AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“T-The…the window.” Aria sobs uncontrollably.
“What?” I pull back from her and capture her face in my hands. “Talk to me, sweetheart.”
“The window. There was someone at the window.” She points to the window at the far side of the room. Liam clicks his gun and opens the front door. I nod to Mike and he follows him.
I hold Aria close to me. Her body is shaking. She’s a mess. My heart is pounding in my chest and adrenalin is making me shake with Aria.
“Caleb!”
I hear shouting from the floor. Shit! I dropped my cell and Clay is still on the line. I bend and pick up the cell. Still holding Aria with one arm, I hold it to my ear.
“Clay. I’ll call you back.”
“Like hell you will. What’s going on, Caleb? Talk to me.”
“I’m not sure. Aria saw someone at the window. I’ll let you know more when I know.”
“Don’t hang up. Put me on hands free.”
I do as I’m told and throw the cell down on the coffee table with a bang.
“Are you both okay?” asks Clay.
“Yeah. Just shaken up. Mike and Liam are out investigating.”
I can’t take all the waiting around. I hate that time seems to stand still while we wait for Mike and Liam to come back. I’m left doing the only thing I can do; holding Aria tightly. I’m surprised she can breathe being held so close to me, but the grip she has on my shirt lets me see that’s she needs this contact just as much as I do.
The front door clicks open and Mike and Liam walk back in. “We couldn’t see anyone.”
Mike raises his eyebrows at me and points over his shoulder towards the kitchen.
“Clay, will you talk to Aria? I need to be debriefed by the guys.”
“Sure. Go. Hey, girl. Can you hear me, okay?”
I squeeze Aria’s hands and leave her to chat with Clay. If anyone can make her laugh or cheer her up it’s that clown.
“What’s going on?” I ask Mike.
“Whoever it was is long gone.”
“What do you mean? I thought she might have been dreaming,” I whisper.”
“There are footprints on the porch. I swept the porch when you came back tonight.”
“Could it be a walker out lost?”
Mike shrugs. “Why run?”
I run my hands through my hair and pull it hard. I walk back into the living room and Aria is telling Clay about our day. Where we went, and what we had to eat.
“When I come over at the weekend, I’m making us s’mores outside on an open fire. Can you remember that time when Chris burnt his finger taking the mallow off the stick?”
“Yeah.” She giggles lightly. “The poor guy had blisters on his fingers for days. We didn’t hear the end of it for weeks.”
I sit back down on the couch beside Aria. “He still has the scars,” I interrupt, letting Clay know I’m back.
“Ah, good. You’re back. Is it all good there?”
