Protect Her

Chapter Thirty

Camryn

"I hate Canada." Riley groaned, resting her head on her fist and staring out the window as the rain poured down outside. The storm had knocked the power out and we'd been sitting here for the last thirty minutes.

I smiled, glancing up from the book I was reading. "Yesterday you said it was the greatest place on earth."

"Yeah mommy." She rolled her eyes. "Before the rain."

"It won't last all day." I said. "Do you want to play a game?"

"No, I'm just going to sit here and watch it until it goes away." Her little voice sounded so defeated and I had to fight back my laughter. She was being so dramatic and I knew she wouldn't appreciate me not taking her seriously.

Wind ripped through the air outside, and I heard a bang from down in the basement.

"What was that?" Riley's eyes got big.

"I think it was just the wind, sweetheart." I said, not wanting to alarm her. "I'll go check it out."

A small wave of fear pulsed through my body. It was ridiculous. I watched the gust of wind out the window; I knew that's what it was. I knew Robby was in jail and we were safe. Even with the power out, there would be an alarm if someone broke in.

I knew all of that, but still I felt uneasy.

Without letting Riley notice, I grabbed a knife off the kitchen counter, just in case I had to protect myself. I didn't really know what else to do. We were alone. Neither Derek nor Mrs. Leonard were supposed to be back for a while. Derek hadn't really elaborated on what we were supposed to do if there was an emergency and we were on our own. I glanced back at Riley one more time, who was staring out the window still.

I tip-toed down the stairs as quietly as I could. I could hear something banging from the back of the basement and headed that way. At the end of the long hallway, the door to the backyard was slightly open and blew open and shut with the wind. I let out a small sigh of relief, realizing that was all it was, and reached to shut it. My heart froze though when I looked down and realized there were two sets of wet foot prints right inside the door. I whirled around, ready to race upstairs and grab Riley and hide, when Derek came around the corner, drying his hair off with a towel.

He was startled when he saw me, glancing at the knife. "Jesus, Camryn. What are you doing?"

I blinked at him several times, my heart racing. "What am I doing? What are you doing? You're supposed to be gone. I thought someone had broken in. Why the hell are you sneaking into the basement?"

Derek was caught off guard. "I... uhh..." He stuttered. Something felt off. He wasn't just sneaking in, he was showering. I thought he was wet from the rain at first, but he only had a towel around his waist and no other clothes. And was that...

"Why is there blood on that towel?" I asked, staring at the one in his hands.

"You're out of shower gel in the guest..." Will stopped abruptly when he saw me standing in the hallway. That's where the other set of footprints came from.

He glanced back and forth between Derek and me for a second.

"What is going on?"

"Okay, we need to talk." Derek let out a heavy sigh. "But you need to put down the knife."

I hadn't even realized I was still holding it. Derek reached out slowly and took it from me, setting it on the table.

"Where is Riley?" He asked.

"She's upstairs."

"Why don't I go hang out with her and the two of you can talk?" Will offered.

"That would be good." Derek agreed, and led me over to the couch.