The main door led to a living room similar to Nana Wini’s. Unlike Nana’s place, no wall divided the kitchen and the living room. While I looked around, Jim mentioned he’d been the one to decorate.
In the living room, a battered sofa helped fill some of the space. A single lamp was on the floor beside the sofa. I couldn’t picture how it’d even be useful from there. A tube television sat on an old breakfast cart with wheels.
The kitchen lacked a table but did have a breakfast bar with two mismatched stools. I could eat standing up while the boys sat. A new queen-sized bed occupied the smaller bedroom, and I felt guilty that Emmitt wouldn’t even be the first one to sleep in it.
I overheard Jim tell Emmitt he’d made the master bedroom into a weight room and office. The huge grin on Jim’s face puzzled me until I saw free weights on the floor and an office chair in the corner. Nothing else.
Emmitt smirked at his brother and shook his head. They obviously shared the same sense of humor; Emmitt was just a little more reserved about it.
“We’ll get better furniture soon,” Emmitt said when he caught me watching.
“No, everything’s perfect.” And I meant it. I’d lived in a home furnished with the best money could buy and had been miserable. So what if the sofa had a few lumps, or I stood while we ate a meal. Because of Emmitt, the boys and I were together and free. I just hoped it would stay that way.
“I’ll run down and get your things,” Emmitt said pushing Jim out the door. Jim waved goodnight to the boys, who stood staring after the pair. They didn’t close the door behind them so we all heard Emmitt chase Jim down the stairs. My brothers looked up at me. They were unused to that kind of play. I shrugged. I wasn’t used to it either.
At some point during the night, I woke with a start. I lay sandwiched between Liam and Aden. Breathing quietly, I listened for what might have woken me. The apartment remained quiet.
After several minutes of silence, I tried going back to sleep, but my imagination wouldn’t let me. Every time my eyes closed, I saw Blake’s face peering through the window, his canines extended like vicious, ivory blades.
I knew I wouldn’t sleep again until I checked the apartment. Heart hammering, I untangled Aden’s fingers from my hair and crept from the bed. I was still dressed from the day before. It made me feel safe. Ready. Despite my overwhelming desire to stay, I knew I needed to limit our time here to protect these people.
My wild imagination drew me toward the window. There, I stood torn. I had to know, yet I feared what I would see. Heart thumping painfully, I slowly pushed the shade to the side. Blackness filled the window frame. I panted with relief and let the shade fall back into place.
I left the bedroom and went to check the apartment door. There was no peephole so I pressed my ear against the panel. I didn’t hear anything but that didn’t stop my imagination as I gripped the knob. Would I open it and find Blake there? Maybe David again?
A light tap on the other side of the door almost made me pee myself. A startled squeak escaped me.
“Michelle?”
I recognized Emmitt’s voice and opened the door with shaking hands. Emmitt stood barefoot, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.
His dark eyes roamed my face, and a worried frown creased his brow.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I heard someone moving around up here and wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
My stomach did its flip routine, which I ignored. “The walls are that thin?”
He shrugged. “I have good hearing and couldn’t sleep either.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I stared at him while the silence and my discomfort grew. His eyes never left mine.
“Do you want to come down for pancakes tomorrow morning?”
I nodded. I hadn’t thought about what we would eat while we were here.
He smiled, just a slight tilt on one side of his mouth. “Okay, then. I’ll see you in the morning.” He turned and quietly went back down the stairs, his steps somewhat reluctant.
I closed the door and went back to bed, oddly reassured that Emmitt listened below. Smiling slightly, I realized that for the first time in four years someone had made me feel safe. In spite of that happy feeling, my mind wandered to thoughts of the things we needed like food and clothes, to the envelope on the floor next to the bed, and to everything that tied me to the life from which I ran.
Chapter 4
Little tugs at my hair woke me. Aden lay next to me, eyes wide open as he stroked my hair. Sunlight peeked around the drawn shade.
“Morning, buddy. Did you go to the bathroom yet?”
He shook his head.
“Come on.”