Page 79 of Make No Mistake

I gathered my things and stood. I could write my weekly article at home, well, Jay’s home. It was too distracting being here, wondering if the person that had betrayed me and hurt so many others could be in the same room. I was in the courtyard between buildings when Jay caught up with me.

“You didn’t need to leave.” I looked up at him out of the corner of my eye but his face was unreadable, just staring ahead.

“My house isn’t exactly within walking distance.”

He had a point. We drove together this morning, and his house was at least five miles away. Could I do it? Of course. Did I want to? Definitely not.

“I can wait in the library if you want to go back.”

“No. I couldn’t handle being in that room for another second. I can finish everything from home.”

We walked in silence through campus to his car which was parked again in a close spot. I was a bit jealous of his short walk, but when I considered the drive he had on top of it, I realized I was just fine with my walk to my apartment.

The apartment that had been my home with Aubrey since our sophomore year. Our parents had gone in together to buy the unit for us so we wouldn’t have to worry about finding places to lease each year. Plus, we could paint and decorate however we wanted to. I probably wouldn’t ever live there again.

“Are you hungry or do you want to just head home?” Jay reversed out of his parking spot and headed in the direction of his house.

“I’m not very hungry but feel free to stop.”

I could feel his eyes on me, but I stared ahead. I knew he was worrying about me. I’d heard him and Aubrey talking about me this morning. They thought I was suppressing my emotions, and sooner or later, I’d cave. They noticed that I hadn’t been eating much since the night I was attacked, but I couldn’t eat when I was stressed. He didn’t say anything, and I was grateful. That wasn’t an argument I wanted to have.

Minutes later, he pulled into his driveway and parked. I got out with my bag and noticed he hadn’t turned off the car. He stood and rested his arm on the door.

“I’ll be back in a few. I’m going to get us some food and my dad wants me to pick up something from his office.” He didn’t look particularly happy about having to go, but he was too good of a son to say no.

“Okay.” Part of me wanted to offer to go with him or ask him to stay, but the rest of me wanted to prove to myself that I could handle myself.

His eyes narrowed for a second before he relaxed. “Don’t forget to set the alarm once you’re in. Call me if you need anything.”

I smiled and walked to his door, using the key he’d given me to let myself in. I turned and waved as he pulled out before shutting the door, locking it, and walking to the alarm to reset it.

Jay’s house felt like a second home to me. I’d spend a lot of time here the past four years, usually with Sean at my side. We’d held study groups and newspaper meetings here often enough that I was comfortable here, but over this past year I felt like it was a second home.

Kicking off my shoes near the door, I made my way to my favorite spot in the living room. Jay had a large leather sectional, but I headed to the oversized recliner in the corner. It was perfectly broken in and big enough for me to pull my knees up while I studied. The only problem, it was Jay’s favorite spot too. He complained every time I stole it, saying he’d purchased the enormous couch for guests, but he finally accepted that the recliner had accepted me as its owner. We were one.

I snuggled into my spot and opened my laptop. The police had looked at it and couldn’t see that anything had been done to it for the day it was missing. I wasn’t convinced, but there was nothing I could do if the person had taken any files or information off of it. I would just have to wait and see.

My article this weekend was about the upcoming graduation ceremony and highlighting alumni from the past. It was an easy assignment. Our alumni website was pretty active and we’d sent out a form for people to submit earlier in the year, so all I had to do was go through and select a couple to include in the newspaper.

A bestselling author, a lawyer making his way to Capitol Hill, an entrepreneur that had success with his tech start-up, and a pilot that was now serving in the Air Force.

Each had a cool story and had a wide enough range to engage readers. I was done writing and had it sent it to Jay within forty minutes. I stretched out my legs and looked around the room for the controller.

It was on the coffee table in front of the couch. Convenient if I was sitting over there, but out of reach from my spot. My internal debate of whether or not it was worth getting up was interrupted by a horrible screeching sound.

I jumped out of the chair and grabbed my phone. Looking around, I couldn’t tell where it was coming from until a robotic voice announced it was alerting authorities.

Jay’s security system. Why was it going off?

I hurried to the front door where the screen alerted me that the signal had been interrupted and the police were on their way.

How did it do that? How was the signal interrupted?

I looked around the house. Was someone inside? My body was frozen in place but my mind sped ahead. Where should I go? Should I look around? No. What would I do if I did find someone? I could stand by the front door and wait … for what? Should I leave? I looked down at my phone and realized I could have someone decide for me.

He answered on the first ring. “Hey, Mac.”

“The alarm went off.”