Chapter 13
Rosalie
When we finally make it back to my apartment, my entire body is tingling with adrenaline. I tell myself it’s from riding the bike down the windy mountain road, but I know I’m lying to myself.
I pass Asher his helmet and watch nervously as he moves it under one arm and reaches out with the other, his hand curling around my neck as he pulls me closer.
I close my eyes as he moves to kiss my forehead, as he does each night, but the warmth of his breath on my cheek has my eyes flying open as he places the softest, most gentle kiss I’ve ever felt against my skin.
His eyes bore into mine as he stands tall and takes a step back. “Be good,” he says before pulling the helmet on his head and gesturing for me to go inside before he leaves, like he does every night.
I jump into action as if I’d forgotten why I’m standing here. My cheek is prickling where he kissed me. Would it be weird to never wash it again?
Yeah, yeah. That’s gross. But maybe it could wait until tomorrow…
I unlock my door and shove my chair under the handle. I carefully line my boots up beside the door and place my gloves in my jacket. I don’t bother bringing a bag to work anymore since they always provide lunch for me. All I have to carry around are my phone and wallet, and those fit in my pocket.
I check the bag I left on my desk and find my real ID and bank card still safely stowed away.
Wanting to feel comfortable, I unhook my bra and pull it off, leaving me in my yoga pants and Iron Oaks t-shirt.
It’s definitely too tight for me to go braless in public, but in the privacy of my room, it feels nice and freeing.
I shove my bra into my bag along with my few other clothing items: socks, underwear, an extra bra, a couple of t-shirts and my pair of jeans.
There’s no dresser or closet in this room to keep my clothes in, plus I enjoyed having my bag ready to go. Just in case Scott showed up, and I had to make a run for it.
But as the days wear on, I’m starting to hope that he’s given up looking for me. I wonder how I can find out? I don’t have anyone I trust enough back in Parker Heights to check on him. The guys are ex-military; maybe they’d know a way to find out.
Of course, that would mean telling them the truth, that I’d been lying about my name. I hate the idea of continually lying to them, but it’s not like I was lying about anything else. Everything else I told them was true.
I lay down on my bed with my cellphone. These guys had done too much for me.
I wish I could repay them somehow. I know they appreciate what I’m doing for their business, but they’re paying me for that.
Christmas is approaching soon, I have to think of something I can do for them to show them my appreciation for everything they’ve done for me.
I check for messages and see I have none. I’m not surprised. I normally send a goodnight group message around nine or ten, to which they all reply, and that’s all the texting we do.
Is it weird that I want to message them more? My fingers twitch to ask Leo what movie he’s going to watch tonight, or ask Grant if he’s trying a new recipe, since I know he loves to cook. Maybe Asher will work on his bike? Or they might all play a video game together.
My stomach grumbles, and I groan, realizing I don’t have any food left. I’ve been eating plain ham sandwiches for dinner every day since I arrived, and now I have a little bit of money, I can’t stomach the idea of it.
I stand and pull my work tee off, put my bra back on along with a fresh shirt and hoodie, then grab my wallet and get dressed to go outside.
It takes me twenty minutes to get to the supermarket, but it’s the first time I haven’t almost frozen to death getting here.
I decide to stay in the bakery and fresh meat section as I have no means to cook anything.
No matter how I look at my options, everything just looks like different versions of my sad ham sandwich.
I could switch up the meat and bread; I could even spring for mayo, but nothing I see appeals to me.
I see a container of fresh carrot muffins that gives me pause. I mean it’s definitely not the most well-balanced meal, but the more I stare at them, the more I start to crave them. They are calorie dense and filling. These four could feed me for two dinners and two breakfasts.
Mind made up, I grab the best-looking batch and head to the cash register. As I hand over the cash and wait for my change, I feel a prickle of unease on the back of my neck. I glance around, but nobody seems to be paying me any attention.
I think it’s just the nerves of being out after dark. This time of year means shorter sunlight and that means anything I want to do after work, will be in the dark.
I shove my change in my pocket, grab my tray of muffins and quickly head back home.
