“I'm so sorry you had to get such bad news late at night,” she said. “But you see why we had to tell you. I mean, like Carl said, I don't think there's any chance that psycho creep will find you, but yeah, just be careful, okay?”
“I will. Believe me, girl, I do not want that psychotic maniac within a hundred miles of me.”
“Well... that makes two of us. I hate to drop this on you and run, Viv, but 5 a.m. comes much too early. Have a good night, and try not to worry too much okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll try. You too.”
I cut off the call and shut down my computer – and as I did it, I noticed that my hands were trembling.
“Calm down, calm down; he can't find you, he can't find you,” I muttered to myself, doing my best to stay calm.
I sat down on the floor, intending to do the meditation and breathing exercises that would quiet me down, and as I got into it, it started working – I did being to feel calmer.
And that was when a loud, sudden banging on my front door blasted icy fear right back into my heart.
Chapter Four
Everett
I stepped inside my new house, holding Jane as carefully and stable as I could with one arm while I closed the door behind me with my other. Thankfully, she didn't wake up. I tucked her in carefully, made sure she was still sleeping soundly, and then tiptoed out and turned off the light.
I could finally relax after what had been a very busy and eventful day.
The house was still in a mess, full of empty, half-unpacked, and still-unpacked boxes, but I was too tired to do anything about it at this hour.
One item I had unpacked already was my bottle of single malt whiskey, which I now got out. I poured myself a glass on the rocks and then headed out to my porch.
I kept the porch light off as I sat down on a deck chair. It was nice to simply relax in the cool air of the evening, with the light from the street lamps providing subtle illumination. They weren't quite as bright or harsh as they were on the sidewalk. Up above, the sky was clear, sprinkled with a few stars and a crescent moon. All in all, it had been a good day. I knew I was going to be in for quite a challenge at JFK High, but I put that to the back of my mind and instead just focused on the present.
I couldn't help but stare across the street at Vivienne's house. One of her lights was still on, so I guessed she was still up. I got out my phone and was almost tempted to start a chat with her, but in the end, I decided not to. I wasn't sure yet what my own intentions were with that idea so she’d sure be wondering.
I was strongly attracted to her, that was for sure, and I could tell that at least some of that feeling was reciprocal, but I also sensed she was being guarded about something, and was holding onto something – perhaps many things.
Of course, it wasn't as if I didn't have my own secrets, things I was holding back from everyone I'd met in this town. There were things about my past that they didn't need to know. Hell, that I didn't want to think about anymore.
I swallowed a mouthful of whiskey, upset that my thoughts were wandering into this territory. This was supposed to have been a relaxing time on the porch, not a trip into the hell that my memory lane strolled through.
The whiskey calmed me down, though, and my thoughts returned to the present. I looked across at her house one more time, knocked back another swallow of whiskey, and then simply smiled to myself, enjoying the summer evening.
***
I woke up bright and early the next morning, at five am sharp, as I always did, and got ready for my seven-mile “jog” – it was seven miles on the treadmill in the gym I'd set up in the spare room. I didn't want to be far away from Jane. Obviously, I would have preferred to be outdoors, running on the streets and through parks with other joggers, but my lil' sweet pea was my first priority.
I did my warm ups, plugged in my iPad with a good, rockin' playlist to get me revved up, and then started jogging. After I had completed my seven miles, I had a good hard session on my boxing bag, practicing a variety of punches, kicks, and combos, and by the end of it, I was spent. I had a protein shake and then tiptoed past Jane's room. It was only six thirty now, and I didn't want to wake her up.
After a hot shower, though, it was closer to seven, so I woke her up so that we could have breakfast together.
“Am I gonna see Vivienne today again?” she asked. “I like Vivienne.”
I chuckled.
“Not today, sweet pea. But I'm happy you like her. Do you wanna tell daddy why you like her so much?”
“She's looks like Elsa. And she's nice! And she reads good stories to me. She read me Goldilocks and the Three Bears last night. I don't remember most of it, though. But I liked it! I wanna go back to Vivienne's house and listen to Goldilocks and the Three Bears again!”
I ruffled her hair playfully.
“Well, I'll ask Vivienne if she wouldn't mind reading you that story again sometime, but she's busy ya know.”