"He's been after me for months, trying, persistently asking me out on dates. I've declined each offer. These started appearing a few weeks ago. Sometimes, just the notes alone, but at least three times a week, he leaves something somewhere."
"How did they get inside of the house? Would Izzy bring these inside? Where else do you find things left for you? Have you reported this?"
She shakes her head as her eyes drop. "Izzy knows how much finding these freaks me out; she wouldn't have brought them in. I've found them inside my car before. On my porch. In my locker at work, and now apparently inside of my fucking house." The frustration is pouring out of her as her hands ball into fists by her side, and I can see her visibly shudder.
"I haven't reported anything yet. I'm hoping it just stops if I ignore it." Her voice is low, and she sounds defeated.
I inhale a deep breath to calm myself and the storm brewing inside me before I speak. My anger isn't with her, and I don't want her to think it is.
"Have you told him to stop?"
Another shake of her head.
"I... I honestly don't feel comfortable talking to him about it. He creeps me out, and I have to work with the guy. I don't want to make it even more uncomfortable." She looks almost defeated as she speaks. Her body language tells me that receiving these things creeps her out.
I walk over to her, cupping her face in my hands as I angle her head, forcing her eyes to meet mine.
"This is considered stalking. Do you realize that? Rosie, this isn't okay. Especially with it making you this uncomfortable." I press a kiss on her forehead. "If you don't handle and report it,at least at work, I will handle it myself. I can promise you that fucker will much prefer that you handle it than I do."
"Simmer down, big guy. I'll take care of it, " she says with a soft smile as she leans into my touch.
After checking her house thoroughly and assuring all of her locks were working correctly, I relunctantly left. Via assured me that she was okay and would handle this with her administrators as soon as she goes to work. She should be reporting it to the damn police, but she is so stubborn and headstrong.
If this doesn't get settled, I'll gladly handle it myself.
Instead of returning to the beach house, I drove to Mississippi to visit my parents for the night. With the way I work, I don't get to see all of my family as often as I'd like to. My work schedule is pretty busy. I work rotations, so I work for two weeks straight with no days off, and then I'm off for two weeks in a row. It isn't easy, and doing the same line of work as my dad, which has always made him miserable, isn't exactly what I wanted for my life. I've made it work for now.
Typically, I've stayed home at the beach house for the two weeks I'm off. I didn't want to tell Via because it would break her, but the last owners did a number to it. A storm a few years back damaged it significantly, and they didn't put in the necessary repairs to fix it, causing more long-term damage. So, a lot of my time off has gone into repairs. It's been a fucking headache, honestly, but it's paid off. It finally feels like the house I remembered it to be. It feels like my home now.
It's a little after nine-thirty at night when my tires meet the crunch of the lone gravel road leading to my family's expansive ranch. I call my mom on my way here to let her know I'm coming by. I can feel her excitement through the phone.
As I pull up to the main house, I see everyone's vehicles parked out front, and I can't help but chuckle. My brother Jettson and sister Abbigail still live on the property. Abbie is only eighteen and in high school, due to graduate next May. Jett has his own home on the back of the acreage.
As I hop out of my truck, I see the front door swing open, and Abbie comes out waving.
"Well, look what the wind blew in," She hollers at me off the porch with a laugh, and I can't help but return it.
"What can I say, sis? I've missed you!"
With that, she hops off the porch and runs to hug me. It's only been about three months since I've seen them all, but we've always been incredibly close, so three months is a long time. My phone calls have also been less frequent, and I sense they've been worried about me. Well, I know they have. They've told me multiple times. I'm not too fond of it. There's nothing to worry about.
They thought I lost my mind when I bought the beach house, especially with its condition. They didn't understand, and I couldn't get them to. Well, I didn't try that hard, but it wasn't for anyone else to understand. Was it ridiculous? Probably so, but I didn't give a shit, and I still really don't. Especiallynow.
"I'm just glad you finally made it, Mom wouldn't let us leave until you got here, and I'm fucking tired," Abbie says with a laugh mixed in with a yawn.
I shake my head, "Go get some sleep, sis; I'll be here tomorrow to see you."
"And miss mom's face when she sees her precious middle child, hell no!" She jokes as she gives me a light shove.
Before we reach the front porch steps, the door swings open again, and Jett steps out.
"Well, hey, fucker!" He screams. This family of mine sure knows how to greet someone. Damn.
"Hey, asshole!" I respond as I take him in for a hug.
"Anderson Anthony Cole!" My mother's voice calls from inside the house and grows closer. Jett and Abbie throw eachother look as Abbie mumbles under her breath, teasingly, "Momma's boy". We all share a laugh. I make it one step in the house. I'm smothered by a giant hug from my mom, and over her shoulder, I notice my dad behind her with his arms crossed and laughing.
"Son, don't stay away that long again, okay?" She says as she lets me out of her grasp and reaches up to plant a kiss on my cheek.
