Peighton stared out the window into the dark sky, watching anxiously for her son. It was nearing midnight and he still hadn’t returned any of her calls, or better yet, come home. She took a sip of her coffee, surprised that it had already turned cold. Where in the world could he be? She considered calling his friends’ parents, but she wanted to give him whatever space he needed. Still, she couldn’t help worrying about him. Her son wasn’t known to be rash, but after the way things had happened, she couldn’t blame him for acting out. When he finally came home, she promised herself she would sit him down and explain everything.
She stared around the empty room. It was much too quiet. It was rare that she had the house completely to herself, even more unusual that it happened overnight. She should take advantage of the quiet, she realized, watch a show that Todd had hated, read a book even…but everything just made her feel more alone than she knew she was. She would have gladly argued with Todd over the remote just to have him there one more day.
Her cellphone chimed, causing her to jump. She set her cup of coffee down, pulling the phone from her robe pocket. “Hello?” she called into it.
“He’s here.” Frank’s voice came over the line.
“Who’s there?”
“Kyle. Who else?” he asked.
“Oh, thank god. Is he all right?”
“Of course he is. Wouldn’t I have led with ‘hey, your kid’s missing an arm’ if something had happened to him?”
She couldn’t help but smile at his usual dark humor. “I’ve been so worried. Are you bringing him home?”
“Nah,” he said. “He seems pretty upset. I’ll let him stay here for the night and calm down. I’ll bring him home tomorrow. What happened, anyway?”
“Drew was here.”
“What?” he asked, lowering his voice.
“Yeah, this morning. I told him to leave but not before he went on and on about the affair and trying to make amends. Kyle heard the whole thing.”
“Son of a bitch. No wonder the kid’s a wreck,” he said gruffly. “I told him to get lost last night and he left. I never thought he’d come back.”
“Worse than that, Frank, he watched us. Waited until you left this morning.”
“What?”
“Yeah. It was creepy. If I wasn’t so worried about Kyle it would have me a lot more freaked out. You don’t think he’d try to…you know, hurt us or anything?”
“No,” he said quickly. “No. The guy’s bark is worse than his bite. You’re safe, Peighton. You and Kyle both. If it makes you feel better, I can come over for a few nights just to be on the safe side, though.”
“What?” she asked, taken back.
“I said I can come over for a few nights. You know, keep watch, that sort of thing.”
“I heard what you said…are you not going to be working here anymore? Why wouldn’t you be here every night?”
He paused. “I thought you knew. I mean, my job was to protect Todd.” He spoke slowly, as if begging her to catch on. “I just assumed with him, you know, gone—”
“That we wouldn’t need you anymore.” She pressed her lips together, this revelation a devastating blow. Just one more thing from her old life that would disappear now.
“Look, Peighton, if you guys still need me, of course I’ll still be there for you. It’s just…Todd was like my brother, but he was also my biggest source of income. With him gone, you’re out of a job, I’m out of a job. He was kind of our glue, you know?”
“Of course,” she said, feeling her cheeks flush. “Yes, you’re right. I just hadn’t realized, I guess. I hadn’t even thought about it. That’s why you were gone this morning.” It all fell into place in her mind.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to upset you.”
“No. You aren’t. I mean…I feel like I’m losing someone else now too, but you’re right. I can’t expect you to be here anymore. Todd is gone. Everything changes.”
“I’m still here. Just…not in the way that I was before. I can’t be.”
“I understand. I’m just emotional right now. I’m going to go.”
“Don’t be like that—”
“Take care of Kyle for me, okay? And bring him home tomorrow morning.” With that, she ended the call, unable to speak anymore in fear of bringing on more tears. He was right, of course. Had she thought about it, she would’ve realized things would have to change, but that didn’t make this any easier. All around her, pieces of her life were falling apart. She walked to the kitchen, pouring out her cold coffee and replacing it with a dash of tequila.
Nine
PEIGHTON
Peighton awoke with a jolt, covering her ears. “What the—” she asked, jumping out of bed in a dazed state. The alarm blared through the house, a deafening roar. Her pulse raced, head pounding. Someone was in the house.
She ran to the closet, grabbing the closest thing she could find: a baseball bat. Todd had a gun safe, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember the code. The landline phone began ringing, causing her to let out a scream. They’d only gotten it for the alarm system, she’d even told Todd it was ridiculous to put a line in the bedroom, but he’d insisted. She sent a silent prayer of thanks up to her husband who was, of course, saving her life and winning arguments even in death.
She picked it up with shaking hands. “H-Hello?”
“Ma’am, this is Heather with SecureHome Security. We’ve received a distress alarm from your residence. Is everything all right?”
“No,” Peighton said, tears suddenly filling her eyes. She couldn’t help but be thankful Kyle was far away from the house at that moment. “No. I don’t know what’s going on. Please send help.”
“Absolutely, ma’am,” Heather responded quickly with the direct professionalism of someone who had been trained for this. “First Responders are on their way to you right now, Mrs. Claiborne. Would you like to stay on the phone with me until they arrive?”
“Yes,” Peighton said, her gaze bouncing around wildly at her surroundings.
“Great,” Heather said. “Are you somewhere safe?”
“I’m in my bedroom, hiding in the closet.”
“Okay, good. The police will be there soon. Can you tell me what you see?”
“Nothing. I’m hidden with the doors shut.”
“Okay, what about what you hear? Can you hear anything? Anyone?”
She tried to peek through the crack between the doors. Before Peighton could respond, the door to her bedroom was flung open and someone walked in, gun in the air. She covered her mouth quickly, barely catching her scream. She dropped the phone in fear, scooting toward the back of her closet. She could see the shadow of the man walking closer to the closet doors, fear pounding in her chest. She knew her heart would explode at any second.
“Are you still there?” she heard the operator’s voice through the phone’s speaker, but it was too far away for her to reach. The closet door swung open and Peighton screamed, throwing her hands up in the air, immediately dropping her only weapon and launching herself onto her back. The attacker grabbed her hands.
“Hey, woah! Peighton, Peighton! It’s me! Calm down! What’s going on? Who’s here? Where are they?” She opened her eyes, shocked and relieved to see Officer Nealson standing in front of her. He pulled her to her feet. “Who’s here?” he asked again.
“I don’t know…” she said breathlessly, shaking her head. “What on earth are you doing here?”
“Stay here,” he instructed.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
Without responding, he turned, headed out of the bedroom and into the hallway with his gun raised. She watched him disappear into the laundry room before she bent down, reaching for the phone on the ground.
“Ma’am? Ma’am, is everything all right?” the dispatcher’s frantic voice called over the line.
“Yes,” Peighton said, “yes, I’m all right. My friend is here. He’s checking the house now. He’s a police officer, so I’m okay.”
“There’s a police officer on the scene now?”
Peighton clutched her chest, trying to catch her breath. “Yes.”
“Okay, great. Do you feel safe now?”