I stifled a huge yawn, looking longingly at the stairs, desperately needing to lie down because my legs were going to give out any minute. Luke noticed my yawn and placed his hand on the small of my back. “You can take my room. I’ll sleep in the green room next door, and Alex can have the blue room,” he suggested, raising one eyebrow as if asking if that was alright.

“I don’t want to kick you out of your room,” I muttered. In reality, actually, I did want to kick him out of his room. His room was familiar to me, it was comforting, I needed that comfort and reassurance right now.

He smiled and leant in, planting a kiss on my forehead. “Just go to bed, baby.”

I nodded, not having it in me to argue with him about it. My weary legs carried me up the familiar stairs and down the hallway until I got to Luke’s bedroom door. Behind me and down the stairs, I could hear Luke showing Alex where the kitchen was obviously giving him a little tour so he could get his bearings.

I didn’t hesitate before twisting the handle and stepping into the bedroom. It was just as I remembered it. The pictures of us together were still dotted around every surface, the chair in the corner of his room was still covered in books and magazines, like usual. The deep red throw and plush cushions that I had helped him pick out, still lined his bed. With everything crazy that was going on around me, I loved that the room was practically the same as when I’d last stepped into it. It seemed to be one of the only things that hadn’t been changed recently. I loved his room.

After switching the lights so that his bedside lamp was on instead of the ceiling lights, I slipped out of my clothes and pulled on my pyjamas. Exhausted, I climbed into his bed, carefully folding his throw back to the foot of the bed. Settling back into the pillows, my hand hesitated as it reached out to turn off the lamp. I hadn’t shut his drapes so it wouldn’t be completely pitch black in here, but I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to turn off the light. I had a feeling that I would start to imagine things, not nice things, about Chester, and about Sandy sneaking into my house, touching my things, leaving me that horrible card.

I gulped, deciding to leave the light on for the night. I rolled over, seeing a photo frame holding a picture of me and Luke from a school dance last year. The smiles in the photo made my heart ache. The way he was looking at me in the photo was pure adoration, happiness and love. A smile crept onto my face as memories of us dancing, kissing, talking and laughing came back to mind. I missed the way his arms were wrapped around me in that photo.

Sighing, I forced myself to close my eyes and tried to sleep. It was after midnight already and today had felt mind-numbingly long. Unfortunately, I couldn’t switch my mind off. Memories started to haunt me. Chester as a puppy, Chester yapping excitedly as he ran up the hallway, him chewing up my socks and chasing a ball. When my thoughts turned to someone sneaking into my house, a shiver ran down my spine that made me clutch the sheets tightly in my fists and grit my teeth. Although I didn’t want it to, my overactive imagination was already playing out scenarios of someone, either Sandy or some other deranged person, wanting to hurt me and my family. I started to wonder if the person who had snuck into my house, had maybe stayed, hidden in the shadows while the police were there. Had they followed us to Luke’s house? Were they outside watching the house right now, maybe plotting to hurt Luke in some way too?

Before I knew what I was doing, I’d thrown back the sheets and climbed out of the bed. The thoughts were making my head spin, and I needed a distraction from it. Being on my own wasn’t helping at all. I’d barely managed to make it an hour on my own before I was slipping out of the room and creeping towards the green bedroom that was right next door.

Luke sat up in bed as I opened the door and stepped into the room he was occupying for the night. A worried expression crossed his face. I didn’t speak as I closed the door and made my way across to the bed, slipping in next to him and pulling the sheets up around my shoulders.

His eyes were tight as his hand reached out to caress the side of my face. “You okay?”

I shook my head, fighting against the tears that pooled in the corners of my eyes. “No,” I muttered. “Can I sleep in with you tonight?”

A sad smile crossed his face as he laid back down, spreading out his arm so that I could cuddle up against him. I smiled gratefully because he wasn’t asking me to explain anything; it was like he understood how I was feeling, deeming words unnecessary.

