by Zizi Cole
She gave me a watery grin, “They have lunch in the diner every day. I hear things that I shouldn’t all the time. How do you think I knew you were avoiding people? I also know that Jake went by your house today.”
“Oh. Nothing happened with Jake. We sat on the porch.” I blushed.
“I know. He told me.” The smile faded. “Are you okay, Lex? I’m scared for you. I also have a bad feeling.”
I nodded. I had a bad feeling as well.
4
I pulled up to the house and turned off my car. I sat there staring at the house from the driveway. I studied the antebellum-style house with its wraparound porch. It was so big and lonely, I felt empty inside looking at it. When I was growing up we had family over all the time and it seemed to be such a happy place. I had never thought about how big the house was until I was alone in it. I wondered why my parents had bought such a big house for just the three of us. I knew that Daddy had purchased the house shortly after he and Momma got married. Maybe they planned on having a bunch of kids. They ended up only having one. I continued to stare at the house and think about what kind of plans my parents had. I knew that when I moved back into the house, it changed some of their plans, but they had been more than happy to welcome me home.
I decided I needed to start parking in the garage. There was enough room to park my car. I also needed to decide what I was going to do with all of their stuff. Everything in the house had been left to me. I’d inherited everything including the multiple bank accounts my parents had. I was also the sole beneficiary of my parents’ life insurance policies. I wouldn’t have to work again if I didn’t choose to. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t. Regardless, I had plenty of time to determine what to do with all of their stuff.
I got out of the car and went into the house. I turned the lamp on beside the door as I walked in and heading into the living room. I settled into an oversized white chair, kicking my shoes off. I pushed my shoes partially under the chair knowing that I was probably going to wonder what the hell I did with them later. I set my cell phone down on the table and picked up the television remote. I turned the TV on and started flipping through the channels. I settled on a comedy and pulled a blanket off the back of the chair and covered up. I took my hair down and snuggled into the chair. I wasn’t sure how long I was sitting like that before my cell phone went off. I glanced toward it. It wasn’t often my phone went off anymore. I knew by the tone that it had been a text. I considered ignoring it but I figured if it was Mia, she would keep messaging me until I answered. I picked up my phone and glanced at the screen. It was Jake.
Saw ya leave Dr. office. U ok?
I smiled at the text. I hadn’t seen him when I left the office, but that didn’t surprise me. Jake had probably been on the other end of the street.
Eh. I guess. Been a long day. I answered truthfully.
Want company?
Not really. Thanks.
U sure? Can bring beer…
When I read the last text, I smiled. Jake knew I didn’t like beer so the beer was probably for him. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see anyone. Especially after everything Mia told me that evening over dinner. Was she really psychic? Was I truly innocent or was I really a monster inside? I was getting ready to tell him I was sure when I heard a loud crash in the kitchen. I screamed and jumped up. I looked towards the kitchen but it was pitch black in there. I was too scared to go see what had happened. So I texted Jake back instead.
Come on over. Front door open. Hurry.
I grabbed the baseball bat that I had stashed under the couch and turned the chair so I was facing the kitchen. No one was going to sneak up on me. I hadn’t taken my eyes off of the kitchen doorway when I heard Jake’s truck pull up. He had only taken a couple of minutes to get here. I heard another noise in the kitchen just a few seconds before the front door opened and Jake ran in.
“What’s wrong, darlin’?” he asked, his eyes following my gaze towards the kitchen. “Got here as fast as I could.”
“I think there’s something in there,” I whispered.
Jake took the bat out of my hands and headed towards the kitchen. He disappeared into the darkness and I held my breath. I heard him swear and saw the lights turn on. He walked back into the living room and set the bat down.
“There’s nothing there, but looks like some kind of critter got in there. The vase from the table was knocked off and broken. There’s broken glass everywhere. Did you happen to leave a window open?” he asked.
“No. I’ve kept the central air on and everything locked up tight. And I didn’t see any animals come out. I’ve been watching the door since I heard the crash and nothing has even gone past the doorway. Are you sure there wasn’t an animal or something in the kitchen still? Did you check the pantry?” I asked, even though my eyes never strayed from the kitchen doorway.
Jake raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I’m sure. I looked everywhere before I came back in here. That’s odd. I’ll go clean it up, then bring in the beer.”
I nodded at him and watched him walk into the kitchen. He moved around the kitchen like he did when we were younger. He remembered where everything was. It made me smile a little. Jake hadn’t been here in ten years and still acted like he was at home here. Jake finished cleaning up the mess in the kitchen and headed towards the front door. He smiled and winked at me as he walked past. I pulled the blanket up to my chin after he walked out the door.
When Jake came back in, he held a case of beer and a box of pizza. He set the pizza on the coffee table and the beer on the floor, half under the table so it was out of the way. He lifted up the lid and the wonderful aroma of Hawaiian pizza drifted to my nose. My mouth started watering. I hadn’t eaten very much at Mia’s house so the pizza looked amazing. Jake handed me a piece along with a napkin. With the first bite, I moaned. It was pure ecstasy.
“You sound like you’re enjoying it,” Jake grinned. “I remember when you would make that noise for me.”
