For Jakob

10: meeting the family

T E N

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Callan's POV

I woke up when the sun hit me on the face, the light pulling me out of my slumber.

I blinked my eyes, stretching my arms and releasing Prince from the chokehold I had him in all night.

I looked over beside me, not seeing Aunt Dev, which meant that I had slept in.

The night that I was told about the murderer after me, I had fallen asleep under his watchful eye.

Then, I was woken up a few hours later to Aunt Dev entering my apartment once her flight had landed.

For the past three days, she had stayed over at my place while everyone figured out what to do next.

I had worked from home for the most part, and the few times that I had to pop into the shop, Zion had accompanied me.

I hadn't seen him since that night and it was probably a good thing because I still hadn't entirely figured out whether or not I was dreaming when he had spoken last.

Call me Elijah.

I audibly sighed; what was it with that man and giving me a tornado of butterflies and then promptly disappearing for a few days.

Elijah.

It was a stunning name, and for some reason, it made me blush.

Given I had asked him to call me Eliana, something no one had called me for a long time, it still felt so intimate to call him Elijah.

The feelings that were swirling around in my heart for my bodyguard were probably crossing a lot of lines.

It really felt like I was in a crappy thriller romance.

I somehow felt like the main character and the character that no one cared about at the same time.

But those were my insecurity issues speaking.

I sighed, if I was in a thriller romance, would I live and end up with someone at the end or would I die?

I groaned, rubbing at my eyes, trying not to get caught up in paranoid thoughts again.

For the past few nights, I had dreamed about the two children that had gone missing and ended up killed.

It was inhumane, the way their life had ended so suddenly, and without any cause.

I was also still completely confused about where I fit into all of it.

Why would that person be targeting me?

I shook my head, sitting up in my bed and deciding that I would continue to do what had always worked for me.

Ignore my problems.

I had taken my monthly speech therapy class via video call, and met up with my therapist for the first time in a while online as well.

I had used the past few days to really focus on other things.

Because the second that I had a moment alone with my thoughts, all I could think about was how they would be reporting my body next.

Stop it Callan.

I grabbed my phone from my night table and looked at the time; I had definitely slept in.

It was almost ten in the morning and while I usually started my workdays at around 7:30, I was glad that I had gotten some rest.