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When I think about Nathan, even Logan's threats can't bring me down.
Just as I'm getting ready to put my phone down, another text pops up.I'm going to find you, Stacia. And I'm going to enjoy it when I do.
I turn the screen off and set my phone down. I'd be lying if I said that. I wasn't a little bit disturbed by that last message, but it's Logan. Logan loves to threaten me. He loves to scare me. He loves to make me feel anything he wants me to feel. That was always his thing. He enjoyed making me fall in love with him. He enjoyed hurting me. He enjoyed every chance to manipulate my emotions. So instead of being afraid of him, I'm not going to give him any power over the way I feel.
I nearly jump out of my skin when someone knocks on my door. Nobody knows I'm here, I'm not expecting company, and the only thing I like about this place is that everyone leaves me alone. Even the manager of the place will call me on the phone in the room to tell me there's an issue rather than come knock on the door.
For a second, I consider not answering. That thought is dashed when I worry that it could be Logan. Maybe he did find me. Of course he'd be rubbing my face in it if he did, so it seems unlikely. Still, what if?
I slide out of bed, trying to make as little noise as possible. No small feat with how squeaky the mattress is and how the metal groans with any movement.
I creep toward the door and peek out the eye hole, expecting to see, I don't know, something scary. My ex maybe? Or some creepy hooded dude looking to rob the place. I don't know what I'm expecting, but I see something I’d never expect instead. An older woman with silver hair, pastel-colored clothing, and a smile on her face. She is a stranger and I have no idea who she is. I haven't seen her in the rooms around me, never seen her before in my life. So why is she at my front door?
She shifts in place, as if she's trying to look around my door, and lifts her hand to knock again. “Stacia,” she says, removing all doubt that maybe she's in the wrong place or looking for someone else. She's definitely here to see me, but who is she and why is she looking for me?
I open the door and block the space with my body. “Hello, can I help you?” I say with a bright smile.
The woman smiles back at me. “Well, I certainly hope so.”
“What can I do for you, miss...?” I trail off, giving her an opportunity to introduce herself.
“I'm Nathan's mother.”
Second, the words leave her lips. I feel like somebody just punched me in the gut. What is Nathan's mother doing on my doorstep? How does she know where I live? Why is she here?
I try to keep the bright smile in place as I internally panic. “It's so wonderful to meet you. Would you like me to take you out to lunch somewhere?” No matter what, I need to keep her out of my room, out of my space, and unaware of exactly why I'm here, although I get the sneaking suspicion that she knows everything.
She shakes her head, her kindly old woman voice strong as she says, “No, talking here is fine.”
The whole body feels like I've jumped into a vat of icy hot, my skin burns cold, then scorches hot. Unsure what other choice I have, I opened the door and step back, motioning her to come in. All the while, I'm terrified inside, worried about what she's going to think, what she's going to say, how she's going to feel about my situation. And worst of all, what is she going to tell Nathan?
This encounter might be all it takes to end the deal between Nathan and I because if his mother decides I'm not good enough, he'll probably agree because I've kept this secret from him and now there's no way to continue keeping it.
“What did you want to talk about?” I say, hoping somehow that this will all be easier. I feel cornered and nervous and afraid because I don't want to mess things up with Nathan. I don't want to lose what we have, not just because of the money, but because I'm curious if anything real could blossom between Nathan and I.
“I want to talk about you, dear and Nathan.”
I pull up one of the raggedy old chairs that came with the place and sit down in the desk chair. I'm very aware of my messy bed, the things I'd left strewn about the fact that I hadn't cleaned before anyone came over. Thankfully, I don't have enough stuff that the place is a wreck, but it's still not as clean as I'd like it to be for company. Never mind the fact that I'd never want company in this dump.
“Please excuse the mess,” I say. If my heart beats any harder, it might bash its way out of my chest like a sledgehammer through a brick wall.
“I'm not interested in any of that,” she says, her kind, bright eyes on me as she takes in my face, my features, my figure, as if trying to understand me better or pinpoint what her son sees in me. “You know who my son is, which means it'll be no surprise to you that I dug into your past to try to figure out who you are.”
I'm glad I'm sitting, because if I had been standing, I probably would have fallen down or fainted. As terrifying as my ex may be, I can't help but feel like Nathan’s mother is even more dangerous.
Chapter Fifteen
Nathan
I glance up from my computer as my brother bursts into my office.
“I guess I have time to talk now,” I say sarcastically before he can start talking.
He makes a marking face at me before sitting down in the chair across from me. But he can't contain the nervous energy flowing out of him, and he jumps out of the chair, walks around it, puts his hands on the heavy wooden back and leans in like he's got some secret to tell me.
I turn off my screen and face him. “Alright, you have my full attention. What has you in here like an excited Golden retriever?”
“Hear me out,” he says.