I about choked on my pizza. He handed me a bottle of water. The man thought of everything. He was still grinning once I stopped coughing. I shook my head and took a long drink of the water. I wasn’t quite sure how to respond, but I could feel the blush rising on my cheeks. “That was a long time ago.”
Jake smiled broader. “It could happen again. You never know.”
I scoffed, “Yeah right. How would your girlfriend or wife feel about that?”
“Oh, she wouldn’t mind too much,” Jake replied.
I looked at him sharply. I didn’t know if he was married or not, but he surely had a girlfriend. A man with his looks didn’t stay single for long. I figured that I probably should change the subject before things got too intense.
“Jake, how did you get here so fast? You only took a couple of minutes from the time that I texted you.” I wondered. When I thought about it, it didn’t take him any time whatsoever to get to the house. I lived far enough out of town that it should have taken him a good fifteen minutes to get to me.
He shrugged. “I was just down the street. Figured you wanted company and was just being difficult, darlin’.”
“Thank you, Jake. Really. I mean it. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t have shown up. I know there was nothing there, but honestly, after everything that’s happened, I was too scared to look. To move, actually,” I confessed. It was nice to have someone else in the house with me.
“Honestly, Lex, I’m shocked you’re staying here by yourself anyway.”
It was my turn to shrug. “The police said it was clear, I have a security company coming tomorrow to set up a new security system, and where else am I going to stay? I mean yes, Mia would let me stay with her, but she doesn’t need me moping around her house all the time. And it feels wrong not staying at the house and having it empty.”
“Makes sense. You should have had the security system installed as soon as you were allowed back in the house, Lex. You really need that if you’re going to be staying here. I’m worried
about you being alone all the way out here especially if a broken vase is going to scare you that badly. When I walked in, Lex, my heart about stopped. You looked so scared in that chair with that bat. You should never have to feel that scared. I don’t want you scared unless we’re watching a scary movie together or at a haunted house.” Jake paused to open a beer and take a long drink. “But we’ll worry about all that tomorrow. Tonight we are gonna chill and watch a movie. Just like old times. Now get over here on this couch with me. We can watch a comedy or something. Nothing scary or sad. I don’t like seeing the shadows in and under your eyes.”
I moved over to the couch beside him and curled up into his side. We settled on a comedy that I had seen a hundred times. As we sat there, it felt like when we were teenagers. I thought back to when we were younger. Jake had been the captain of the football team, and I had been the captain of the cheerleading squad. When he’d asked me out freshman year, I was ecstatic. He was the guy every girl wanted. He had wanted me. We had dated all through high school and we’d had the perfect relationship. We’d argued (who didn’t) but it was never anything major. Everyone thought that we were going to be together forever and have our happily ever after. Then I had gotten accepted to New York State and he had gotten the football scholarship at UCLA. I hadn’t been willing to change my dreams to go to California and I hadn’t wanted to stay here. Jake had been willing to follow me, but I hadn’t let him. So that was why we’d gone our separate ways. I remembered seeing the hurt in his eyes as I told him that I was going and I didn’t want him to come with me.
I looked up at him. I felt horrible about how things had happened, and how it had ended. I also felt like he needed to know the truth about what happened then. But that was another secret that I didn’t think he should know. I studied his profile. He had a strong jaw and long eyelashes. He had always reminded me of a Greek God reincarnated. “Jake, I’m sorry for everything.”
He glanced down at me, confused. “Sorry for what, darlin’?”
“Leaving, not letting you come with me, not going with you, being a major bitch. Everything,” I explained.
“Oh,” Jake said. He acted like he was going to leave it at that. Then he added, “Don’t worry about the past, darlin’. Just focus on the future.”
I smiled. Typical Jake. He was perfect in every way and always had been. He wouldn’t let anything keep him down and he was so forgiving, I knew I didn’t deserve him. How had I let him go? Now he acted like no time had passed and things were the same as they always had been. I should probably discuss that with him and remind him that we weren’t together even though I was sure he was already well aware of that. But for tonight, I was going to enjoy being comforted and held. It had been a long time since I had felt like this. I hadn’t felt completely safe since before I left New York to come back home. Even half the country away, I still didn’t feel completely safe. It had been too easy coming home. I snuggled closer to Jake and wrapped my arms around him. He was completely solid under his shirt. I doubted there was an ounce of fat on his flat stomach. I took a deep breath and could smell his cologne, which was the same musky, all male scent he had in high school. I could feel myself drifting off and tried to keep my eyes open. They slowly drooped closed.
***
I woke up to the smell of bacon frying. I sat up and looked around the room. It was daylight and the pizza box was gone. I noticed there was a pair of men’s tennis shoes on the floor by the couch, which that meant Jake was still here. I looked at the clock. It was seven in the morning. This had been the longest I had slept in quite some time. I got up and walked into the kitchen. Jake was in there with his back to me, frying bacon on the stove. Before I had managed to make my presence known, Jake spoke. “Go ahead and sit at the island. I’ll bring your coffee to you, darlin’.”
