Page 69 of Make No Mistake

Seventeen

I’d wonthe argument with Jay, so he didn’t stay with me. He stayed until midnight when I finally convinced him I would be going straight to bed. There wasn’t anything else he could do right now. The police were patrolling the area, and Aubrey was just a few feet away.

My bed was calling my name, and I went willingly. I wanted nothing more than to disappear under my blankets and ignore the world for at least three days. It took longer than normal for my body to relax and even longer for my mind to slow to a point where sleep was an option.

I was finally drifting when loud banging shocked me awake.

Without thinking, I ran to the front door and threw it open.

My heartbeat thudded in my ears.

No one was there, so I stepped out, scanning either direction.

Nothing seemed out of place in the silence. If someone was out there, I would have heard their movements.

“Mckayla!”

Aubrey’s hands grasped my shoulders and tugged me back before I could respond.

“What are you doing?”

I stared at the closed door, wondering if I’d imaged it. “There was someone there.”

“Yeah I heard the banging too.”

I met her eyes and cringed at her blazing expression. “I don’t want to be afraid, Bree.”

“Opening the door in the middle of the night just hours after being attacked isn’t being brave. It’s utter stupidity.”

I slumped against the wall and closed my eyes. She was right. What had I planned on doing if he was there?

“Come on. Let’s get you back to bed, Mac.”

I opened my eyes and nodded, allowing her to guide me through the living room to my room.

“Do you need something to help you sleep?”

I shook my head. “No. I’m exhausted.” The day’s events were finally catching up to me. Suddenly, my entire body felt drained of energy.

“Okay. Don’t get up again.” I nodded while she bit her lip, staring down at me. “You’re scaring me, Mac.” She shook her head. “Please, just sleep.”

I nodded and rolled to face the wall. I barely registered her steps before the tiny click of my door shutting.

Two days passedwithout word from the detective over the case. I wanted to believe that no news was good news, but I knew that in this situation, it meant they had nothing. Whoever had attacked me was most likely the same guy that was behind the other attacks. He was still at large.

How? How could this guy keep getting away with it?

I stared up at my ceiling, pondering this while delaying getting out of bed. Class was the only thing keeping me from spending the entire day napping. I’d skipped yesterday, but I needed to get back into my routine.

He wasn’t going to win. He might have scared me, but I wasn’t going to let him destroy me.

I slid out of my bed and walked into my bathroom to wash my face. Once I felt slightly more human, I headed to the kitchen in search of food. Part of me hoped Aubrey left something for me, but no such luck.

There was a bagel left in the fridge, so I cut it and placed it in the toaster. While waiting for it to finish, I looked to the sink. It was my turn to do the dishes, but there was nothing waiting for me.

I checked the dishwasher and found it empty, so I began checking the cabinets. Everything was clean and put away. Part of me felt bad that Aubrey had done my chore, but I appreciated her thoughtfulness. She probably assumed I’d forget about it.

My bagel popped up, and I added a bit of cream cheese before resuming my spot on the couch and turning on the TV.