Chapter 36
LOLA
I woke up after the longest and deepest sleep I had in a long time, and when I opened my eyes, I knew it was too early for me to have to get up just yet.
It was dark in the room, and without looking around, I knew I wasn’t in my bedroom. Sitting up, I looked around and tried to adjust my eyes to the darkness, and when I figured out whose room I was in, I reached to the bedside table to turn on the small lamp.
Bennett’s room was my favorite because of all the books, and the calming setting, but this morning, a strange feeling lingered in the air.
I found my phone on the nightstand and checked the time.
Six-thirteen.
Yeah, that was way too early.
I pushed aside the covers and got up from the bed to head out of the bedroom. Last night, I had strategically put on my pajamas, knowing that I would be way too tired to change once we got home after the drive. It clearly had been a good idea. Otherwise, the guys would’ve had to take off my clothes, which surely would’ve woken me up.
When I stepped into the hallway, I heard voices coming from upstairs. Kline was talking, but he kept his voice low.
I reached the top and found all four of them sitting on the couches. They were wearing the same clothes as last night, and I frowned at them when they looked at me with expressions I had never seen on their faces before.
“What’s going on?”
Kline got up and walked over to me. He lifted his hand and brushed back my hair and tucking it behind my ear. When he cupped the side of my face, he leaned in and kissed my forehead and said, “Come sit.”
“What happened?” I asked, my frown deepening. “You’re scaring me.”
“I’m sorry, baby. Everything’s fine, I promise.”
I looked up at him to study his face. His expression was serious, but his eyes soft and genuine. I took his hand and let him lead me to the couches, and once I was sat next to him and Leo, I asked again. “What’s going on?”
Kline took a deep breath and rested his hand on my thigh. “Before I tell you, I want you to know that nobody got hurt, and we got everything under control. There’s no need to worry—”
“You’re making me worry by not telling me. God, just tell me what’s going on.” I was getting impatient.
Leo took my hand and squeezed it gently, trying to calm me down. “You’re really making this worse for her, man.”
“Yeah, sorry. It’s been a long night,” Kline chuckled with a shake of his head. “We got a call from Morris on our way back home last night and—”
“Is Willa okay?!”
“She’s fine. Like I said, no one got hurt,” he assured me. “On our way back, Morris called, and he told us about an incident that happened at The Hot Spot. Vivian was there looking for us, and she started a fire.”
I gasped. “What? Oh my God!”
“Morris and Elia were there, luckily, and they prevented her from causing more damage, but they had to call the firefighters to stop the fire from spreading. Only a few tables, chairs, and curtains burnt down, and again, no one got hurt.” Kline sounded upset and angry as he told me about what went down last night.
“That’s insane…” I whispered, unable to comprehend what he just told me. “A-and what about Vivian? Did they call the police?”
“Yes, they did. She didn’t try to run. Actually, it seemed as if she had it all planned. That she wanted to turn herself in,” Watson told me.
I furrowed my brows. “So her plan was to burn down the bar and turn herself in?”
“Apparently, and…” Leo stopped himself before finishing the sentence.
“And, what?”
Bennett glanced at Leo with a disapproving look. “She doesn’t have to know that. It’s not a nice thing to hear, Leo.”
“I don’t care. I want to know. What else did she plan on doing?” I didn’t let my mind start to wonder because it would only go to dark places. I could handle whatever it was Vivian had intended on doing.
Leo looked at the others and sighed. He was still holding and caressing my hand. “Watson called the police last night to get more information about everything, and they told him that at the station, Vivian said something along the lines of wanting to burn the place down with you in it.”
I did expect to hear something vile, but that was way more extreme than I ever could’ve imagined. And while I understood the severity of those words, they didn’t make any sense to me. “How…how was she planning on doing that? She should’ve known that I wouldn’t be at the bar without you there. She would’ve hurt you too.”
“The police told me more things that she said on the way to the station, but they concluded that Vivian isn’t well, and that most things she said were just empty words.”
I looked at Watson and nodded, and while I tried to comprehend what could’ve happened if we were at The Hot Spot last night, I started to feel guilty. Tears stung my eyes. “This is my fault. It wouldn’t have happened if—”
“It’s most definitely not your fault, Lola. Don’t even dare think that,” Bennett told me with a serious look.
“Shit, I’ll make sure that woman gets put in a psych ward. She needs help. I hate how much she’s hurt our girl.” I had never seen Watson so angry. He got up and ran his hands through his hair while looking at me. “Kline and I are going to the station this morning. We want you to stay home today.”
He wanted me to call in sick. I wasn’t one to do that when I wasn’t actually sick. I loved my job, but I noticed how all this had taken a toll on my mental health and that of others as well.
I wiped away a single tear and nodded. “Okay. I’ll let Mindy know.”
