hair unkempt, but it was cut short and he was dressed in a white polo shirt and khaki pants.
He was the same age as my brother and had attended Duke University with him, having graduated last year with his Bachelor’s, before taking a position in Durham, North Carolina so he and my brother could share an apartment together. Freddie worked as an engineering associate with a wireless technologies company, while my brother was moving on with his MBA.
Freddie wrapped his arms around me, spun me around, and then planted a quick kiss on my lips. “I was talking with Donny the other day and he mentioned how he wished he could make it to your graduation. My parents got a new car recently, so I inherited their old one and offered to drive. I didn’t want him to miss your graduation and I couldn’t pass up the chance to see you again.”
He paused for a moment and took a good look at me. “You look all grown up. I hardly recognize you anymore. Guess I can’t call you Water Bug now.”
I felt Garrett’s presence before he slipped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to his chest. “So what’s this ‘Water Bug’ name about?” he asked jovially, as he planted a quick kiss on my cheek.
Learning to Trust Page 14