AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Only after he was done did he finally agree to sit down and eat.
Dinner was a silent drawn-out affair. Monty looked like he was barely there, appearing to be deep in thought, completely blocking out everyone and everything in the room. I watched him for some time before I finally said what was on my mind.
“I’m not sure how I feel about us keeping a gun in the house.”
“It’s necessary,” he responded.
“Hunter could think it’s a toy and start playing with it. I see that on the news all the time.”
“That’s an insult, and those people are idiots. I practice proper gun safety. The kid won’t even see it.”
“Still,” I said. “I don’t think there’s a bogey man out there that we need to keep a gun.”
“Aren’t you the same person who was sure you were about to get kidnapped?”
“Yes, by my father. But you’ve tried this whole time to convince me that my father is not the horrible person I think he is, and I believe you.” It was a lie, but I figured it was as good an explanation as any.
Monty stared at me for a few seconds. “You’re not that easily convinced.”
“I’m trying new things,” I replied with a wave of my hand.
He smiled dryly. “Okay, how about this. I can promise you that this won’t affect Hunter. Swear to you even. Trust me, okay?”
I did. That was the problem.
“I’m going to continue my job, by the way,” I said, remembering the little fight we’d had earlier.
He sighed. “If you insist. But regardless of that, I will still take care of you.”
I cautioned myself against the warmth his words caused, telling myself that they could be taken away at any moment. I’d had money held over my head before, and I wasn’t about to do that again.
“Unless the money is right there in my account, I can’t trust it,” I told him. “And yes, I’m trying to trust you, but not with that, alright. This time, it’s really not you. It’s me.”
He gave me a searching look like he wanted to ask more questions. But then he seemed to decide against it and just nodded.
The rest of dinner was made up of stilted conversations and a heavy atmosphere, so it was really no surprise that I went to sleep later that night and woke up to screams.
