Chapter 16
Cas
The colour drained from Emmy’s face as she explained she didn’t leave the light on. Something felt off, “Lock the doors behind me and ring Cole, I’m going to go check the house out, okay?”
she nodded.
I hated leaving her but if there was someone still in the house, I couldn’t risk her coming with me and getting hurt. I made my way to the front door but it was still locked up tight and no sign of anyone trying to get in. Making my way slowly round to the side of the house, I don’t see anything through the windows but when I get to the kitchen door my heart sinks when I see one of the panes has been smashed in and the door is ajar.
I slowly head inside as quietly as I can and look around to try and see where Scruff is, hoping he hasn’t bolted out of the door, but my worry is short-lived because underneath the dining table I can see him cowering. Kneeling, I reach out and stroke his head to let him know everything is okay and that I’m home now. Looking round the kitchen, I can’t see anything missing or out of place, the same goes for the living room. With no nasty surprises hidden down here, I grab my prybar from under the cabinet in the utility room and wielding it like a bat, I make my way upstairs.
The only light on upstairs came from Emmy’s room, but I decided to check the rest of the rooms first to make sure no one was hiding. I didn't find anything moving from room to room as quickly and quietly as possible. The silence was deafening in the house, I was equal parts pissed off and horrified that someone had been in our space. The house felt dirty and unsafe.
Emmy’s door was slightly ajar and the light from inside spilled out into the hallway. Nudging the door open with my foot, I stepped inside and, after a quick scan round, let what I saw sink in. I felt a surge of white hot anger rush through me, her room was completely trashed. Everything had been opened and tipped across her room, and nothing was in its proper place. Her bed covers had been thrown back and rumpled as if someone had been sleeping in it, like some sick twisted version of Goldilocks. The thing that made chills go down my back was a single polaroid photo stuck to the wall. It was of Emmy and Hayleigh from today, out and about in town, her head thrown back in a carefree laugh, above the photo someone had scrawled the words;
‘HE CANT HAVE YOU EMILY!’
Just as I was about to lose my shit, I heard my brothers bounding up the stairs, Archie bellowing out some war cry as he bursts through Emmy’s door with my sweeping brush waving back and forth. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I found myself bursting out with laughter, “Arch what the hell are you doing, it’s just me?”
the rest of my brothers filed in and when they saw what had happened their faces turned from confused to pissed off.
“Cole’s downstairs with Em. Shit CJ this is bad, who the fuck would do this?”
Archie looked around at the mess.
He bent down to pick up a fallen photo, but Rafe barked, "Archie, don’t! This is a crime scene, we need to call the police and wait for them outside. CJ, you need to take pictures of everything, make sure to catalogue everything, and note anything that you think has been taken. Archie, you go downstairs, get Scruff, and take him to Mum's house. Ethan, Nate, you go outside the shed and get tools to fix that broken door. I’ll go over to Mum’s with Archie and update them on what happened. It isn’t safe for you two to stay here tonight, so here…”
he chucked me his keys “I’ll be staying out anyway, so feel free to use my apartment. I’ll head downstairs now and ask Cole to stay here while the police do their thing when they arrive.”
With that, he headed out. Rafe was mostly all business, but in that moment, I had never been more thankful for my big brother.
“I don’t know who wrote that but it’s fucking weird and scary as shit. Hey, you don’t think it’s her ex, do you?”
Nate asked me.
I shook my head. “I’m not 100% sure; I only know that something isn’t right.”
I went downstairs to Emmy, I wanted tonight for us to come back home and curl up together and enjoy the rest of our night, but now our first date lay in ashes at the shitstorm that waited for us when we got home. Cole was on the phone with the police, Archie took Scruff to my parents’ house, and my brothers took care of everything for me. Sometimes I hated being the baby of the family, but right now I couldn’t have been more grateful for them.
