“Alright, fine. Just be back before dark. Your dad should be home soon,” she says, lifting her glass of wine to her lips and taking a drink.
“Yay!” Landon shouts and runs out of the kitchen with Darian slowly moving behind him rolling his eyes, as all big brothers being tasked with watching their little brothers would do.
Shayna and I watch as they leave and then look at one another. We both burst out laughing at the same time. The two brothers get along pretty well being so far apart in age, but not when they are forced to spend a lot of time together.
A vibrating noise catches both our attention, we look towards the other counter where Shayna’s phone is laying. She walks over and picks it up and looks at the screen. A smile forms on her lips as she sits her glass of wine down so she can type out a reply with both hands. As her fingers fly, she glances up at me with a devious smile.
“Cam should be here soon,” she says.
Looking down at my watch I notice it’s still early for him. He must have left a little early today.
“Let me go call Matthew back really quick. It’s Friday and he may try to get out early too,” I say, standing grabbing my phone from the island counter. Shayna just nods and turns towards the stove as she continues texting her husband.
Pressing the call button to return his call, I lift the phone to my ear as I sit down on the couch.
“This is Matthew Whitfield,” I hear his deep voice say.
“Hey Matthew. It’s Lexi. Sorry I missed–” I start but he interrupts me.
“Lexi. Are you okay?” he asks, sounding a bit frazzled. This makes me sit up immediately and my nerves are on full alert.
“Ummm. Yeah, why?” I ask.
Hearing him release a deep breath, I hear noise in the background sounding like he’s shutting his office door, then the creak of his chair once again.
“Fuck, Lexi. We had to hire a new receptionist this week. Dayna left on maternity leave. And we didn’t even think Jason would–” he starts but hesitates.
“What’s going on Matthew? Jason would what?” I ask, my voice shaking with my rising panic.
“I came back from lunch and found him chatting up the new receptionist. After I told him to leave, she told me that he had been asking where you were now stationed telling her that he’s your brother. I’m so sorry, Lexi,” he says. My heart stops and mymind immediately goes back to the store this morning. I’m in full panic mode now. My breath quickens and my head starts to swim. I stand quickly, and my breaths are coming out in pants, and I have to sit down again.
There is buzzing in my ears and I can’t hear anything but the blood rushing and I see little white spots before my eyes. Until I feel a drip of water hit the hand that is in my lap, do I realize I’m crying.
“Lexi… are you okay, Lexi?” I finally hear Matthew say through the haze that is my full blown panic attack.
“Oh… Um… no. I thought I saw him but then said it couldn’t be. But now I’m not so sure,” I say, shaking my head slightly.
“I’m so sorry, Lex. This is my fault. I should have informed the new receptionist, but I didn’t think he would try again after knowing you left,” Matthew says, sounding resigned and upset.
“Yeah, it’s okay Matthew. I gotta… I, uh, I gotta go. I will call you later,” I say and before he can reply I’m pressing the red disconnect button. I sit there for a moment longer before I leap into action. I’m walking quickly to my room and throw my bag on the bed. I start throwing my clothes into an open duffle haphazardly. I need to get out of here. It won’t be long before he shows up here too.
From inside the closet, I hear Shayna walking down the hallway. The door creaks open, and I come out of the closet with my arms full of my shirts.
“What’s going on, Lex?” Shayna asks confused, staring between my bag and me.
“He knows. Jason knows where I am. I gotta go,” I say, shoving the shirts inside the bag.
“What? Wait… what do you mean?” she asks, moving closer and grabbing my arm, pulling me to a stop as I try to go grab more clothes. “Stop and talk to me. What the fuck is going on, Lexi?”
“He got the information from a new receptionist. He knows where I am. I think that was him this morning. He’s going to show up here next. I know it. I– I just need to leave,” I say and try to pull away from her as I feel the tears start to flow now.
She pulls me to a stop grabbing both my upper arms. Her strength is crazy for as small as she is. “Look at me,” she says and comes to a stop. Tilting my head to look up at the ceiling, I release a stressed breath. “Look at me,” she says again, this time cupping my cheeks and pulling my face down to look at her.
“You’re safe here, I promise. He’s not going to get to you here. He won’t do anything with us here. And our neighbor down the street is a sheriff’s deputy. We won’t let anything happen to you,” she says the last sentence quietly.
Pulling me to the bed, we both sit down. I lean forward with my elbows on my knees and my face in my hands, I begin to really cry.
“I’m scared, Shay,” I say in my hands. I look up and directly in her eyes. “I’m scared for me. I'm scared for you, Cam and the boys. You really don’t know what he’s capable of.”
