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Addy made a face. “I tell you what, let’s put on your video in my room. I’ll let you snuggle in my fluffy blankie, and we’ll put some cookies into bake. I bought some cookie dough from Michael’s lacrosse team, and it’s still in the freezer. Sound good?”
“Okay,” Charlotte said brightening.
“She can watch it in the living room,” Flora said.
“She needs a DVD player.” Addy grabbed the backpack and took Charlotte’s hand. “Heat up the oven, and I’ll get her settled. Her grandparents should be here in a little while. Lucas said no more than half an hour.”
Leaving her aunt to start the cookies, Addy led Charlotte upstairs after urging her to take the slippers off. Last thing Addy needed was to have to make a trip to the hospital. Lucas would freak.
Addy didn’t want to think about Lucas. She needed to shut her mind down every time it wandered toward him. For the past three days, she’d been near to mourning over the way she’d ended things between them, but she just couldn’t bring herself to make it right. How did one undo a goodbye? How did she unsay what she’d blurted out?
So she’d cried in between bouts of glancing over her shoulder, triple-checking locks, and praying Robbie had gotten on with his life, leaving her behind.
But she knew he wouldn’t.
On the outside Robbie had always been unassuming, cute, and normal in a Kevin Bacon sort of way. But inside he was full-on sociopath.
And he would come for her.
Eventually.
Why would she pull Lucas into something like that? Even if she really wished she hadn’t shoved him away so hard.
“Here we go,” Addy said, entering her room behind Charlotte. She turned on the bedside lamp before lifting Charlotte onto her bed and grabbing her fluffiest throw. After finding Charlotte’s DVD in the bag, she turned on the TV, and started setting up the movie.
“Do you like Creampie? She’s my favorite,” Charlotte prattled, flopping back onto the toss pillows on Addy’s bed.
“Sure. I like the big pink bow she wears in her hair.”
“It’s not pink, it’s wed,” Charlotte said, pointing to the picture of the cat on her backpack.
“Not all the time. See?” Addy lifted the DVD case and pointed to the pink bow.
“Oh, yeah,” Charlotte said.
The doorbell rang just as Addy slid the disk into the player.
“I’ll get it,” Aunt Flora called up the stairs.
No need to put the video in now. Addy turned to tell Charlotte her grandparents were here when a strange feeling hit her.
She could hear Flora disarming the alarm as if it were in slow motion.
“No,” Addy yelled, but she knew it was too late. She could hear the door open.
She heard Flora say in a friendly voice, “Hey-”
And then she heard her aunt scream.
Oh, dear God, no.
He was here.
Fear unleashed inside Addy, rising, choking her, lurching around destroying any sanity she possessed. For a moment she was crippled and couldn’t move. Her mind flipped through every possible scenario before pausing on the truth—Robbie was downstairs and he’d already hurt Aunt Flora.
Sliding her phone from her pocket, Addy dialed 911.
“Addy! I wanna watch Creampie,” Charlotte complained.
