From somewhere inside the house, I heard Chucky yapping like he always did. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least he was there, and apparently okay. I crossed one worry off my list. Only a million more remained.
Together, Lawton and I walked around the side of the house, and then toward the back. I saw nothing out of order. No splintered wood, no broken glass. When we reached the back patio, Lawton stood beside me as I tried the doorknob. Still locked. HowhadBishop gotten in, anyway?
Next, I watched as Lawton tried all the windows within reach. All locked.
With a sigh, I had to admit the truth. "I'm not sure what to do."
"You stay here," he said. "Maybe try the back door again. I'll try the front."
"But I already tried the front," I said. It was a total waste of time. The front door had a dead-bolt the size of an oak tree, and I distinctly recalled locking it before I'd gotten into that stupid bath forever ago.
"Yeah, but I haven't," Lawton said. "Maybe the knob's stuck."
"Fine," I muttered and went to give the back door another try. I tried a couple times, with the same result as before. With a sigh, I turned to walk around the house to the front. At the midway point, I ran straight into Lawton.
"Got it," he said.
"What?"
"The front door."
I stared at him. "How?"
He shrugged. "Probably stuck, just like I said."
Somehow, I was having a hard time believing that.
He glanced toward his car. "Well, I guess that's it."
"I guess."
He gave me a long look as if waiting for something more.
When I said nothing else, he said, "Alright. See ya around," and slowly turned away.
As I watched him walk to his car and get inside, my insides churned. When the engine roared to life, my heart ached. I didn't want him to go. But I didn't want him to stay. I had no idea what I wanted, but this definitely wasn't it.
Still, I needed some serious time to think. Until then, I knew what I had to do.
Nothing.
So I made my way to the Parkers' front door and twisted the knob. It opened on the first try. With a final glance over my shoulder, I opened the door, walked inside, and locked it behind me.
Then, and only then, did I hear Lawton pull out of the long driveway.
Inside, nothing was gone, broken, or out of place, and that included Chucky. My purse was exactly where I'd left it, with nothing missing. That should've made me feel better, but somehow it didn't. And even with Chucky sleeping at the foot of the bed, that night, I felt more alone than I had in a long, long time.
Chapter 29
"You didn't," Grandma said.
I buried my face in my hands. "I did."
"Fuck off?" She grinned. "Exact words? No shit?"
Lifting my head, I nodded.
It was mid-morning, and it had been only a few hours since I'd argued with Lawton. But I wasn't ready to discuss that particular fiasco. Instead, I focused on the fiasco with my job, or rather my former job, given the way everything looked.
