He doesn't respond. Instead, he looks at her coolly, leaning back in his chair. A smile slowly spreads on his lips.      "You know, you're quite the manipulator," he says finally, still grinning an eerie smile. "First, you make me fall in love with you. Then you torture me with your talk about your boyfriends. And now, you run off, back to your little house and your little job and your absurd love life and you leave me here. You don't give a damn that you have stepped on me in the process, do you? You think you can go on your merry way and leave me here like this?" He shakes his head and laughs quietly. "You actually think-- You actually think that I am going to let you go, just like that? Man, you are one funny girl," he says chuckling to himself.       Melinda steps back, alarm rising in her throat like bile. Her breathing grows shallow and she steps back, her eyes wide. "Ralph…" she says, her voice a hoarse whisper. "You're scaring me."      He gets up, and before Melinda can react, his hands are on her shoulders. His face only a few inches away from her own, she can feel his breath against her lips. It is warm, but she imagines it scorching her. She pictures blisters forming on her lips, and she swallows hard, whimpering a little in fright.      "You're not going anywhere, Melinda. I'm not letting you," he whispers.      "Get your hands off me," she says firmly, her voice low and even.      Ralph acts as if he doesn't hear her. Instead, his grip grows tighter on her shoulders.      Unconsciously, she finds herself blushing. "You'll be ok," she says, a fake smile on her lips.      She looks around frantically, preparing herself to scream.      "Don't scream," he says. She closes her eyes tightly anyway, takes a deep breath, opens her mouth…