Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
The sun was hot and I was sweaty and ready for a shower.
“How far have we walked? Ten miles? Twenty?” I asked, panting at Kari’s side.
“Two. You have walked two little miles around our subdivision.” She glanced at me out of the corner of her green eyes. “You need to exercise more. You have no stamina.”
“If I ever exercise, I think it’ll be in air-conditioning. This is ridiculous. It’s like working out in a freaking sauna.”
Kari laughed, her ponytail swishing side to side. “Well, I normally walk on the treadmill in the gym at the hospital, so I can’t say I completely disagree with you on that.”
I watched her pump her arms up and down, a smile on her face.
“The only good thing about this walk is that I got to bust out my old tie-dyed shirt.” I laughed, knowing Kari hated it.
“That shirt is disgusting. I hate to be seen with you wearing it. It would be so sad if that was lost in the laundry.”
“Don’t you even think about it,” I warned before noticing my shoelace flopping along the pavement. “Okay, soldier. Can we stop a second? My shoe is untied.”
Kari stopped but kept marching in place. “Hurry up. We will lose our heart rates.”
“God forbid,” I muttered as I bent down to retie my sneaker. Something caught my attention out of my peripheral vision and I jerked my head to the side.
There was nothing out of place. Kids were playing and people were watering their plants like they did every day at six in the evening. Still, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
“What’s wrong?” Kari asked, beginning to do jumping jacks.
“Nothing, I don’t think.” I stood, looking around again. “I just feel like something is wrong. Maybe someone is watching us?”
Kari stopped moving and scanned the area, too. “I think you’re just paranoid. There’s nothing out of the ordinary. These are our neighbors.” She shrugged. “Do you want to go home?”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “I’m tired anyway.
“You’re so weak.”
We headed toward the house, Kari’s smile replaced with a frown. “Do you really think someone was watching us?”
I looked around again, waving back to one of the little girls that had been playing with the yellow ball in the park.
That feels like years ago.
“No. I’m just a little paranoid. You’re right.”
“I can’t blame you. That shit with Simon was strange.”
I shook my head. “It was strange and awful.”
“But you haven’t heard anything else from him, right?”
I exhaled, blowing away the stress that I was beginning to feel accumulate in my body. “No. And I don’t think Cane has either. He hasn’t mentioned anything, so maybe Simon moved on or whatever.”
“Did you ever figure out why he was after you? Or Cane?”
I shrugged as I smoothed back my ponytail. “Yeah. Simon’s dad basically murdered Cane’s dad.”
“What? You’re kidding me!”
“I wish. But that’s what happened. I think the thing with me was just some outburst at Cane and it’s over now. I hope, anyway.”
We turned the corner to our house, dodging a little boy on a skateboard.
“Me too. I just renewed the contract on the security system at the house. So if that gives you some peace, there’s that.” Kari smiled brightly at me.
“There’s that. It does make me feel safer, actually.” I chewed my lip. “I need to find my own apartment. It’s time.”
We walked up the steps to the front door, Kari looking at me out of the corner of her eye. “Yeah. I wonder how Cane is going to feel about that …”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. But it isn’t his choice.”
“Do you think he’ll want you to move in with him?”
My eyes widened. “I, uh, I don’t know. But I won’t. It’s way too early, sis.”
Kari nodded subtly as she took the key from her pocket.
“So now that we have burned a million calories …”
“Try like two hundred.”
“We only burned two hundred freaking calories? Why bother?” I moaned as Kari unlocked the door and we walked in. “That’s almost a waste of time.”
Kari laughed. “That’s why everything you eat matters.”
“Screw it. I’m ordering pizza. Do you want some?”
“Pepperoni and mushroom,” she called over her shoulder as she walked toward the kitchen.
“And extra cheese,” I muttered as I grabbed my cell. I headed up stairs to erase the grime from the walk that would never matter.
Me: Ordering pizza. Want some?
Cane: I’ll have some of you first.
Me: Deal.
Cane: 90 minutes.
Me: <3
Cane: I don’t do emojis.
Me: <3
Cane: Insert emoji here.
Me: You suck.
Cane: Heart.
I laughed, tossing the phone on the sink.
“Jada!” Kari shouted. There was something about the tone and volume that caused a ripple in my chest.
“Yeah?” I jogged to the top of the stairs. “What’s wrong?”
I took the stairs quickly and headed toward the kitchen.
“I am in the kitchen. Come here for a second.” Her voice was too controlled, too level, and I picked up my pace.
Kari was standing at the island, her hands on her chest as she looked out toward the pool. I followed her line of sight slowly until it landed on the back door to the patio, standing wide open.
“Did you leave the door open?” She turned her head slowly to me, her forehead creased. “Because I remember shutting it before we left the house. I know I did.”
“I haven’t been out that door all day.” I bit the inside of my cheek, narrowing my eyes. “Was that open when we got home?”
Kari nodded, a confused look on her face. “Yeah. So weird. Maybe it was the wind?”
We both knew it wasn’t the wind.
“Did you set the alarm when we left?”
Kari walked to the door and swung it shut. “No. I didn’t think we would be gone that long.”
I surveyed the kitchen and the attached family room. Everything seemed in place—television on the wall, the sofa undisturbed. “Everything looks fine. I was in my room and the bathroom and it was all fine there, too.”
Kari took a deep breath before releasing it quickly. “It’s probably the wind or that it wasn’t latched tight. Like you said, everything looks fine. Probably no big deal.”
“Except we should always set the alarm,” I pointed out.
“Except for that.”
I walked backward out of the room, raising my eyebrows at Kari. “Now, if you have nothing else to panic over, I’m ordering pizza and getting a shower.”
She opened the freezer door and stuck a bottle of wine inside it. “And I have the wine chilling.”