Free Falling (28 page)

I smiled gratefully because, yet again, he was being my rock
and making everything easier for me. I sat back against the soft cushions of
the sofa, and together we drew up a list of anyone that had touched any of the
offending items.

Alex came back with the male cop a few minutes later,
announcing that the spare key was actually missing. The perpetrator had
obviously used it and then kept it after. That knowledge made a little shiver
tickle down my spine. Sandy was obviously unhinged at the moment to have taken
it this far, who knows how far she would take this and what else she would do.
Her having the key meant that she could come back at any time. Maybe this time
she’d hurt my brother, parents, or me. I’d never felt so vulnerable and exposed
as I did when that thought occurred to me.

When the police lady was told about the key being missing
she immediately put in a call to have the locks in our house changed. After
they finished dusting the doors for prints and bagging everything up in clear
plastic bags, Alex, Luke and I had our fingerprints done to rule them out of
whatever they found on the items.

Finally, after almost an hour of going over everything, I
was physically and emotionally exhausted.

DI Neeson smiled softly, raising one eyebrow. “Is there
somewhere else you two could stay tonight? The locksmith can’t come until
morning. Maybe it’s best if you make alternative arrangements.” She finally
clicked the lid of her pen so I knew that they had everything they needed.
“Stay with relatives perhaps?” she continued.

Luke smiled at me sadly, squeezing my hand gently. “They can
both stay at mine.”

Alex seemed to stiffen at Luke’s words, a frown covered his
forehead as he grunted what I assumed was an agreement.

I let out a deep sigh as a wave of gratitude and love
crashed over me for Luke. “Thanks,” I mumbled, stroking his knuckle with my
thumb.

The police lady stood up and shoved her notebook into her
pocket. “I’ll put in a call to the veterinary clinic and put a rush on the
toxicology report for your dog.” She shifted on her feet as Alex stood up,
holding out a hand for her to shake. “I’ll be in touch tomorrow. If you or your
parents have any concerns then call me. You have my number. Call me any time if
you think of anything else.”

I nodded in agreement and Alex showed them out, leaving me
with Luke in the lounge. I sighed. My eyes were already getting heavy. The
emotions of the day were weighing down on my and all I wanted to do was sleep.

“You want to pack a bag to bring to mine?” Luke asked
softly.

I forced a smile and nodded, but in reality I didn’t want
to. Packing a bag meant going into my room, and I didn’t really want to do
that. Knowing that someone had been in there was a little unnerving and I
didn’t really want to have to face that again. I knew I was just being silly, I
knew that no one was in the house because Luke and the police had searched
every nook and cranny of it, but just the knowledge that someone had been in my
room kind of made the space seem a little sinister to me.

I gulped, hoping Luke wouldn’t think I was being stupid.
“Will you come with me? I don’t really want to go in there on my own,” I
mumbled, glancing towards the stairs as dread settled into the pit of my
stomach.

Luke didn’t say anything, just stood up and took my hand,
pulling me gently to my feet. Sighing deeply, I let him lead me out of the
room. Alex was just closing the front door as we stepped into the hallway.
“We’re gonna go pack an overnight bag of Maisie’s stuff; maybe you could do the
same with your things?” Luke suggested.

Alex nodded, his shoulders stiff, obviously not liking the
fact that he had to accept help from my cheating ex-boyfriend. I had a feeling
that if there were any other choice that Alex would insist we take it so that
he didn’t have to play nice with Luke.

As my weary legs carried me up the stairs, I purposefully
kept my mind preoccupied with what I would need to pack so that I wouldn’t
think about the sound that Chester’s dog tag had made when it slid out of the
card and hit the floor, or the fact that the intruder had kept the key –
possibly with the sole purpose of coming back at a later date.

When I stepped in my room my eyes darted to my bed as if I
was expecting the card to still be there or something. My breathing faltered as
my heart seemed to stutter in my chest. It was all a little overwhelming. The
emotions and fear were all bubbling up to the point where I wasn’t sure if I
wanted to smash my room into pieces out of anger, or curl into a ball and cry
until I had no tears left.

