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Robbie cocked his head to the side. “It kind of sounds like a problem. Listen, Abby, you can come with me, it isn’t a big deal. There’s no rule that says you need to be okay with being alone right now.”
I understood what Robbie was saying and I appreciated his support, but if I couldn’t handle walking a short distance home then I’d really be worried. I was terrified, on edge, and scared of every face that wasn’t immediately recognizable. But I was also a twenty five year old, career driven woman who needed to push past her comfort zone, especially in times of distress.
With another curt nod, I responded, “I’ll be okay. Really, Robbie. I’m a big girl, I can walk home on my own.”
He left shortly after that, informing me that he was finishing an outdoor piece for a new restaurant in town. Robbie ran a very successful custom-made furniture company, something that our father didn’t appreciate in the slightest. Not that the prospect of disappointing our dad ever stopped him.
I couldn’t help but notice the way he smiled at Simone over his shoulder. I wanted to ask her about it but before I had the chance to ask her anything she was throwing questions toward me at record speed.
“Do they know who did this? What did the police say? Oh, God, what did your mom say? You can stay here if you want. Do you-”
“Simone.”
“He doesn’t know you live in Port James, does he? What about you apartment? Isn’t all of your stuff-”
“Simone,” I said, my voice far louder than usual. I’d lost my cool, just a little bit, and my best friend was looking at me with raised eyebrows.
It wasn’t her fault. She wanted to know what happened, wanted to know how she could help me. I knew that it was coming from a place of concern and love rather than her trying to be a busy body. But I just. Wasn’t. Ready.
“The best way to help me right now is to just drop the questions. I’m not ready yet, I’m sorry.”
Thankfully, Simone didn’t push me to talk about it after that and switched the conversation to all the fun we would have now that I was home. She even convinced me to take some type of yoga class next week and I loathed yoga.
I listened happily while she chatted away, realizing the more time I spent with Simone and the longer I listened to the waves crashing against the shore the more comfortable I was with being home.
“I have so any pieces that I want you to take home. Silver looks so great with your skin tone, so try these on.”
I sat on the edge of her small couch as she clasped a delicate, silver chain around my neck. There was an amethyst stone about as small as my pinky nail in the center of it and it was absolutely beautiful. Understated. Gentle, just like the woman who made it. She had a pair of matching teardrop earrings that she assured me people would compliment me on. But the truth was that I didn’t care about compliments as much as I cared about the fact that my best friend went through the effort of making me such beautiful pieces.
“You didn’t have to do this,” I said softly.
“Shush. I wanted to. I was going to mail them to you in New York. But then, um…” Simone trailed off, not knowing what to say as her eyes shifted to my black eye and then down to her bare feet.
I reached out and squeezed her arm gently. I may not have been ready to talk about what happened, but I couldn’t stand the thought of her feeling awkward or uncomfortable. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay. It’s just… something that needs to be dealt with.”
Of course, it needed to be dealt with. They didn’t catch the man that attacked me and effectively ruined my life. There was no sign of him, no fingerprints in my apartment and no signs of forced entry. It was as though he disappeared into thin air, and that sent chills down my spine. But there was no way he knew where I lived, there was no way he knew I came from Port James.
Right?
The police suspected he was still in the city and they were positive he had no way of truly knowing where I was. They had my contact information if- when- they caught the bastard. I’d be the first person to be notified when they brought him in. The detective working my case told me the best thing I could do was surround myself with friends and family, and try to heal as best I could.
“It’s just something that needs to be dealt with,” I repeated, not knowing if I was saying it to myself or Simone.
She nodded her head and then pasted a smile on her face before straightening her shoulders and pulling her long hair over one shoulder. “Okay, let me make us some tea and I’ll fill you in on all of the gossip. Wait until you hear about what Mr. Michaels had in his basement.”
After two cups of herbal tea- that I didn’t enjoy- and a witch hazel treatment to my eye, Simone had to open up shop and I needed to go back to Robbie’s and try to get some sleep. It seemed that after any sort of social visit I was plagued with fatigue, something else my mother would blame on a soft mattress.
My palms were sweating as I gave myself a mental pep talk and tried to prepare myself for the walk home. I thought back to the night of the accident leading up to now and I couldn’t remember being left alone. Either one or both of my brothers were with me, or the family therapist was at the house. I was never alone, though. Maybe my family was just as scared as I was.
I was heading down the back stairs to the beach when I realized someone was walking up at the same time. I was planning on slipping past the stranger when he looked up and I realized it was no stranger at all.
Familiar hazel eyes burned into mine.
My heart stopped.
“Knox.”
Chapter 3
