Zoophobia - A "Safe" Haven: Book 3: January - March

Chapter Twenty Nine: Followed

THORAX

How was I supposed to collect the rest of that cash?! Lawrence didn't even tell me the amount I "owed" him. He was just some sick, old freak desperate for money! I thought about asking Gustav, but he would berate me for not trying to fight back. What was I supposed to do? And if anything happened to Lawrence, Henroin would be after me. Lawrence had boundaries—sort of—but Henroin wouldn't stop until everyone I knew was dead, I was sure of it. I was so distracted that I ended up running into a couple.

"Watch it!" The teenage girl snapped.

"Sorry," I quickly said, walking away from them.

"Holy sh*t, Thorax, why are you always so clumsy?"

For a couple of seconds, I thought that I had said what I was thinking, but my embarrassment turned to caution when I saw Lawrence walking right next to me.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Why are you apologizing to me? You didn't bump into me now did you?"

I wanted to scream, 'WELL, WHAT THE HECK DO YOU WANT?!', but I didn't. I bit my tongue and continued walking. If I made it to the elevator, Lawrence wouldn't be able to get me—we were on two different floors.

"I expect that money before we get back, Thorax," He whispered as Mackenzie, Tom, and I stepped onto one of the elevators.

I brought my hand to my face and pretended like I didn't hear him.

"What's going on?" Tom asked.

"Nothing," I snapped. "I'm just tired. I've had a long day." I pulled out my phone to text Gustav what had just happened, but in the end, I sighed, put away, and walked out.

"Hey, look! Kayla invited us out to dinner. She's paying," Tom said. "Thorax, you coming?"

I paused and turned around. To be around people again, I just wanted to be alone. I shook my head and walked away, leaving the two confused and probably concerned, but I wanted none of their sympathy. Using the card key, I entered the hotel room and threw my purse onto the floor and then myself onto the bed.

I set my phone on the nightstand by my bed. I pressed my back against the wooden headboard and swallowed all my pangs of fear and regret as I heard my phone ring, realized it was Lawrence, and refused to answer. Fed up with everything, I opened the drawers and threw the device inside. In an attempt to forget about what had happened today, I opened my suitcase, shoveling through the piles of expensive clothing to find a good romance book to keep myself occupied. Out of nowhere, I heard a loud thumping sound coming from the window.

I passed it off as a random bird crashing into the window, it happened sometimes back home. The other few noises I assumed to be rocks or something like that (a stupid assumption I know). I sat in the bed and removed the bookmark when I heard a crashing noise, causing me to shoot up from the bed and run over to the deck, throwing the doors open to see what the heck was going on outside.

Two words. Angel Dust. The spider, looking like a wet dog, lay in a crooked position on one of the chairs outside. The sight was so shocking that for a couple of seconds I said nothing and just stared at him as questions stirred in my head. How did he get here? Why was he here? When did he get here?

Instead the first thing I asked was, "Why are you wet?"

"I fell in the pool," He said.

I raised an eyebrow and scoffed, but I later began laughing.

"Hey, it's not funny! Are you going to help me up or not?" He asked, extending his hand.

I rolled my eyes and brought him to his feet. I corrected the chairs and led him inside.