I snuggled against his side, letting his warmth cover me in a cloak of safety and protectiveness. His familiar smell made my skin prickle as I pressed myself against him, hiding my face in the crook of his neck. His arm wrapped around me, clamping me tightly at his side as I closed my eyes, already feeling sleep pulling at the edges of my system.

I focussed on his breathing and the feel of his fingers as they ran through the back of my hair. Just as sleep was about to take over, he spoke, “Baby, do you really think it was Sandy?” he asked quietly.

I frowned and tilted my head back so that I could look at him. I didn’t really know how to answer that question. On the one hand, yes I thought it was her. She was the only one that I could think of with a grudge against me. But something was nagging at me, some part of me that doubted that she would take it that far. Would she seriously be this unhinged just because she wanted my boyfriend? The police had seemed to think my concerns were nothing much to go on either, which didn’t help with the certainty I felt earlier in the day. Maybe it was finally time for me to admit that this may be more serious than just a silly little girl who was jealous of the fact that I was dating someone that she wanted. The more I thought about it, the more I started to doubt that it would be her. But somehow it made it easier for me to cope with if I had a face to put with the anger and fear. It made it a little more bearable to think that it was just a jealous schoolgirl that was doing all of these things. A silly, jealous schoolgirl was far less frightening than admitting that a faceless, nameless, someone was trying to hurt me, and possibly my family.

I nodded awkwardly, not liking that I was suddenly starting to doubt my instincts. “Yeah.”

Luke chewed on his lip, seeming to be choosing his words carefully. “But she wouldn’t though, surely,” he mumbled. I shrugged, not wanting to talk about it anymore. I was eager for sleep so this day would be over with already. “I was thinking earlier… what about that Zach guy?” Luke asked, raising one eyebrow.

I snorted and chuckled at the absurdity of his suggestion. “Zach?”

He nodded, his nose crinkling with distaste. “Yeah, I don’t like that guy. There’s something majorly wrong about him,” he muttered.

I grinned and rolled my eyes, already knowing what this was about. “You’re just being jealous.”

“No I’m not,” he scoffed, shaking his head in rejection.

I snuggled up against him again, laying my arm across his chest. “Yes you are,” I mused.

It was quiet again for a few seconds as he obviously pondered on that thought. Finally, he sighed. “Okay, I’m jealous,” he admitted. “I don’t like him. I don’t like the way he’s just waltzed in here and carved out a place in your life. I don’t like you spending time with him.”

I sighed deeply, knowing he was being honest and that I should appreciate that rather than scolding him for it. “You don’t need to be jealous,” I assured him truthfully. There was nothing romantic between me and Zach at all.

He frowned, wrapping a lock of my hair around his finger. “This isn’t just about me being jealous though, I was being serious. I mean, how much do you even know about him? He came out of nowhere, and everything was fine before he showed up. This all started after he arrived. That can’t just be a coincidence,” he countered. His brown eyes bore into mine, reasoning with me silently. I gulped, swallowing the lump that was rapidly forming in my throat as Luke carried on speaking. “You told the police that you didn’t go to Zach’s place until four and that you were in the library before that. Well, what was he doing while you were there? He could have,” he swallowed loudly, “poisoned Chester, and then came back to pick you up after. He had time to do that,” he explained. “Did he know about your spare key?” he asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

My mind was racing. Luke was right, Zach had said that there was something he needed to do straight after school and that our tutoring would have to wait. What was so important? Was it poisoning my dog? And the key question… he did know about the key because I’d used it while I was with him on Friday night. Luke’s question was ringing in my ears – how much did I know about Zach? The answer was not much. He was an incredibly mysterious person; he was sometimes a little weird and evasive. And yes, he did have the time and the knowhow to get into my house…

But even as I was thinking about it and reasoning it out, I was already dismissing it. Zach wasn’t like that. Sure he was a bit of a badass, but he was a good guy at heart, I was sure of it. I wasn’t going to let Luke’s jealousy and bias judgement alter my opinion of someone.

