AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Archer… Arch.” She shook my shoulder. “Is that the house alarm?”
Her words were like a slap to the face.
“Yes,” I whispered, jumping out of bed, pulling on my joggers.
“Stay here. Do you hear me? Do not follow me, Nee.”
“But—”
“No buts. This is my house, and I will not let you get hurt because of me. Call the police.”
She bit her lip nervously. “Okay. Be careful, please.”
“Lock the bedroom door. And then hide in the bathroom.”
She moved to follow me to the door, and I pressed a kiss to her forehead before I crept down the two flights of stairs to the ground floor. While the house was in darkness, the broken glass on the floor was clear to see, but what was worse was the open front door. Someone had obviously gotten past the security gates, smashed the stained glass, leaned their hand through, and opened the door.
Fuck. I’m going to get my ass kicked for sending my bodyguards home, promising them I wouldn’t leave the house tonight.
Searching around in the darkness, listening for any noises, I stood in something wet, then I heard a whimper. It didn’t sound like a psycho criminal; it sounded like a woman… a scared woman.
I flicked on a couple of side lights so I could see what was going on. The light illuminated a trail of blood from the front door to my living room, which was what I’d stood in.
I followed the trail, not sure what I’d find, but when I stepped into the room, the air vanished and I struggled to catch my breath.
“Mum?”
My mum stood in front of me, her right arm ripped to shreds, blood pouring from her wounds. Her face was pale, her eyes wide. She looked terrified.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
“It’s me, Mum. Archer.”
“Don’t say that. That’s my son’s name. You’re not him,” she yelled, and then her face softened. “He’s at school right now. He’s going to be a doctor, you know. He’s clever enough.”
Tears welled in her eyes.
“I think I used to live here. Did I live here?”
I took a tiny step toward her, holding out my arms, terrified she was going to faint or worse, try to run. “You’ve really hurt yourself. Do you want to sit down?” I asked, quietly.
“No,” she cried. “I just wanted to go home. Is this home?”
I offered her a nod. “How did you get here?”
“I walked. I walk everywhere, you know. My kids hate it, but it’s good for them.”
I smiled at the memory because we had hated it. When I learned to drive at seventeen, my sisters thought all their Christmases has come at once and I became their personal taxi driver in my tiny, beat up Mini.
My brows furrowed when I realized the enormity of what she was telling me. “Mum, it’s miles. Your ankle. Your hip… how?”
“My leg hurt, but I just wanted to get home.”
“Okay,” I whispered as I closed the space between us. “You’re home. You’re safe.” My hand touched hers, but she screamed, before bursting in floods of tears.
“Do you want to go find your room?”
“Please and then can you call Archer and my girls?”