A shiver rolls down my spine as I walk as fast as I can without actually jogging.
It’s darker than it was when I got here, and now I’m really wishing I'd just asked Asher to make a stop here on the way home. I know he wouldn’t have minded, but I feel bad making him go even further out of his way.
I’m sure he had things he wanted to do tonight than drive me around.
I keep checking over my shoulder, but this area seems quiet and I can’t see anybody behind me. Anxiety plagues me as I continually scan my surroundings, whispering to myself, “If someone comes at me, drop the muffins, raise my arms in defense, kick him in the nuts, punch him in the throat.”
By the time I make it back to my building, my entire body is on edge. There’s a few guys hanging outside my building, smoking what I assume are just cigarettes.
“Hey girly, what’cha got there?” One of them asks, eyeing my muffins as I pass him.
“My dinner,” I reply quickly. I keep a straight face as I head for the door.
“You’re not gonna share with us?” his friend calls after me, but I just ignore them and rip the door open so hard it bangs against the brick wall.
I don’t hear footsteps following me, but that doesn’t slow me down as I practically run down the hall and shove my key in the lock. There’s a few people hanging around in the hall, and my hand is shaking so much from nerves, it takes me three tries to get it in properly, only worsening my fear.
When I finally get in, I slam in shut, lock it, and shove the chair under the handle. I take a few steps back, staring at my door as I breathe heavily.
“You’re okay, Rosalie… You’re okay.” I manage to calm myself enough to remove my snow gear and grab a muffin before sitting on my mattress.
I nibble on it slowly as I strain my ears to listen to what’s going on outside my four walls. The building seems rowdier than usual tonight. There’s several people shouting, and doors keep getting slammed.
When I finish my muffin, I decide to try to sleep, so I change into clean panties and an oversized t-shirt I bought to sleep in. It’s from the secondhand store, but it works.
In my hometown, Parker Heights, I’d been to the secondhand store a few times.
You’d often find a great deal there, some expensive brand name item at a fraction of the cost and probably never worn.
That wasn’t the case in Silent Pines, though.
Everything was well-worn and probably originated from Walmart or Temu.
There also wasn’t that much selection in my size. It meant I didn’t have many options.
I pull the blanket up to my chin and grab my phone, checking the time. Ten p.m. I open the group chat and send the guys a message.
Me: Going to sleep now, goodnight.
I watch as the typing bubbles appear straight away for all three of them, making me smile.
Leo: Night shortcake.
Grant: Sweet dreams.
Asher: Call if you need me.
It was pretty much the same messages I got from them every night.
Sometimes I really felt like they saw me as more than their employee.
At first I thought they were flirting, but considering they treat me like that in front of each other, has me wondering if they actually see me as more of a little sister.
Telling me to call if I need help, the kisses on the forehead, holding my hand, the teasing nickname.
“Fuck,” I whisper as tears prickle at the edges of my eyes. “That’s it, isn’t it? I’m like a sister to them.” I rub angrily at my eyes. “What’s wrong with me? Why am I crying? I hate emotions!” I turn my face into my pillow and groan loudly.
They never implied they wanted more from me.
They’ve made it clear that they just care about me.
It’s my own fault for letting my feelings get mixed up in this job.
I never planned on staying in Silent Pines, anyway.
If I could just confirm that Scott isn’t looking for me anymore, then I could resume my life.
I’m not that special. I’m sure he gave up weeks ago.
“You stupid little bitch. You think you could run from me?” Scott seethes from the darkness.
Everywhere I look is darkness. I try to run, but his voice follows me.
“If you don’t want to be with me, then you don’t get to be with anyone.” A loud bang from somewhere behind me has me screaming as I turn around. But there’s nothing there, only darkness.
“I’m gonna kill you, Rosalie.” This time his voice is a whisper right beside my ear. I scream, pulling away as my arms swing at nothing. Another bang rings out around me, making me jump in fear.
“What’s wrong, Rosalie?” Scott asks from directly in front of me. I squint, and his body starts to come into focus. “Did you think they could actually love a girl like you?”