I walked over to the island and sat down. He set a cup of coffee in front of me, then slid me the sugar bowl and the little ceramic creamer pitcher. He knew that I was picky about my coffee. I doctored my coffee before speaking.
“You stayed the night? You didn’t have to do that, you know. You also didn’t have to fix breakfast. But, thank you.” I sipped my coffee. He still made wonderful coffee.
He leant on the island and smiled at me. “You’re welcome. Honestly, Lex, I couldn’t have left if I wanted to. You had a death grip on me all night. You were sleepin’ so peacefully I didn’t wanna disturb you. I got the feeling you don’t sleep like that often these days.”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t. I haven’t slept all night in a month. I have nightmares.”
What was my deal opening up to people like this? I shouldn’t have admitted that I was having nightmares. He didn’t know everything either. I needed to be more careful with what I said to everyone from now on.
“I’m not surprised you’re having nightmares, darlin’. You’ve been through something horrible. It would surprise me if you weren’t having nightmares.”
I decided that it was time to change the subject. “I heard that your dad had taken over the farm again, so what do you do now?”
I watched Jake tense. I was surprised. He was always so open. I also wasn’t sure why his occupation would cause such a reaction. He turned and went back to the bacon before it burned. He waited so long to answer I wasn’t sure that he was going to.
“Well, darlin’, I still help my dad with the farm. I just do a little of this and a little of that in my free time,” he answered. He sounded like he was avoiding the subject, but if he didn’t want to tell me, I wasn’t going to make him.
“I’m going to run upstairs and get dressed and brush my teeth. I need to freshen up since, apparently, we slept on the couch.” I got up and headed up the stairs.
When I got to my bedroom door, I noticed it was slightly ajar. I knew that I had shut my door firmly when I had left yesterday to head into town. I cautiously walked into the room. Nothing seemed out of place, yet I had the feeling that everything was off somehow. I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth. When I came out, I changed my clothes. I turned to the bed and noticed a rose sitting on my pillow. I walked over and gently picked it up, pricking my finger on a thorn. I put my finger in my mouth and looked at the rose. It was deep red and absolutely beautiful. Jake must have left it for me, but I would’ve thought that he would’ve made sure to remove the thorns. I turned with the rose in my hand and saw a vase of roses sitting on my vanity. There was a card tucked into the roses. I walked over to the vanity and reached for the card with shaking hands. My stomach dropped and I had a feeling of impending doom come over me. I pulled the card out and opened it.
The card read: SWEETHEART, SOON.
I dropped the card and watched it hit the floor.
5
I rushed out of the room and down the stairs. Jake was still in the kitchen. He was making eggs and hash browns now. I stopped in the doorway, trying to catch my breath. Jake turned around, took one look at my face, and froze.
“What’s wrong, Lex? You have absolutely no color in your face.” Jake studied me. “I would actually go so far as to say you look spooked.”
“Were you in my room?” I asked seriously.
“No, ma’am, I wasn’t. Why?”
I felt light headed. This couldn’t be happening. I thought I had gotten out of there. I thought I would be safe back at home. Maybe I should pack up and leave. He would probably still be able to find me then, too. I was beginning to think that I would never be safe again.
Jake walked over to me and guided me to a chair. “Alexandrea. What. Is. Wrong?”
He called me Alexandrea. He never used my real name. It was always “Lex” or “darlin”. He must be seriously worried about me. I knew I had to tell him. I also knew that something had to change. I couldn’t keep going like this. I had to stand up for myself. I hated being weak.
“There are roses in my room,” I told him. “They weren’t there when I left yesterday. I know there weren’t any roses in my room yesterday. One was on
my pillow and I pricked my finger on a thorn. There was also a vase full of roses on my vanity with a card.”
He looked at the finger I was holding out to him for inspection. He then looked me in the eye. “What does the card say?”
“It says ‘Sweetheart, soon.’ That’s all that it says. No signature or anything.”
“Lex, do you know who it’s from?” he asked.
I shrugged. I wasn’t sure what to say. Michael was so far away, so realistically it couldn’t be him, but I didn’t know anyone else it could be. He was the only person that had ever called me “sweetheart.” How could I point a finger at a man all the way in New York? “My ex is the only person I can think of, Jake. Honestly, I can’t see how it could be him. He’s all the way in New York and we’re in mid-Missouri. Seems a little unrealistic, doesn’t it?”
Jake was quiet for a minute. He looked over my head like he was trying to decide what he wanted to say. He took a deep breath. “We need to call the sheriff and let him know what’s going on. He isn’t going like it. He may wanna get ahold of this guy and make sure that he’s actually still in New York.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
Jake called and talked to the sheriff on the phone. After he got off of the phone, he looked at me and smiled. “He’ll be here in a little bit with a deputy. They’ll come in and take prints. I told him about the broken vase last night. Better safe than sorry.”
Jake fixed our plates and set them on the island. We ate breakfast in silence. He kept glancing at me. I knew he was watching me pick at my food. I didn’t have an appetite after the events of the morning. I was definitely going to make sure that the new alarm system was installed soon. When we finished eating breakfast, I got up, rinsed the dishes, and loaded them in the dishwasher. I turned to wipe down the island and caught Jake smiling at me.