I packed two bags filled with at least a few days’ worth of clothes and toiletries for us both. We’d stay the night at Rafe’s and then tomorrow I would take her away for a few days. Part of me didn’t want to show her what had happened in her room, I want to shield her from the creep but then I knew she had spent years with Chad the Dick controlling what she did or didn’t do. I wanted her always to have a choice when she was with me, apart from getting away for a few days, which wasn’t negotiable. So, as I put our bags in the back and climbed in the front, I pulled my phone out and handed it to her. She looked at me like I had two heads.
“Cas, why are you giving me your phone?”
“Someone broke into the house. Specifically, your bedroom, Emmy. I took photos, and if you want to know what happened, you can go ahead and take a look, or not, the choice is yours”
Her eyes swam with tears and I watched as she unlocked my phone and navigated to the photo album. She thumbed through the photos, her breath quickening with each one until she reached the one with the writing on the wall. She quickly locked my phone and thrust it back at me, swiping her eyes angrily. I reached over to her and pulled her to me, she fell apart in my arms, her body wracking with deep sobs.
Finally, when she couldn’t cry anymore, she stopped, her voice sounded so small when she asked me “Who would even do this to me? What did I ever do wrong?”
I couldn’t stand how she felt, so I tilted her chin to me and kissed her softly before asking her, “Emmy, do you trust me to keep you safe?”
She nodded and that was all the permission I needed.
**********
We arrived at Rafe’s apartment just after midnight. He lived in the penthouse suite with a concierge service downstairs, so it was nice knowing that anyone not on the list of pre-approved guests wasn’t getting in. I handed Emmy her bag and she went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I was too keyed up to sleep, my mind was whirling with what ifs and who could have done this. My mum always said that the one thing that cured all the problems was a good cup of tea, so I put the kettle on and set about making two cups.
As I stirred the tea bag lazily, staring off into space, Emmy came in, “Penny for your thoughts?”
She sat down at the island, and I finished her tea and handed it to her. She wrapped her hands around the mug and brought the tea to her lips before blowing softly and taking her first sip, her eyes closed and, in that moment, she had never looked so peaceful.
That’s what I craved; I just wanted her to be safe and happy, and I knew I would be willing to do anything to make that happen.
She opened her eyes and watched me with an amused smile “Cas? Did you hear me?”
I shook out of watching her like the creep I was.
I smiled back, “Sorry, it’s just nice to see you looking relaxed”
I walked towards her and sat down next to her “Emmy, I want you to know that I will keep you safe, you know that don’t you?”
She nodded, yes. “I want to take you away for a few days until this all blows over and my brothers can get the house fixed up.”
“Do you think it will blow over?”
That smile she gave me moments ago was gone and replaced with worry.
“I hope so. What do you say, do you want to go away with me for a few days?”
I hoped she said yes.
“I’d like that, but I’m pretty tired right now.”
She stood up and headed into one of the guest bedrooms, leaving her door open and her light on. I knew she was scared and part of me wanted to go and be with her, draw her into my arms and keep her safe all night. Still, I also didn’t want to push or scare her off, so I did the same thing and headed to my room but kept the door open in silent invitation in case she changed her mind during the night.
I got ready and climbed into bed after putting on fresh sheets, there was nothing better than getting into a freshly made bed. I grabbed my phone, highlighted the pictures I had taken that night, and fired them off to Vik.
Me
Someone broke into my house tonight Vik and left this message. Can you do your thing, I’m taking Emmy away for a few days while my brothers fix up the house for me. I think it might be the same person that’s trashing the site.
I see three little dots typing
Vik
Send my love to Emmy. I’m sorry this happened, but I’m on it.
Me
Thanks man, I’d be lost without you all.
Feeling much better knowing everyone is doing all they can to help and that Emmy is safely tucked up in bed, I settle in further to the sheets and drift off.