“W-What?” I ask, stepping backwards. Another bang rings out around me as he steps towards me.
“You’re ugly, fat and annoying. They’ll never want you. Especially when I’m done with you.”
Suddenly he lunges towards me, and I scream, covering my head with my arms.
When he grabs me, his hands are strangely gentle.
“Baby, wake up, please.”
Wake up? When did I go to sleep? I try to open my eyes as my body reorients itself. I’m not standing in the darkness anymore, I’m sitting on my mattress. And Scott isn’t here trying to hurt me, it’s….
I look up into a pair of worried brown eyes. “Asher?”
“I’m here.”
Relief fills me, and I lunge forward, practically throwing myself against his chest as a few tears of relief escape. He wraps his arms around me and rocks me back and forth.
He’s kneeling on my mattress in my room. How did he get here?
“What happened?” I ask, feeling disoriented and confused.
“I heard you screaming.”
I tilt my head towards my door and see the doorframe is broken and my chair is in several pieces.
“Did you break the door down?” I ask in surprise.
His arms squeeze a little before he answers. “I needed to get to you.”
“Oh.” I don’t know what else to say. The things Scott said in my nightmare, mixed with my thoughts before I fell asleep, have me feeling confused and out of sorts.
He pulls back and cups my face, his eyes bouncing between mine. “Are you okay?”
“I—I think so,” I whisper, licking my dry lips.
He nods slightly before hugging me again. “Okay, let’s get you out of here.”
“What do you mean?” I ask as he helps me stand, his eyes taking in my bare legs as if he can’t look away.
“You’re not staying here anymore,” he finally says, his angry eyes meeting mine.
“Where am I supposed to go?” It's the middle of the night, and I’m still disoriented, so I can’t make sense of his words.
“Clara,” he says in exasperation. “You’re coming to stay with us.
” He grabs my backpack and looks around for my other stuff, frowning when he finds nothing else.
He sees my phone plugged in on the floor on top of my mattress, so he grabs it and the charging cable and shoves it in the bag before his eyes return to my legs.
He glances around and sees my yoga pants on the desk, so he grabs them and passes them to me. “Put those on.”
I do as he says as he lifts my blanket and checks for anything underneath. “You don’t want to keep this bedding, do you?” He asks with a look of disgust.
“Umm, do you have some I can borrow?” I ask, feeling awkward.
He nods, zipping up my bag as he answers. “We have everything you need. And if we don’t, we’ll get it.”
I frown, trying to make sense of his attitude and actions right now. This is what a big brother would do if his sister was in trouble, right?
“Clara.”
“Hmm?” I look up at him and realize I missed what he said.
“Put your boots and coat on.” He gestures to my boots, which he seems to have placed right in front of me.
He offers me a hand to hold while I balance on each foot, pulling my snow boots on one at a time, then holds up my jacket.
I give him my back, letting him slip it up my arms and onto my shoulders.
I do up the zipper, then he helps me put my backpack on.
He must be here on his bike. We both take one last look around, then he grabs my hand and quickly leads me out of the room.
There are a few people in the hall, eyeing us suspiciously.
Asher pulls me to his side, wrapping his arm around my shoulder in what feels like protection as we make our way out of the building.
“What time is it?” I ask when I see the moon shining brightly overhead.
“One a.m.”
My head reels back in surprise as we stop at his motorcycle and he starts to put the helmet on me. “One? In the morning?” He doesn’t say anything as he tightens the chin strap and turns to climb on the bike.
“Wait—” I grab his arm and pull him back to face me. “What are you even doing here? How did you hear me?”
He pauses for a moment as if weighing his words, then he looks over my shoulder and frowns. “I promise I’ll tell you later. Let’s just get you somewhere safe, okay? My nerves are on edge being out here right now.”
I glance behind me and see a few people doing what I would guess is meth or some other hard drug that involves a spoon and lighter.
I nod, and he turns and jumps on the bike. I climb on behind him, and he quickly pulls away from the curb.