AllFreeNovel
Share Us
If he wouldn’t have fucked with my face, I would ask him. For now, I get in my car and drive away because the time for answers is apparently not today.
And that’s my first real introduction to the family I never knew.
I suspect that if I did call the police, Robert would know before they approached his house, and he’d have a way of quickly disposing of the evidence. Then he’d come gunning for me.
That’s not why I plan to keep my mouth shut, though. I’m intrigued. I want to meet the rest of my family.
Everything I saw today felt sickeningly right, and the twisting tension that usually clamps on my heart and squeezes still hasn’t returned. I look forward to the future for the first time in a very long time.
I’m a monster.
CHAPTER9
Camille
When I get homefrom work, an enormous bouquet of pink peonies in a blue vase sits on the doorstep. Peonies, my favorite flower. Pink, my favorite color. Landon made it a point to find that out very early in our relationship. That’s the kind of guy he is.
I’m sorry. You’re right, the note attached to it says.I promise I will not call your mother again. Forgive me?
I carry the vase inside the house and turn off the alarm.
It’s a sweet gesture, but I still feel the sourness of his betrayal burning inside me like acid. He called my mother and told on me like I was a naughty child even though I’ve begged him to leave her out of our relationship.
He respected my wishes not calling me back yesterday or today, so there’s that. My mother tried to call me eleven times, but she didn’t leave a single message.
I know I’m going to forgive him eventually, but I’m not going to call him for a couple more days. I need to let him know I’m serious.
I set the vase on the kitchen counter and put my purse next to it. Goose bumps pebble my arms even though it’s warm inside my house. I feel as if I’m walking through a storm of static electricity.
Why am I so on edge?
I have a strange sense of uneasiness, and with every step I take, it intensifies.
There can’t be anyone in the house. They would have triggered the alarm. Still, the tiny hairs on my arm stand on end as I walk from room to room just to reassure myself. My heart is thudding. Nothing is out of place. Windows closed and locked, blinds down, curtains drawn.
I get to my bedroom upstairs, and when I walk in, I immediately notice that my phone charger is gone from the nightstand by my bed. A wave of cold sweeps over me. I never move the phone charger; why would I?
Did Landon take my charger? It was there when I left this morning.
I’m really starting to worry as bile rises up the back of my throat.
It’s happened several times lately. Little things missing, things moved around. I’m a neat freak. I put things in the places where I’m going to use them, and I always notice.
Dare I even ask myself—is Landon gaslighting me? Trying to make me question my own sanity?
No. That’s ridiculous. He loves me. He would never.
My mother, on the other hand…
Suddenly, I hear footsteps thudding downstairs in the living room below me, and I go faint with terror, freezing where I stand. I should have a gun at my bedside. Why didn’t I get one after the burglary? Why am I such an idiot? My mind works overtime to overrun me with dread.
Am I going to be raped, murdered? What kind of burglar breaks into a house at six o’clock at night? The kind who wants the homeowner to be home. Or were they here all along, hiding in a closet, waiting for me? Messing with my head?
My cell phone is downstairs in my purse, and I curse myself for being so stupid.
Something crashes downstairs, and I hear shattering glass.
I stifle a cry. Oh God, oh no, I made a noise. Did the burglar hear me? I hurry to the door, shut and lock it very quietly, but the lock is just the small lock in the doorknob. Anybody could kick that open.
