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I nod, waving goodbye before wobbling my way to the exit. Panic rises in my chest, and I try to breathe calmly, but it’s hard when my heart is racing.
I race out the door, my head darting in every direction for any signs he’s still there, that I wasn’t seeing things.
“Emma,” I hear called, and I jump, a scream bubbling up my throat. I hold my hand over my chest when I see Mark and Levi walking hand in hand towards me. At the sight of my cousin, a sob breaks free, tears running down my face.
I watch, frozen as he and Levi share a look before racing towards me. It doesn’t take them long to reach me, and when they do, I move, falling into Mark’s chest, letting him wrap me up.
Levi pulls the umbrella over us, shielding us from the rain.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Mark asks softly.
I glance up, sniffling. “He’s here.”
He looks confused as he scans the mostly empty street. “Who?”
“Darren,” I gasp out, before falling back against his chest.
CHAPTER SIX
The second we got back, Levi steered me to my room to change into dry clothes. I opted for pyjamas, knowing I was in no fit state to leave the flat again today.
Now, I’m wrapped up in a blanket on the sofa, my knees bent to my chest. I bring my cup of tea up to my lips, wishing my hands would stop shaking. The bright side is I’m no longer having a panic attack. No, instead, I feel numb, trying to figure out if it was really Darren I saw or if my mind was playing tricks on me.
I know it was him, though. I can feel it in my bones.
I can hear Mark pacing in his room still. He’s been on the phone to a bunch of people since we got back, not wanting to take chances. After I explained everything that had happened and what I saw, they were sceptic over it. I know on some level they believe me, otherwise they wouldn’t be wasting their time phoning everyone, but I could see it in their eyes that they weren’t sure.
Levi is sitting next to me, keeping me company, worried I’ll have another panic attack.
I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have these two in my life. Mark was there as much as he could be when there was distance between us and has done more for me than I ever could have imagined since I moved here. It feels foreign to have someone care for me so deeply.
If I had told my parents what happened today, they would have told me to grow up and stop acting like a snivelling child. They wouldn’t have worried over me, or cared that it was Darren, the lad who had a hand in killing their daughter. Somehow, it’s me they blame for her death, not him. There’s no reasoning.
Someone bangs on our door, making me jump from my seat. I look over my shoulder at the door, my eyes round as fear shoots up my spine.
What if it’s him?
I feel sick.
I jump, glancing back over at Levi when he places his hand on my knee. “It’s okay, it’s only Banner. I’ll get it.”
I nod, trying to calm my racing heart, but I’m still not fully with it. I feel him get up and hear the door open but keep my eyes on my cup of tea.
Banner is next to me within a second. I glance up, feeling my eyes water. I refuse to cry any more though. I’ve cried enough.
“He won’t touch you again, I swear. And if I have anything to do with it, he won’t get near you again, either,” he grits out. I open my mouth to argue that he can’t be with me for every second of the day, but he shocks me when he lifts me up. He manages to do it with me still wrapped up in my blanket, my cup of tea in hand. He turns, gently sitting down in the seat I was sitting in, keeping me in his arms on his lap.
“I can sit over there, you know,” I tell him, pointing the end of the sofa, not sure what to do with our closeness.
He shakes his head, and he looks like he’s struggling to reign in his temper “No, I just need to hold you. When Mark called me, I kept thinking the worst. What happened? I kind of ended the call and raced over here.”
“I was at the café with Jordan. I was looking out the window and I saw him. At first, I wasn’t sure who it was as they had their hood up, but then he pulled it down and I saw him. I looked away for a split second, then he was gone.”
“And you’ve not seen him before today?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No.”
Banner nods, running his finger down my cheek before turning to Levi, who has taken up residence on the two-seater sofa. “Have you heard anything?”
