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I’m so lost in looking at Charlie’s sweet face that my head perks up when I hear the sound of a door closing. I furrow my brow, waiting for Riley to call out he's back. Maybe he forgot something because there's no way he could be back with food yet. But nothing comes.
I cast a nervous glance down at Charlie, not wanting to leave him, but feeling the obligation to make sure the place is safe for him.
I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that if you hear a noise, don’t follow it or investigate it, and if it was just me in here, I would just stay in here and play dumb, maybe call the cops, but it's probably nothing.
As cliché as this sounds, it could have been the wind blowing a door closed.
Just as that thought enters my mind, I hear a creak of the floorboards sounding from somewhere beyond the bedroom door and my heart sinks as I also realise that my phone is currently on the kitchen counter. I had put it there and forgot about it when I was gushing over Charlie.
Looking at Charlie and everything around me, I see nothing.
I should just stay in here, maybe block the door, but if someone is in here when Riley comes back, he could be at risk because there is no one to warn him.
I run my fingers through my hair, knowing there is only one thing I can do to protect those I love if there is someone in here.
I need to do the stupid thing and leave this room, but not so far away that I can’t keep an eye on it. I just need to make it to my phone, and if it really was the wind, then I’ll apologise to the cops, but I'm not taking chances with Charlie.
Casting a nervous look over my shoulder to a peaceful Charlie, I put my hand to the doorknob, feeling the cold shoot up my hand at the touch before running down my spine, alarm bells going off in my head as I turn the knob and creep out into the darkened apartment, illuminated only by a few candles I lit before taking Charlie into the room earlier. The normal light was making him stir and darkness made him cry.
Closing the door behind me, I move as quietly as I can with my back to the wall, looking down the hall to the living room, checking over my shoulder at the door leading to Charlie before looking ahead of me again.
My steps are careful, slow and light, as I enter the living room, my heart singing when I see it empty, and beyond that, my phone sits untouched on the kitchen counter. I let out a breath, but that breath is quickly curt short when I suddenly feel warmth behind me, almost suffocating like something is closing in.
Before I can think, I hear a familiar voice hiss, “There is no getting away this time.”
I turn around, gasping when I see a familiar scowl.
Laurence.
CHAPTER 48
MIA
“Laurence,” I gasp out, all too aware of how he stands between me and Charlie, but I'm still a few steps away from getting my phone.
Maybe if I-
His eyes move over my shoulder as his lips turn up in a sneer. “Don’t even think about running for that phone. I’ll get you on the floor before you make a step and don’t think I don’t know about the kid in the other room.”
I suck in a breath, trying to compose my panic, as I watch his eyes move over me, dressed in an oversized shirt and shorts. “What are you doing, Laurence?”
He takes a step and I take a slower step back, keeping the distance between us, but that only makes him smile. My stomach sinks at the sight, and his eyes darken. “Do you have any idea what you did to me? You humiliated me in front of my friends, you humiliated me in front of my family. I have assault on my record, and because of that, I lost any hope of working for my dad.”
“You attacked me.”
“Do you have any idea what it’s like to have your father look at you like a disappointment, to have your family pick you up from the police station after being told what happened. I’ve lost everything. I’m now an embarrassment to the family and whenever I try to find work with another company, they see this blinking assault charge and turn me away. I have been cut off from my family's money. Everything is gone.”
I grit my teeth. “Probably tired of cleaning up after you. You shouldn’t have done it, then.”
He takes a quicker step towards me this time, and I match it, my heart spiking a little until he speaks. He looks nothing like the Laurence I knew, now dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a black hoodie, dark circles under his eyes and sweat sticking his hair to his forehead, his eyes a little crazy as he continues to speak. “So you give it up to everyone else, but I’m not good enough for you?”
I know I should just submit and try to settle the situation, but all I want to do is yell at this man before me. I want to scream and hit him for all that he has done, but that is when it hits me.
My eyes widen as realisations hits. “You.” He smiles, seeing that I’ve figured it out. “You broke in, you destroyed my room.”
“A message. You destroy me and I destroy you.”
“But I didn’t destroy you. You got into trouble for whatyoudid!”
