“Is it weird I got used to it?” I crinkle my nose and think maybe I need to shower too.
“This is what happens when we leave, Jaxon. They let themselves go,” Quinn shakes her head with disappointment.
“Yeah, they obviously watch TV without remembering the promises they made.”
Sebastian deadpans me and mouths ‘diva’.
“I saw that, Sebastian! I’m going to take it out of your pay,” Jaxon says, nowhere near the camera for him to see what Sebastian did.
“What the fuck?” Sebastian awes, wondering how Jaxon had that talent.
I pat his leg and yawn. “Okay, I’m going to get off here and get things cleaned up. We won’t watch Pretty Little Liars anymore.” We would; we just wouldn’t tell Jaxon about it.
“Baby.” Sebastian is distraught, staring at me like I backstabbed him, and he slinks his way to the bathroom.
“I don’t know how I’ve managed to get all the guys mad at me for a show I didn’t even think they would like, but here I am, wondering how the hell that happened.”
Quinn chuckles. “I’ll talk to you later. I must go console Jaxon. These guys, they might act all big and badass, but they are softies at heart.”
Yeah, that I agree with her on. “Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Byeeee,” Quinn sings before she hangs up.
I hear the shower going, so I toss the phone on the bed and get up, strip, and then crack a window because it smells like a bunch of boys in here.
“Crap, I wanted to get us shower beers,” I say. Shower beers are the best. If someone disagrees, they could try to argue to change my mind. I snag my robe off the hanger and silently tiptoe out the door, then down the hallway to the kitchen.
The Cliff House is completely different when the guys aren’t in the living room or game room. It is quiet. Why we were in Sebastian room instead of the living room has me scratching my head. There is way more room out here. I pad my way over to the fridge and open the door, grabbing two beers.
The hairs on my arms stand and I feel something behind me. My gut screams at me to turn around or get the hell out of there. I breathe swiftly and hold on tight to the bottle neck to use it as a weapon. It could just be the cold from the fridge or my paranoia, but I doubt it. I spin around and swing the bottle without thinking.
All I hit is air.
I don’t say ‘hello’ or ask ‘who is there’ because I’ve seen enough scary movies to know that the character who says shit like that gets killed, chased, or tortured.
I’d prefer to have none of those things happen to me.
I double check the sliding glass door and find it locked, and I peer out the glass to see if anyone is watching.
The infinity pool crowds by vision along with thick fog. It is eerie, how still it is outside. I expect something to run through the fog and slam against the glass, or someone pleading for help, but no, just silence. I can’t even hear the regular caw of seagulls today.
“It’s all in my head. You’re safe,” I tell myself. I turn around, but something catches the corner of my eye. I bend down and see wet, sandy footprints on the other side of the door. “It’s in your head. It’s in your head. He can’t get you here.” I shut my eyes and chant to myself a hundred times, but no matter how many times it is on repeat, I don’t believe it. I know Kendrick could get me anywhere I am if he really wants me.
He is the kind of man who never goes without resource.
“It could just be one of the guys,” I chalk it up to them, but a voice in the back of my head tells me otherwise.
Someone is here.
Someone is watching me.
And I’d bet anything it is Kendrick.
I slowly take a step back, then another, then another, and then I run down the hall to Sebastian's room. I have the beers in my hand and every time I pumped my arms, I shook the bottles. When I get to his door, I slide to a stop and fumble with the handle.
Once I am inside, I shut it with so much force the floor shakes beneath my feet. For good measure, I lock it. I try to catch my breath. I inhale the soap Sebastian uses a
nd think about how much fun we were having with Owen, Grayson, and Heaven. I think about how mad Jaxon got with watching a TV show without him, and I think about Quinn and the babies. I am so happy they are okay.