Chapter 7
Riah
Though she was nice to me when we were kids, there was always a lingering coldness about her.
Coming from the kind of life she had, I didn’t blame her.
I didn’t know the specific details about her parents, but from what I was able to gather, they didn’t care where she was, who she was with or if she had clean clothes to wear or enough food to eat.
My parents were always happy to give those things to her.
She was included in our family get-togethers, trips, back-to-school shopping…
anything you could imagine, Korie was there.
I knew, by the way she always offered her help and thanks, that she appreciated it and was comfortable with us.
But I could see how the disappointment of not getting that same love from her own family would be maddening.
Although her body may have hardened with adulthood, it seemed her heart had done the opposite. Unfortunately, that whole ‘hard on the outside, soft on the inside’ thing really did it for me.
I sat in the grocery store parking lot for about 15 minutes before it was ready to pick up. When I finally looked over my order, I realized there were a lot of items missing. Before I left back home, I dialed my best friend.
“Hey, Ri. We still on for tonight?” Rayne chimed through the phone. Her upbeat, always excited energy was exactly what I needed.
“Yes! I’m so excited. But I was picking up a grocery order and realized they were out of some of the snacks you wanted…is there anything else you want me to grab?”
“Nah, it’s all good. I’ll bring some extra stuff. I’ll see you tonight! Oh! Wait…should I bring some extra blankets? Blow-up mattress?”
“Uhhhm, if you want to. But I have my bed setup. It's a king…if you just wanted to share.”
“Perfect, I really didn’t want to pack anything else.”
I scoffed. “No, because we both know you will leave half of it at my place anyway.”
With a playful gasp, Rayne hung up. A sleepover with my lifelong best friend was exactly the distraction I needed from my confusing feelings. Taking a deep, long breath, I prepared to drive back and face the confusing feelings currently installing cameras all over my home.
***
The second I pulled up at home, Korie ran from inside and carried in all my groceries in one trip. Since I came home, I really hadn’t lifted a finger.
“At this point, I should just hire you as my assistant.” I needed to make a joke to avoid the thought of how hot her attentiveness was.
“Ahh, just admit you’d like having me around all the time.” Korie popped a grape in her mouth with a wink. All I could do was roll my eyes. I didn’t trust my voice to hide everything I was feeling.
“How’s the security system coming?”
“Finished up a few minutes ago. I just need to get the camera feed set up with your phone and I can show you how everything works.”
Korie took her time setting up the camera stream and alarm settings on my phone before showing me around to every camera, sensor, button and wire she’d set up.
She was patient in explaining how everything worked, but in truth, I didn’t absorb much.
Tech had always confused me and having her be the one to explain it was that much more distracting.
But I knew how to turn the alarm on and off and that was enough to help me feel confident.
Before she left, Korie lingered in the kitchen.
“So, how were your first few nights?” She asked.
“They were alright. I’m really happy to have the security up and running though.” I sighed.
“Did something happen?” It was like she could read me like a book.
“It was probably nothing…” I tried to let it go, but Korie had crossed her arms over her chest and stared at me like she was waiting for an explanation.
“I was…taking a bath my first night and I could’ve sworn I saw someone looking at me through my bathroom window.”
Korie shifted uncomfortably, shifting her gaze away from me before clearing her throat.
“You think, or you did?” Her voice was colder than I’d heard it since I’d been back home. Disappointment tugged my belly, I didn’t want to give the wrong answer.
“Um…I don’t know. It’s an old house. I was probably just being paranoid.”
“Oh. Well, uh, with these new cameras, you should be all safe. And if you ever feel spooked or need help working the system, you can always give me a call.”
“Thanks, Kor.” I let out a sigh of relief. “I have company tonight, so it should help.”
Korie’s eyes snapped to me, darker than before.
“I didn’t know you were seeing someone.”
“I’m not,” I answered, the words tumbling out of my mouth. “My best friend, Rayne, is coming to stay over. Do you remember her?”
“Ahhh, yeah. I do.” She pushed off the counter and picked invisible lint from her shirt. “Well, like I said, give me a call if anything goes wrong. I’ll see you around.”
“Housewarming party!” I yelled after her. She turned to look at me. “I’ll see you at the housewarming party.”
“Right, I’ll be there. Have a good night, Riah.”