Chapter 29 #2
“I didn’t want to scare you. To have you looking over your shoulder every moment.
I wanted us to feel safe. You were sixteen, and I was supposed to be the parent.
This was what I could do.” Mom looks down at the table before looking up at me.
“I thought it was someone trying to make me move. Maybe our neighbor. Maybe someone else. That apartment building wasn’t good.
So as soon as I could, I got us out, but then the house cost so much more.
I worked overtime to try to make it work, but they wanted to raise our rent this year.
I couldn’t tell you we were practically broke.
I didn’t want you to worry. You seemed so happy, like everything was going your way. Adam—” She cuts herself off.
My heartbeat is erratic. Was that the real reason someone did that?
To get us to move? Is that threat gone or has it just taken a new shape?
How safe am I? Did they break in while I was there?
How would I have known? Damon was in my house when I was asleep, and I never knew.
Could this person have done the same, and I never would have known?
I struggle to work through the problem.
This doesn’t make sense. I was alone a lot in our house.
If it was Jackson, why stop? Maybe what happened at the apartment wasn’t related to Jackson.
Maybe they accomplished their goal—to scare my mom into moving.
Otherwise, what were they waiting for? Why not strike when I was alone in our old house?
While this house is far more secure than that apartment, I’m glad Damon kept me to himself in his room. That he hoarded me in his bed like treasured gold while calling me his.
There were all those nights she left me alone in our old house. When I was unaware of any danger. Damon snuck in. What if he wasn’t the first? What if whoever broke in was more careful about what they took? What if they’d taken me?
I’m cold all over. I can’t settle on a single thought. My voice is stuck in my throat with so many questions tangled around it.
Mom takes a breath and meets my eyes. “Adam and I were dating when they gave me the new lease agreement. When I showed it to him, he asked me to move in with him. Even though I already knew I loved him, I figured it was too soon. I thought I’d be able to find something else for us, but the only apartments available were back at that apartment building, and I couldn’t bring you back there. ”
Between here and there, here was definitely the only option.
What would I have done if we’d had to move to the apartments?
I knew about Jackson, but I didn’t know about the other parts.
Is it possible Jackson was the one who broke in?
Could he have felt the same way Damon did about my mom?
That my mom wasn’t there for me and was trying to force her hand?
Or did he want her to be afraid that I could slip out of her life in a moment?
I glance at my phone. I never told her about Jackson. Never told her about the boy I was secretly seeing while she was working. Was he my stalker? Was he the person creeping in our house? Would things be different if I had?
Mom clears her throat, and I lift my gaze to hers.
“I finally accepted this would be the safest place for us. I don’t know if what’s happening now is related to anything that happened at the apartment complex.
But when Adam showed me the room next to Damon, I figured it would be safer to have someone nearby in such a big house.
” Mom plays with her fork on her plate. “I believed we left it behind when we left that apartment building.”
“And Adam knew about all this?” It hurts that she treats him more like family than she treats me. But he’s supposed to be her equal, her partner.
She nods and smiles this soft, loving smile at Adam. “He really is the best thing that’s happened to me since your father died. Beth died two years ago, and it’s taken him this long to really love someone.”
“When did the new texts start?” I try to remain calm, try to think rationally, but all I want is my guys here with me, to hold me, to love me, to make me feel safe, to help me breathe. I want Damon here, but I’m not going to get that.
Mom glances at her phone, and the light goes out in her eyes. “It was an anonymous texter, and I figured they had the wrong number at first. I didn’t think whoever was after us at the apartment complex was back.” She shivers. “I thought that was over.”
“Was it before or after we moved in here?” I need to add this to the timeline. Even though fear still clouds my mind, I need to figure this out.
“After.” She sinks in her seat a little. “By about a week.”
A week after meant that was after the times she almost caught me with Damon.
I take my seat and lean back in the chair, letting it support me. “I need to tell you both about everything.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I just didn’t want to scare you.” Mom squeezes Adam’s hand so hard her knuckles are white.
I draw in a breath. Fuck. I don’t know what to think, but I do know it’s time to talk this through with the guys. I release my breath. All these threads feel random, but maybe there’s a thread that makes it all make sense. I just need to find it.
Me:
We need to talk tonight.
What time works for you?
Damon:
I’ll be back at the dorms at nine
Cam:
I’ll grab Hawk and we’ll be there