MY FATE FOR YOURS

Chapter 24- RACHEL

Rachel

My girlfriends are absorbed in the movie in my room, but I'm out of bed checking the windows again. The doors. Peering through the curtains to see if anyone's out there. The fear that rakes up my spine when I touch each of the locks is a hard thing to reconcile.

Eamon's Jeep stops at the end of the drive, and more than relief to see him is the relief in knowing when he knocks, I'll know who it is. My heart skips a few times as I think about answering a door, not knowing who's on the other side. This is so different for me that I'm not sure how to process.

As soon as Eamon's close, I pull open the door. "Hey," I say. I open the door just enough to talk through a small crack. It's been days since I've seen Eamon. They only kept me in the hospital overnight just in case I had a concussion, but I haven't been up to visitors. Especially ones that make my head spin more than the asshole that attacked me.

"Hey." He shoves his hands in his pockets. "Sorry for coming by so late without calling, I was just on my way home and--"

I let a small laugh escape from my lips. "Eamon, you live the opposite direction."

"Fine, make me say it." He gives me a tentative smile. "I came to check on you. Can I come in?"

I glance over my shoulder into the dimly lit house, then step outside and close the door behind me knowing he won't want them to know he's here. Eamon's features contort into a look of confusion and worry.

"I'd like that. It's just...I've got a few friends over and--"

"Friends?" Eamon asks. His lips pull together in an uncharacteristic, insecure way.

"Kelly, Leslie, Ava...you know, girlfriends?" I say. "They've been crashing here."

"Oh, right. Like a slumber party? Are you girls going to have a pillow fight?" he asks, raising a coy eyebrow. "And if so, can I watch?"

"You're a mess," I say. I laugh again and it feels good to do it. Not only because things are still confusing with Eamon and it's nice to just let go and feel normal with him, but also because things have been stressful at home for me since the attack. I guess the only thing that makes it a little easier is that at least it wasn't in our own house. I can't imagine staying here if it had been; as it is, I don't know when I'll ever go back to Arnaud's place.  I can't sleep even more than usual because I'm up checking and re-checking locks all night long--even though I do it a million times before bed. "Maybe some other time?"

"No, you're right. I'm glad you're okay," he says with a nervous nod.

"Yeah, me too." It's not the first time I've been knocked unconscious, but the only other time was falling off my dirt bike, not at the hands of some lunatic. My biggest fear was what he may have done to me while I was out, but apparently, even though he acted creepy, he was more interested in casing the house for things he could fence rather than me, thank god. Or the cops just got there a lot faster than I'd have guessed they could.

Eamon leans in and kisses my cheek, swirling possibilities through my brain. "Can I see you soon?"

"I've got one more day off tomorrow before I've got to get back to reality. We can meet up somewhere." Hope swells in my chest again, and at the same time I'm praying he doesn't let me down.

Eamon nods. "What about out at the lake? Tomorrow night?"

"See you then." I start to step back when Eamon gives my cheek another kiss. Before we got mixed up, I'd have jumped right into his arms tonight and gone wherever he asked. It just feels like I need to be more careful now.

I slip back inside to enjoy the rest of my girl's night. I don't get many of these. It's supposed to help me relax; instead, it just ties my stomach in knots because I can't share anything of Eamon with my friends, and because I so desperately want things with him to work out this time.