“Well, did he know about the key or not?” Luke repeated.

I shrugged, not wanting to add fuel to the fire by confirming his theory. “I don’t know,” I muttered, hoping that would suffice. Apparently it did. Luke nodded thoughtfully, his arm tightening on me. I decided I needed to quash his suspicions before he got all caught up trying to link Zach to something just because he didn’t like the guy. “Look, it’s not Zach. I know you don’t like him, but he’s an alright guy. He wouldn’t do that,” I said confidently. “You’re just assuming things because you don’t like him hanging out with me,” I teased, hoping to lighten the mood.

He grinned sheepishly. “Maybe,” he admitted. “Because of everything going on though, until the police catch whoever is sending you this stuff, I don’t want you going anywhere on your own. Make sure you always have me or Alex with you.”

“Yes, Dad,” I joked, wriggling to get closer.

He chuckled. “I’m not quite that bad.”

“Yeah you are,” I countered.

He grinned, bending forward and putting his forehead against mine. His breath blew across my lips as he spoke, “Okay, yeah, maybe I am that bad. But it’s only because I love you so much.”

My heart melted at his words as the hair on the nape of my neck prickled. “I love you too.”

His finger brushed across my cheek as his lips touched mine, so softly I could barely feel it. The kiss was so soft and chaste, sweet and tender, yet held a passion that made my heart rate spike. He pulled back and smiled sadly. “Let’s get some sleep, huh?”

I nodded in agreement, not knowing what to say. When I was alone with Luke like this, cuddled up in his arms, it seemed so silly that we weren’t together. When we were alone everything just seemed so right and perfect. It was a shame that the outside world just made everything more difficult. When other people were around it just served as a reminder that everything wasn’t, in fact, as perfect as it seemed when it was just the two of us.

He guided my head back against his neck, and his body relaxed as he pulled the covers up around us.

Just asleep was about to pull me under, I realised that I needed to say something. “Luke?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for tonight. You were amazing. I don’t know what I would have done without you there,” I admitted. He just made everything easier for me. He took over with Chester, and also was incredible with the police questions. He really was my rock tonight.

A soft kiss was planted on the top of my head. “You don’t need to thank me, baby. I’ll always be here when you need me. Always.”

I smiled at his words and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter 19

Without needing to open my eyes I already knew where I was. I was in Luke’s arms, his warm breath blew across the top of my head, and his heart beat steadily under my ear. It was nice waking up to this again. At one point I was convinced that I’d wake up like this for the rest of my life, but after the Sandy indiscretion I wasn’t so sure. I wanted to forgive and forget, I really did, but there was still a small part of my brain that was fighting it. That small part of my mind seemed to think that breaking my heart was unforgivable, and that I didn’t need him. That small part of my brain was wrong though. I did need him. Everything that had happened recently, all of it, just served to prove that I needed him. I probably wouldn’t have gotten through it all without Luke. I just had to take another chance on him and admit it.

I frowned, squeezing my eyes shut as my thoughts turned to last night. I silently prayed that Chester was doing okay. I hadn’t been called by the vets, so I took that as a good sign. After all, they do say that no news is good news. I tried desperately not to think of Sandy, or some other faceless person, sneaking into my house and up to my bedroom. I didn’t want to think about it at all because I could already feel the anger and fear gripping my stomach.

I snuggled closer to Luke while he slept, finally opening my eyes and looking up at his handsome face. What I saw made my heart stutter, it always did, and I wasn’t sure anything would change that. He looked so peaceful while he slept, his muscles relaxed, his lips slightly parted as he breathed heavily. There was no denying it, I just loved being in Luke’s arms.

After a few minutes of my just lying there, enjoying the closeness, his cell phone quietly started playing some bird chirping melody, gradually getting louder. He shifted slightly, gently holding my head to his chest with one hand while he reached out and silenced his phone with the other. He groaned quietly, obviously not pleased with having to wake up.