I posted Chapters 14-15 so make sure you are reading them in order:)
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Kason's phone rang as it was barely starting to get dark. "Yeah, I can...okay. Bye." He hung up his phone before he turned to me. "I have to go pay some bills in town for my dad. He got off of work early because he isn't feeling well."
I nodded and stood from the bench. "I can walk Lucy home so you can go ahead and leave," I offered. "It's already getting late. I don't think you should have to be out longer than necessary."
"Are you sure?" he asked, standing and pushing his phone into his pocket.
With a smile, I nodded. "Yeah, I don't mind," I said honestly.
His grin was filled with relief. "Thank you so much." I watched him jog off to his car and leave, leaving me alone with all the children in the park.
I called out for Lucy and explained to her what was going on. Fortunately, she was done playing at the park and was ready to leave. So, I walked her home.
"Do you want me to help you around the house while I'm here?" I asked Lucy's father.
Daniel shook his head with a thankful grin curling his lips. "No, no. Go home. It's already getting late." I nodded, not bothering to argue. After watching him take a sleeping Lucy in his arms up the stairs, I turned around and made my way home.
Everything was quiet and normal as I walked home. However, my habit of constantly looking over my shoulder continued. I couldn't help it. The paranoia was always there.
As I walked through my driveway, I noticed a cardboard box on my doorstep. Furrowing my eyebrows, I picked up the package. I hadn't ordered anything since we moved here. I carried the lightweight box inside the house and placed it on the kitchen counter. Dropping my bag on the floor and my phone on the counter, I grabbed a sharp knife from a drawer and opened the seal. I opened the four cardboard flaps and found the box was filled with pictures.
There were dozens of varying pictures of, Gavin, Kason, Aria, Holden, Marla and me. Some of them were of us sitting in our favorite café, others of each of us walking down the street. I was frozen as I stared down in the box. My heart was picking up its pace by the passing seconds. My mother's old wedding ring rested underneath the scattered pictures.
My father had taken my mother's ring right after he killed her.
The knife dropped from my hand and clattered to the floor when I came to the realization. Knowing immediately what all of this meant, I ran to the front door and locked it, then did the same to the back door. My heart was racing with my biggest fear in mind. The man who ruined mine and Gavin's life. The man who murdered my mother. The man who almost successfully killed me.
Racing back to the kitchen, I picked up the knife off the floor then rummaged through the stuff on the counter for my cell phone. Once I found it, I quickly dialed my brother's number. "Hello?"
"Come home right now," I demanded, peaking through the blinds over our kitchen window.
"Why?"
"He's here, Gavin. He's been here this whole time. He's known where we were since the first day we got here," I informed him.
"What?" he was surprised, breathless. "Is he with you? Are you hurt?"
"He's not here, but he left a box of pictures and mom's ring on our doorstep," I rambled quickly. "Gavin, I'm scared. Please, come home now." My eyes were tearing up as my thoughts were circling a mile a minute over all the possibilities of where he was right now.
"I'm leaving now," he assured me in an urgent voice. "I'll be there soon." With that, he hung up the phone, leaving me to hear my deep breathing that filled the silence.
Placing my phone back on the counter, I stared at the front door. I backed up against the wall where I had a clear view of the door, then slid down to the floor, knife in hand, and pointed it at the front door. I sat there for many minutes, waiting for an intruder to barge in and threaten my life. After just a minute or two, a loud banging sounded against the door, making me jump out of my skin. My grip tightened as I quietly climbed to my feet. Easing my way to the door, I kept my knife pointed in front of me. I slowly reached for the handle before quickly pulling it open.
"Woah! Woah! It's me," Kason exclaimed, throwing his hands up in surrender. Stepping back, I lowered the knife. "What's wrong? Why are you so tense?"
"Nothing's wrong. I'm not tense," I claimed, walking back toward my spot on the wall.
"Yes, you are," he said, following me in and closing the door behind him.
"No, I'm not."
"Lydia, your eyes are wide and you look on edge."
I turned toward him, fighting the urge to grit my teeth. "Why are you here?" It came off as rude, whether I meant it to or not.
He ran his fingers through his hair, facing me directly while he spoke. "Your brother called and told me to check on you and to stay here until he got home...what's going on?"
I shook my head, turning back away from him. "Nothing." My brother was obviously worried about me because he sent Kason to protect me, knowing he could effectively. It was too much of a risk, though. Now he was going to ask questions.
"You almost stabbed me with a knife in a panic—obviously something is wrong," he argued, raising his voice.
"There's nothing for you to worry about, Kason."
He stepped closer. "Just tell me."
I spun back toward him. "I said nothing is wrong, Kason! Mind your own business!" I made my way back into the kitchen and dropped the knife on the table. Grabbing the cardboard box filled with pictures and a ring, I raced down the hall and into my room. I pulled a shoebox out of my closet and dumped the belongings inside with the random junk filling the container. Then, I shoved the empty box in the back of my desk cabinet.
After going back down the hall, I picked up the knife again. Kason was standing in the exact spot I had left him. "How about you just put the knife down," he suggested.
Immediately, I shook my head. I needed all the protection I could get. "No," I said without hesitation. I couldn't stop my hands from shaking and I knew Kason had noticed because he was staring at me as I trembled.
"What was in the box, Lydia?" he questioned, but I completely ignored him.
I didn't know what to tell him, so I didn't tell him anything.
"Hey, everything is going to be okay," he assured me softly. He had no idea what was going on, yet he was comforting me. He didn't know the dangers in my life. Staring at him, my eyes teared up. Without hesitation, he closed the distance between us and wrapped his arms around me. And that is how we stood for a long time as we waited for my brother to come home. Me trembling, with a knife, clutched tightly in my hand as he held me tightly, whispering comforting words in my ear. It helped, it really did, but it didn't take away that fear swallowing me whole from the ghost of my past.
It was twenty minutes later when my brother burst through the front door. He had to have been on the completely opposite side of town for him to take that long because I knew for a fact he was probably speeding way past the limit to get to me.
It was only seconds before I was pulled from Kason's arms and enwrapped in my brother's. He was holding onto me for dear life as if he had lost me once before. The thing is, he had once before. He knew that it wouldn't take much for it to happen again.
"Can someone please tell me what is going on?" Kason's voice echoed in the room.
My brother looked at him but continued to hold my head against his chest. "No. Go home, Kason."
"Maybe I can help!" he said.
"Kason, go home," my brother repeated.
"Jaxon—."
"Go home!" he yelled, making me stiffen.
Kason looked at me with worry in his eyes. He really didn't want to leave, that I knew. But I also knew that he respected us enough to listen. With a sharp turn, he marched to the front door and left, slamming the wooden door behind him.
We didn't speak a word as we held each other tightly. At one point, Jaxon locked the front door again and led me to the couch, where we held each other some more. All we needed in that moment, were each other's presence. I let my brother hold me until he fell asleep. But I didn't. I couldn't sleep at all. I couldn't even move my eyes from the doors and windows, terrified that a certain man would show up. Terrified that my father would walk right through the door and try to kill me once again.
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Sorry for the late update... I seriously thought I posted the chapters... my bad
Soooo, it's their dad that they are running from...
And predictions for future chapters?
Is their dad closer than they think?
What is Kason going to do after his experience with Lydia and Jaxon in that situation?
Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter:) If you did, don't forget to VOTE!
The next two chapters will be posted next Friday, July 6.
~Emily