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Chapter 27: Ben
Once we pull ourselves together, we shift the mattress to the floor and look at the bed frame. One of the wooden joints cracked and splintered. I don't need to be a woodworker to know that sucker is completely unfixable.
"I guess we get to go bed shopping tomorrow. You can help me test out the new candidates," I say with a suggestive smile. "Do you want to go back to your house?" I honestly don't care where I sleep as long as I'm with her while I do it.
"Nah, I don't feel like getting dressed," she says. She makes a valid point; I think as I look her up and down. Keeping her naked is definitely the better plan. We pile all the pillows and blankets I have in the house on top of the mattress and make a nest. I lay down, pulling her close. Her soft curves press against me and she throws a leg over my thigh. I drift off to sleep happier and more relaxed than I've ever felt.
I wake up in the middle of the night to a strange buzzing sound. Bees? Lilah is still curled up next to me, seemingly untroubled by it, but my sleep-addled brain can't rest until I find the source.
I wake up enough to realize the sound is definitely not bees. It sounds electronic. Following the sound with my eyes, I see Lilah's purse on the floor across the room and a light shining out of it. The grogginess clears but I'm dead tired so when the buzzing stops, I close my eyes, drifting off again. I don't think more than a minute goes by before the vibrating starts back up. Worried that it could be important, I gingerly pull my arm out from under Lilah's head and stand. Grabbing her phone, I slip out of the room before looking at the caller ID.
Unknown Number.
I'm getting really sick of these people calling her phone all the time. 1:56 am. Who the fuck is making spam and telemarketing calls at this time of night? The right thing to do is ignore it and go back to bed, but I'm tired and honestly kind of pissed off. So I don't do the right thing. I swipe to answer the call, saying nothing.
Nobody answers, and I'm annoyed. I expected a robo-caller at the very least.
I hang up and turn to head back to bed, but the phone rings before I can take two steps. I answer it silently again, wishing I had just powered the damn thing down. There's nothing on the other end for endless seconds. It must be an auto-dialer that's not connected to a message or something. Whatever is going on, I can hack the phone company in the morning and figure this out before I finish my coffee.
I'm about to hang up when I hear someone breathe on the other end. My blood runs cold and I silently pray my brain is playing tricks on me. Scrunching my face up, I try to focus and pick up the soft sounds in the background. There's a slight hum and another, heavier breath.
"Hello?" I ask. My voice sounds gruff. Good, I think as there's movement on the other end of the line, a bumping sound and a male grunt.
I hold the phone out and look at it with disgust. Rage fills my senses, clouding my vision as I squeeze the phone in my fist. I am so angry my hands are shaking. I kind of wish I could punch something right now.
Placing the phone back to my ear, I growl in my most menacing voice. "Listen here, fucker. Stop calling this number or I'll rip your balls off and shove them so far up your ass you'll be tasting them for weeks."
After ending the call, I stare at the phone, willing whoever that was to call again just so I can follow through on my threat. But the phone stays dark for the next several minutes while I stand there glaring at it.
She's been getting these calls almost daily since we started seeing each other. I can't be sure, but I don't think there's been even one night where she didn't get at least one call from an unknown number. But she's never answered one in front of me.
I wonder if she knows... The more I think about it, I'm sure she doesn't. There's no way she could just ignore it and play it off so casually. Surely she would at least be rattled when the calls came through. But she just rolls her eyes and silences them, carrying on like nothing happened.
I want to wake her up. I want to talk to her right now but when I walk back into the bedroom and see her, I can't do it. Her hair is fanned over the pillow and she's sprawled out across the whole bed. Arms and legs everywhere and a soft smile tugging at her lips. She's still naked and only half covered by the blanket. She looks so peaceful. Waking her up won't solve anything. This can wait until the morning.
I shut her phone down and set it back in her bag before settling back on the mattress with her. I have to move her arms and legs to make enough room, but I'm rewarded when she sleepily nuzzles into my side.
"Love you..." she sighs, still mostly asleep.
I freeze, my heart pounding out YES-YES-YES in my chest. I don't move, praying that if I hold still enough, maybe she'll say it again.
But she doesn't. Lilah has gone boneless against me again, and the only sound is her quiet breathing. I exhale, holding her tighter to me as I press a kiss to the top of her head.
I don't know how long I lay awake like that. I breathe in her scent and try to relax, but the phone call spirals in my brain along with a list of things I need to do in the morning. Hack her phone provider, find out who has been making those calls, dig a shallow grave somewhere remote.
Not really. I can take someone down without laying a finger on them, but I suddenly get why men get violent and territorial over their women. The thought of anyone harassing or harming a single hair on Lilah's head makes my blood turn to lava.