Kline rubbed my back and leaned in to kiss my cheek. “It’s still early. How about you go back to bed?”
I didn’t want to go sleep. I couldn’t. “I don’t think I can. I’d rather stay awake.”
“Okay. Watson and I will head over to the bar to check out the damage, and afterward, we’ll go to the police station. Leo and Ben will stay here with you.”
I looked at Kline and nodded. I tried my best to smile to let him know that I was okay. “Sounds good,” I whispered.
Kline and Watson left shortly after, and Leo made me curl up under a blanket on the couch while he made us tea.
Bennett turned on the TV and came to sit next to me, and I immediately cuddled up to his side, resting my head on his chest. He gently rubbed my arm while looking down at me with a soft expression. “Things will be fine, kitten. We have everything under control.”
I smiled and closed my eyes for a moment. My emotions were all over the place, but I didn’t want the negative ones take over. “I just can’t wrap my mind around it. Why would a person want to harm others like that?”
“That’s not something I can explain. All I can promise you is that we’ll keep you safe. Always.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and pulled me tighter to his side.
“If the police don’t help her, can you make sure she gets the help she needs?”
“Do you have any idea how big your heart is?” Leo asked as he came to sit on the other side of me. “That woman threatened you multiple times before, and you want to help her. Shit, that just makes me adore you even more.”
I pressed my lips together as I looked at him. “I just wonder why no one in her family or friend group has helped her yet, which makes me believe that she doesn’t have anyone. If I had those issues, I would want my loved ones to help me. She must be on her own.”
Bennett squeezed me to his side and looked at Leo with a gentle smile. “She’s right. We’ll make sure Vivian gets help. But right now, I want you to stop thinking about her.”
I nodded and took the cup of tea Leo handed me. “Can we watch a movie?”
“Of course.” Leo reached for the remote on the coffee table. “What’s your comfort movie?”
I pursed my lips and looked at him. “I have three.”
“Tell us.”
“Dirty Dancing, Burlesque, and Grease.”
Ben chuckled. “Those are all musicals.”
“And dance movies. They make me happy and put me in a good mood,” I told them.
“It’s clear now why you like us so much,” Leo said with a grin.
“All you need to do now is start singing during your shows, and it’ll be perfect.”
Ben laughed. “You don’t want to hear that.”
“Hey, speak for yourself. I can sing,” Leo stated, then he started belting out a song. He sounded like a broken record, but it made me laugh.
That was their goal after all, to make sure I was distracted from everything that went on last night. I would be forever grateful for them and for how happy they always made me.
***
It seemed like I did need more sleep because I had fallen asleep shortly after Leo put on Burlesque. I was woken up a couple hours later by the smell of something sweet. I sat up and looked to the kitchen, seeing Leo and Bennett both standing there while preparing breakfast.
“Good morning,” Leo said as he noticed me. “Hungry?”
I nodded and smiled at him. “Very. What time is it?”
“Ten. We would’ve woken you in a couple of minutes. You’ve slept a lot since last night, and we don’t want you to be unable to sleep tonight,” Bennett explained.
“That’s okay.” I got up and stretched before walking over to them. “Did you watch the movie?”
“We sure did.”
I looked at Ben. “Did you like it?”
They both nodded, and Leo added, “It’s one of our new favorite movies now too.”
I laughed softly. “That’s nice. Kline and Watson need to watch it too. Are they coming back soon?”
“Yes, they’re on their way. Oh, and, your phone rang a couple of times. Willa was trying to reach you,” Ben told me, nodding to my phone on the kitchen counter.
I grabbed it and tapped on the screen to find multiple missed calls and texts from Willa. “I’ll call her back. I don’t want her to worry.”
I walked over to the couch and sat down before calling Willa. It only took one single ring before she picked up.
“Lola? God, finally…how are you?” She sounded worried.
“I’m okay,” I assured her, smiling gently. “I’m at their place. They made me stay home today.”
“That’s good. I wouldn’t have gone to work either. I’m sorry that happened, Lo. I can’t imagine how you must feel.”
“I’m fine, really. I got the guys taking real good care of me,” I told her, smiling over my shoulder at Leo and Ben. “How’s Morris?”
“He’s doing alright. I spent the night at his place, so he wasn’t alone.” She sighed, and when she spoke again, I could hear a smile in her voice. “I’m not saying that you wouldn’t be strong enough to handle this all on your own, because you definitely are, but you’re so lucky to have those four men.”
As she was saying those words, Kline and Watson came up the stairs, and I smiled at them as my heart started pounding in my chest. I took them all in, admiring the men who had given me so much in such a short amount of time.
I bit the inside of my cheek as I kept watching them, unable to look away, and with a smile tugging on my lips, I said, “Yeah…I’m truly the luckiest girl ever.”