Caleb and I had been lounging around on the couch for a bit and Duke was lying on my feet when a phone rang. I sat up, instantly thinking the worst but hoping for the best. Caleb reached for his phone and told me it was Jenny.
“Hey, Jenny. Yeah, that’s no problem. I know Rae is dying to do something, so we would love to help.” He shot me a smile. “Okay, we will get ready and head that way.”
Caleb hung up the phone and smiled at me again. “How would you like to go to Jenny’s house with me? She said there were some paint cans and smaller tool items that had been dropped off a few days ago, but they were not there when Luke went to pick them up later. The company told her that she needs to have the items signed for this time if she wants the stuff sent out again at no charge. The problem is, as she was finishing up in the barn, she got called into work. I know we are still worried Ethan is out there, but I also know you’re itching to do something.”
“I would love to go!” I jumped up and ran to put my boots on, then ran towards the front door. My excitement made him laugh.
We made the short drive to Jenny’s house. The tree line that stretched between the two houses was covered in bright green leaves, the branches swaying gently in the breeze. Caleb took a right turn off the main road onto a smaller one that led to her place. The gravel crunching under the truck’s tires was a welcome sound since I hadn’t really left the house while hiding at Caleb’s from Ethan.
Caleb stopped the truck in front of the house. I hadn’t seen Jenny’s house since I was a teen, and the sight made me sad because of the state it was in. While it hadn’t suffered too much damage, the sight of the scorched siding made my chest tighten.
I got out and started to wander towards the front porch, but Caleb put his hand out to stop me. “Wait. We can’t go in right now due to the structural damage. Luke has hard hats we can use if you want to see inside later.”
I nodded. The crunch of gravel came from behind us, and we turned to see a truck driving towards us. Caleb positioned himself between me and the truck as it came to a stop in front of us.
“How’s it going? You Caleb?” An older gentleman stepped out of the truck.
Caleb nodded and walked towards him. “Fine, thank you. Thanks for letting me step in to sign for the delivery.”
I watched the two of them exchange small talk as the man loaded up the delivery into Caleb’s truck. A warm breeze blew my hair around my face and I turned into it, my gaze drifting back towards the house.
For a moment, I could have sworn something moved in the window. I squinted, focusing on the window, a prickling feeling on the back of my neck. I took a couple of steps toward the house, scanning from one window to the next, seeing no movement.
“What are you looking at?” Caleb said, walking up behind me, placing a hand on the small of my back. I looked back where the trucks had been parked next to each other and realized the guy who had brought the delivery out here had left.
“I could have sworn I just saw something moving inside the house.”
“Really? Luke’s truck isn’t out here. He and Jenny are both at work. Where did you see it?”
I pointed at the window. “It could have been a reflection, or even my imagination. I just had a weird feeling.”
“Hold on,” Caleb said as he walked towards the house. I watched as he stepped carefully up on the porch and checked the front door, before moving to the window. Another small breeze blew through the front yard, ruffling my hair a little, as Caleb looked through all the windows at the front of the house. “Hey, Sunshine, I’m going to go around the back and check the doors there. Can you get in the truck and lock the doors?”
I nodded and hopped in the truck as I watched him walk out of sight.
It was warm in the truck, but not unbearable. I was also able to watch the front of the house better without my hair blowing into my face.
Caleb was back within a couple of minutes and smiled at me as he hopped in the truck. “Did you see anything or am I going crazy?”
He let out a little laugh before leaning in and kissing me on the temple. “Baby, you’re not crazy. I didn’t see anything in the house, but I couldn’t go inside. Luke made sure to get all new doors and replace the damaged windows before doing repairs inside, so he wouldn’t have critters or squatters living in there. The only thing I saw that raised some level of concern was the back porch door. The latch was a little loose, but the door was locked. I tried to turn the knob and it didn’t open.”
“So...”
“I’m thinking it was a reflection from something outside the house, but I am going to ask Luke and Jenny to let me know when they come back here. I’ll come with them to just check everything out.”
I nodded, trying to not feel crazy for thinking I had seen something inside of the house. But a small part of me was still not quite convinced.
After returning fromJenny’s house, Caleb and I put the items from the delivery in the barn. Bandit stuck his face out of the stall to say hello, so I walked over to him to return the greeting.
“Hey, Caleb... Can—can I be honest about something?”
“Of course. Always.”
“I feel really weird for thinking about this. Selfish, almost. I'm still kind of bummed that I haven't been able to start work. I can't even go to the grocery store without worrying.” I let out a long sigh as I ran my hand down Bandit’s soft nose. “I love being here at the house and could be wrapped up in your arms all day...” I paused as he started to walk towards me, a sweet smile on his face. He stood in front of me, so close we were almost touching.
“But the sense of normalcy was taken away because of this—because of him? The fact that you can't freely choose to go out, for fear he’s out there?” His voice had a gravelly sound to it. The sound of his voice, mixed with how close we were at the moment, sent heat throughout my entire body.
“Yeah, it sounds silly now that it’s been said out loud, especially considering how scared I still am. I do still want to go to work in a couple of days, if things seem okay...It’s confusing.” I let out a breathy laugh, giving away the fact that how close he was made me nervous, but not in a bad way—just in the way that only he could make me feel.
