I love you, Doll.
Love,
Shelley
I smile weakly at the nickname she used for me when I was little. I take another deep breath, inhaling the smell of Pine-Sol that surrounds the room, and decide to take these home with me. I can’t look through them now. Shelley’s right—it hurts too much. It only brings back memories of that night. I press the red button, and Alicia comes sauntering back in, her heels clicking loudly against the marble floor.
“Are you all finished?” she asks sweetly.
“Yes, I’m just going to take the contents with me if that’s alright,” I reply.
“Of course. You will always have this box here. If you’d like to bring anything back, you may,” she says.
I wrinkle my forehead in thought.
“Can you tell me whose name this box is under?” I ask curiously.
She blinks rapidly. “I...I’m not allowed to say. Your name appears in the paperwork though.”
I frown. “If I guess the name, will you tell me if I’m right?”
“I’m not really allowed,” she says and then adds quietly, “but you can try.”
I smile at her, and she smiles back gently. “Shelley?”
She shakes her head slowly and gives me an apologetic look. “Sorry. I’m here if you need me, Miss Brennan.”
I shake her hand, thank her, and leave the bank with some pieces of my life in my hands.
On my way home, I send Cole a text message to tell him that I miss him—because I do. I desperately want him next to me when I open these envelopes, but I also want to keep him as far away as I possibly can. I’m not going to tell him about it yet. I think I’ll give myself some time to stew over it. I know if I tell him or Aubry, they’ll open these for me. I get home, throw my keys on the kitchen counter, and notice that Aubry’s not home yet.
I go to my room, lock my door, and check the messages on the machine. The first message is from Veronica Stein at Mark’s office, asking me to call back. The second is from a rough-sounding man, saying he needs to speak to me about a plot of land. I’m both shocked and nervous when I hear this message. They have my address and my home phone number? Who are these people? I make a mental note to call Veronica on my way to work tomorrow. I need to figure out how to remove my personal information from these properties.
As I make myself a grilled cheese sandwich, I pick up a note that Aubry left me. It reads Went to pick up Aimee. Be back later. Remember—movie night. I remember him telling me that he was bringing her over to watch a movie. As I eat, I idly wonder which one they’ll choose. When I’m done eating, I pour myself a glass of red wine, turn the alarm on, and go back to my room.
I’m lathering my hair, totally relaxed from the wine I just had, when I hear my alarm go off. I hold my breath, trying—and failing—not to panic. The alarm always beeps ten counts before it goes off. If you know the code, you should be able to turn it off by then. Who the hell is in my house? My hands are shaking as I turn off the water. My eyes dart to the bathroom door. Locked, thank God. I climb out of the shower, dry myself quickly, and put on my clothes as fast as I can. I grab my cell phone from the counter and hear my house phone ring. My heart is beating so damn loud that I’m surprised I can even make out the words that the person from the alarm company is saying. I jump when my cell phone vibrates in my hand. It’s Henry, the door man.
“Hello?” I say in a hushed tone as I hold one shaky hand over my throat.
“Blake, is everything alright?” he asks concerned.
“I don’t know. I’m locked in the bathroom.”
Henry is an older gentleman, a grandfather type. He’s always looking out for us. When we first moved in, we bonded over baseball. When we got our alarm system installed, Aubry made a joke about it to Henry. Instead of making fun of me, Henry said I was a smart girl.
“I’ll send Sean right up,” he says.
Sean is a doorman in training. He’s much younger than Henry, but he seems nice and on point.
“Thanks,” I whisper. “The alarm company is calling me on the other line.”
I click over and tell the patient lady that I’m in the bathroom. She says she’s going to send the police. I don’t tell her it isn’t necessary because, truthfully, I’m not sure and I would feel safer with them here.
Even after the alarm lady shuts the alarm off so that I won’t have to, and lets me hang up with her, I continue to look at my phone every two seconds. I wonder if I should call Cole. No. I can’t do that. He’ll flip out. Maybe I should call Aubry and ask him to stay where he is just in case. Oh my God, I’m freaking the fuck out. I wonder if anybody is still in here. I wonder what they want. I wonder who it could be. I’m sitting on the toilet, and the only noise I hear is the lid rattling under me from my shaking leg. Twenty minutes go by, and I’m still locked in my bathroom, clutching on to my phone and biting on my finger nail. I’m sure Sean is outside, but he hasn’t banged on my bedroom door. I finally call Aubry and tell him what’s going on.