**********
A faceless man is standing in the window of Emmy’s room, I can see her screaming for help as he walks up behind her, dragging her away from the window and away from me. I run as fast as I can towards the house but my legs don’t carry me that far and it feels like I’m stuck in quicksand. I trip and fall and keep falling and, in the distance, I can hear screaming and I know deep in my bones it’s Emmy but I can’t get to her…
My eyes snap open as the screaming continues and I realise it’s coming from Emmy’s room. I rush out of bed and bound to her room, kicking open the door. I see her thrashing on her bed. A quick scan of the room shows no one else, I pin down her shoulders to stop her hurting herself and shush her till she calms down. She doesn’t wake up but settles, so I peel back her sheets and climb in behind her. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her into me; she sighs softly, and we drift off to sleep once again.
**********
I wake up in the morning to the fresh smell of coffee. Groaning and stretching, I reach over blindly to where Emmy last was but find that side of the bed empty and cold. I crack an eye open and notice it’s already bright outside. My phone starts pinging with an incoming message, and I see I’ve been added to a new group chat with my brothers, my parents, and Lacey. There are already over 50 messages waiting for me.
Me
Sorry guys didn’t meant to worry you. We’re both fine, thanks Rafe for letting us stay here. I’m going to take her for a few days away in the country, just to get Emmy away from all of this. Will keep you all posted. We’ll be at the cabin.
I get up, go hunting for Emmy, and find her cooking breakfast in the kitchen. She has every pan on the hob going and the kitchen sides look like they’ve seen better days. I stand in the doorway watching her work for a few minutes. She’s so engrossed in stirring the mixing bowl that she doesn’t even notice me. I clear my throat, just as she puts the bowl down, she screams, and the large spoon she holds goes flying through the air. She puts her hand to her heart and we both burst out laughing.
When we calmed down, she said, “I didn’t even see you there; you scared me.”
She turned off the hob and grabbed us two plates. Turning, she looks at me and says “Sit. I’ve made us breakfast and it’s ready. I was just about to come get you”
I looked at what she’s made, and she couldn’t decide. There’s bacon, eggs, sausages, and tomatoes, then pancakes and what looks like blueberry muffin mix are waiting to go in the oven. She sees me looking round and wrings the towel in her hands, looking almost nervous. “I didn’t know what you wanted to eat and when I get stressed, I like to cook…”
she trails off.
I smile softly at her, “Emmy, this is perfect. It’s been a while since someone decided to cook something for me. It’s nice”, she gives me the brightest smile and blushes.
We sit down together and make a start on our breakfast, and it feels nice to sit here with each other. It makes me want to stay in our little bubble and not have to face up to what’s happening around us. We’ll have to go back at some point, but it’s a win-win situation right now. I want to get her away from all of the shit but I also want to spend some quality time with her, and if we go away then that’s precisely what we will get.
I finish my food and notice Emmy has finished hers, so I collect our plates and put them in the sink. She’s still sitting down, lost in thought. I grab my phone, put on some slow music, and turn the volume up. She turns in her chair towards me, questions in her eyes swimming around. I hold out my hand for her to take, pull her up, and start to dance in slow circles with her. She rests her head on my shoulder and I wrap my arm around her.
“I know this is a bit different to our first dance”, she chuckles, and I carry on “, but I promise to always keep you safe in my arms, Emmy. You know that, don’t you?”
She nods and holds me closer, and my arms hold her tight. Whoever is doing this to her, they have no idea just how far I would go to protect what’s mine.
Entry #58
Her sheets and pillow smelled of her. Floral.
It’s the closest to happiness I’ve felt in a long time, laying there in her bed.
I had the urge to fist the sheets and squeeze my cock till I came over them, but that wasn’t why I was there.
No. I’d wait till I had her to do that.
So I set to work.
I ripped and teared at anything and everything he had touched,
The picture on the wall was a nice touch, even if I do say so myself.
My little helper was to thank for that. She can blend into the crowd more than I can. They would have noticed me for sure.
Oh Emily. This time I hope you realise being there, with him, is no good for you.
Because he can’t have you Emily.
You’re mine.