I gulped, my eyes prickling again as my chin wobbled. Luke’s
hand tightened on mine as his other hand slipped under my chin, pulling gently
and forcing my face round to meet his. His soft brown eyes were kind and caring
as he looked at me. “Everything will be fine, baby. Let’s just grab your things
and leave. You’ll feel better once you’ve had some sleep, you’re exhausted,” he
cooed, bending and planting a soft, tender kiss on my forehead.

I closed my eyes and nodded, knowing he was right. I was
dead on my feet and just longed for this day to be over with. I forced myself
into action, grabbing my pyjamas and a change of clothes for the following day,
while Luke went into my bathroom and collected my wash things. We were done
within a couple of minutes. Alex was done a little while after, and so we
locked the house and headed to Luke’s house for the night with Alex following
behind in his own car.

As the automatic wrought iron gates of Luke’s house rolled
open, I hugged myself against the cold night. “Your parents home?” I asked,
frowning up at the dark house, not seeing any signs of life there.

He shook his head. “Nope. They’re in Germany. They won’t be
back for another two weeks.” He shrugged, not seeming bothered by the fact that
he spent weeks and weeks alone with only his housekeeper to keep him company.

He pulled his car up in front of the expansive house and cut
the engine. Alex’s car rolled up behind us and stopped too. My body was so
tired that I didn’t really want to move, but I had to. I forced myself out of
the car, smiling at Alex’s awed expression. He had never been to Luke’s house
before and was clearly impressed at the sheer size of it.

“This is where you live?” Alex asked as we made our way up
to the front door.

“Yeah. It’s a little small, huh?” Luke joked, pulling out
his keys and letting us into his house.

Alex chuckled quietly. “Not small, more… poky,” Alex
replied. His eyes went wide as we stepped into the house and he caught his
first glimpse of the high ceilings, the expensive wood floors, and the original
art on the walls. No doubt I’d had the same shocked and awed expression when I
first stepped in here a couple of years ago too. At first this house impressed
me, but the more I came here, seeing it empty and devoid of any life and loving
memories, the more it felt like just bricks and mortar. I could easily
understand why Luke preferred to spend time at my house that was always filled
with people, chatter and laughter.

I stifled a huge yawn, looking longingly at the stairs,
desperately needing to lie down because my legs were going to give out any
minute. Luke noticed my yawn and placed his hand on the small of my back. “You
can take my room. I’ll sleep in the green room next door, and Alex can have the
blue room,” he suggested, raising one eyebrow as if asking if that was alright.

“I don’t want to kick you out of your room,” I muttered. In
reality, actually, I did
want to kick him out of his room. His room was
familiar to me, it was comforting, I needed that comfort and reassurance right
now.

He smiled and leant in, planting a kiss on my forehead.
“Just go to bed, baby.”

I nodded, not having it in me to argue with him about it. My
weary legs carried me up the familiar stairs and down the hallway until I got
to Luke’s bedroom door. Behind me and down the stairs, I could hear Luke
showing Alex where the kitchen was obviously giving him a little tour so he
could get his bearings.

I didn’t hesitate before twisting the handle and stepping
into the bedroom. It was just as I remembered it. The pictures of us together
were still dotted around every surface, the chair in the corner of his room was
still covered in books and magazines, like usual. The deep red throw and plush
cushions that I had helped him pick out, still lined his bed. With everything
crazy that was going on around me, I loved that the room was practically the
same as when I’d last stepped into it. It seemed to be one of the only things
that hadn’t been changed recently. I loved his room.

After switching the lights so that his bedside lamp was on
instead of the ceiling lights, I slipped out of my clothes and pulled on my
pyjamas. Exhausted, I climbed into his bed, carefully folding his throw back to
the foot of the bed. Settling back into the pillows, my hand hesitated as it
reached out to turn off the lamp. I hadn’t shut his drapes so it wouldn’t be
completely pitch black in here, but I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to turn off
the light. I had a feeling that I would start to imagine things, not nice
things, about Chester, and about Sandy sneaking into my house, touching my
things, leaving me that horrible card.

