The Abandoned Spy

Chapter 3

Walking back to the house she couldn't help but daydream about the man in the barn. Wondering what his story was. She was startled by a noise coming from next to the barn. She placed the basket on the top step of the porch.

Walking towards the sound she grabbed a yard broom as she passed the barn, she rounded the corner holding the make shift weapon at the ready.

"Dad what are you doing here?" she asked watching her father bent over a motorbike. He looked up at her. "I found this here." he straightened up. "You don't know anything about it?" He asked watching her closely.

Laura shook her head, trying to act innocent. "Well I'll just put it in the barn. Whoever left it was in a hurry, the key is still in the ignition." Laura followed her father into the barn keeping an eye on the loft.

"There we go. The owner might come back to fetch it at some point." He kept a sceptical eye on her. Laura turned around to go back to the house, not wanting her father to hear the man in the loft. As they walked back to the house she could hear him following her, mumbling as he went.

When she reached the porch he stopped her, holding his hand out he touched her shoulder.

"Laura is there something or someone you want to talk about?" Laura turned around facing her father, her eyes kept glancing back to the barn. "No dad, there isn't anything." She turned but he stopped her.

"Listen Laura, I don't know if your mum ever had the big talk with you." His cheeks turned red and he could barely look her in the eyes. "But it isn't worth it dear, whatever you're hiding from me, it isn't worth it." He finally made eye contact.

"You don't want to leave me here do you?" He smiled at her and walked past her into the house.

Laura watched him go wanting to scream at him, force him to realise this isn't what she wanted to do with her life.

But as always she followed him wordlessly.

***

The whole evening as she prepared their evening meal she kept thinking of the man in the barn, she couldn't help but wonder if her father knew about him or was his subtle hints just a coincidence. Laura prepared more food than normal, hoping to keep some out for her patient. She smiled to herself as she dished out the evening meal.

Her father watched her the whole time with a raised eyebrow but didn't say anything. The silence between them was unbearable tonight. Laura found herself babbling uncontrollably, her father grunting his answers as he shovelled his food into his mouth.

As always he got up from the table abruptly. "I'm going upstairs, will you wake me early tomorrow morning." He leaned over to give her a kiss on the forehead, missing as always. He kept mumbling as he climbed the stairs, Laura watching him closely, listening for the sound of the bedroom door.

She was out of her chair, grabbing the covered dish of food and through the backdoor faster than lightning, quickly and silently making her way towards the barn. The full moon guiding her towards the large dark shape.

Pushing open the door, she slipped inside, heading to the loft.

When she reached the landing she tiptoed over to the sleeping form, she placed the plate next to the mattress, out of the way to ensure he didn't fall over it should he decide to get up during the night. She knelt next to the man, reaching a shaking hand out to his forehead to check his temperature.

She was startled by the hand that shot out, grabbing her wrist in his strong long fingers. "What are you doing?" his voice was angry, and she could barely make out his eyes in the dark. "I wanted to check if the fever was broken?" she asked with a shaky voice. "I'm fine." He answered curtly, sitting up against the wall, he flinched at the movement. "I brought you something to eat, are you hungry?" Laura asked reaching for the plate, she uncovered it. "It's not much but it should fill an empty stomach."

The man watched her intently, "Why haven't you phoned the police?" he asked, clearing his voice as he took the plate from her, balancing it on his lap as he crossed his legs. He started eating slowly, the whole time watching her. "I made you a promise." Laura answered, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

He shook his head, "Why would you keep a promise to a stranger?" he took another bite from a meatball. "You look like you need someone you can trust." Was all she said, "What happened to you?"

He placed the plate in between them, rubbing his hand against his trousers to clean it. "You don't need to worry about it, as soon as I can, I will be out of here." He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes, giving Laura the time to study him.

He was truly handsome, even with all the cuts and bruises marking his face, she could see he was well build, probably trained daily to keep his body fit. He was lean yet muscular, definitely not a body builder. Looking back at his face she realised that he was watching her, his one eye was almost completely swollen shut. "Like what you see?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Laura couldn't help but blush at his words. "I should get back before my dad notices that I am gone."

He crooked his neck, looking up at her as she stood in front of him, "Do you do everything your father tells you?" he asked as he watched her. "Is there something wrong with that?" she asked as she headed towards the door. She started climbing down the ladder, before her head disappeared from his view she looked him in the eyes. "I'm Laura by the way, I will be back in the morning. "

She climbed down and headed out the door, closing it silently.

He listened to her steps receding, closing his eyes he banged his head against the wall. "What are you doing Pine." He tried to get up from the mattress, fully intending on leaving but the pain that shot through his arm, caused him to sit back down.