I gulped, deciding to leave the light on for the night. I
rolled over, seeing a photo frame holding a picture of me and Luke from a
school dance last year. The smiles in the photo made my heart ache. The way he
was looking at me in the photo was pure adoration, happiness and love. A smile
crept onto my face as memories of us dancing, kissing, talking and laughing
came back to mind. I missed the way his arms were wrapped around me in that
photo.

Sighing, I forced myself to close my eyes and tried to
sleep. It was after midnight already and today had felt mind-numbingly long.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t switch my mind off. Memories started to haunt me.
Chester as a puppy, Chester yapping excitedly as he ran up the hallway, him
chewing up my socks and chasing a ball. When my thoughts turned to someone
sneaking into my house, a shiver ran down my spine that made me clutch the
sheets tightly in my fists and grit my teeth. Although I didn’t want it to, my
overactive imagination was already playing out scenarios of someone, either
Sandy or some other deranged person, wanting to hurt me and my family. I
started to wonder if the person who had snuck into my house, had maybe stayed,
hidden in the shadows while the police were there. Had they followed us to
Luke’s house? Were they outside watching the house right now, maybe plotting to
hurt Luke in some way too?

Before I knew what I was doing, I’d thrown back the sheets
and climbed out of the bed. The thoughts were making my head spin, and I needed
a distraction from it. Being on my own wasn’t helping at all. I’d barely
managed to make it an hour on my own before I was slipping out of the room and
creeping towards the green bedroom that was right next door.

Luke sat up in bed as I opened the door and stepped into the
room he was occupying for the night. A worried expression crossed his face. I
didn’t speak as I closed the door and made my way across to the bed, slipping
in next to him and pulling the sheets up around my shoulders.

His eyes were tight as his hand reached out to caress the
side of my face. “You okay?”

I shook my head, fighting against the tears that pooled in
the corners of my eyes. “No,” I muttered. “Can I sleep in with you tonight?”

A sad smile crossed his face as he laid back down, spreading
out his arm so that I could cuddle up against him. I smiled gratefully because
he wasn’t asking me to explain anything; it was like he understood how I was
feeling, deeming words unnecessary.

I snuggled against his side, letting his warmth cover me in
a cloak of safety and protectiveness. His familiar smell made my skin prickle
as I pressed myself against him, hiding my face in the crook of his neck. His
arm wrapped around me, clamping me tightly at his side as I closed my eyes,
already feeling sleep pulling at the edges of my system.

I focussed on his breathing and the feel of his fingers as
they ran through the back of my hair. Just as sleep was about to take over, he
spoke, “Baby, do you really think it was Sandy?” he asked quietly.

I frowned and tilted my head back so that I could look at
him. I didn’t really know how to answer that question. On the one hand, yes I
thought it was her. She was the only one that I could think of with a grudge
against me. But something was nagging at me, some part of me that doubted that
she would take it that far. Would she seriously be this unhinged just because
she wanted my boyfriend? The police had seemed to think my concerns were
nothing much to go on either, which didn’t help with the certainty I felt earlier
in the day. Maybe it was finally time for me to admit that this may be more
serious than just a silly little girl who was jealous of the fact that I was
dating someone that she wanted. The more I thought about it, the more I started
to doubt that it would be her. But somehow it made it easier for me to cope
with if I had a face to put with the anger and fear. It made it a little more
bearable to think that it was just a jealous schoolgirl that was doing all of
these things. A silly, jealous schoolgirl was far less frightening than
admitting that a faceless, nameless,
someone
was trying to hurt me, and
possibly my family.

I nodded awkwardly, not liking that I was suddenly starting
to doubt my instincts. “Yeah.”

Luke chewed on his lip, seeming to be choosing his words
carefully. “But she wouldn’t though, surely,” he mumbled. I shrugged, not
wanting to talk about it anymore. I was eager for sleep so this day would be
over with already. “I was thinking earlier… what about that Zach guy?” Luke
asked, raising one eyebrow.