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It’s after three in the morning, and I can’t sleep. Who the fuck is stalking Alana? She hasn’t been living here long enough to have met many people.
Since I’m awake and my adrenaline is pumping, I decide to take action and look up a few moving companies. After narrowing down their availability, I schedule movers to come to pack Alana’s belongings and take them to a storage unit tomorrow. She has a lot to figure out, so I want to do what I can to make it all easier for her. I shut my laptop and lean back against my pillows. Stress keeps me up, but eventually, I drift off into a fitful sleep.
* * *
In the morning, I wake to the smell of bacon and coffee wafting up from the kitchen. My bedside alarm clock is blinking a time just after six in the morning, and I groan. I don’t know how much sleep I got, but it wasn’t enough. I pull on pajama pants and walk downstairs to find Alana in my kitchen, cooking a full breakfast. She looks so much more composed and less gaunt than she did last night as she flips pancakes on the skillet.
“Good morning,” I say as I enter the room.
She turns and smiles at me. “Morning! I hope you’re hungry because breakfast is almost ready.”
“I’m surprised you’re awake. You should’ve slept. I’m sure you didn’t sleep well.”
“Actually, I slept like the dead. I don’t know how, butwow. I haven’t felt this well rested in months.”
The bar stool screeches against the floor as I pull it out and sit down. Captivated, I watch as she grabs plates and silverware, filling them with pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast.
“How did you find everything you needed? This kitchen is disorganized,” I say.
Her head tilts back, and she laughs. It’s loud and encapsulates everything I’ve learned about Alana so far.
“That’s no joke. I had to scour every square inch of this kitchen just to find a spatula. But I wanted to surprise you, so I figured it out.”
Silence settles around us while she finishes cooking, and I figure I better come clean about the movers I scheduled for today.
“I hope I didn’t overstep any boundaries, but last night, I scheduled movers to go pack up your belongings and move them to one of my storage units. I don’t want you to have to go back there if we can avoid it.”
Alana places the plate in front of me before sitting down next to me with her plate. She takes a bite of eggs and looks over at me with a curious look on her face.
“You didn’t have to do that, but thank you. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to relax there again.”
I nod in understanding before taking a bite of the pancakes. They’re delicious, but thoughts about what happened last night fly through my head. We need to talk about it or it’s going to continue to drive me mad.
“Do you have any idea who could have done this?” I ask her.
Alana shakes her head and pours more syrup on her bacon.
“I don’t. Everyone at the restaurant seems nice enough, but I don’t know them well enough to say for sure.”
Sipping the piping hot coffee carefully, I watch her eat. Her casual and calm demeanor is surprising, and I’m a little afraid she’s in shock or something.
“Hopefully, the cops stay on top of their shit and find a lead. I’m glad you told them about the flowers and other creepy shit. They better take it fucking seriously.”
Alana takes a deep breath and looks away from me.
“My biggest worry right now is finding somewhere else to stay.”
“I told you not to worry about that. You can stay here as long as you need.”
Alana looks at me with gratitude and a hint of something else in her eyes. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s a look that makes me feel like she’s seeing me for the first time. It’s not a look of admiration or respect, but something deeper.
“Thank you.”
I can’t help but watch her as she eats, noticing how her lips wrap around the fork and how her tongue darts out to lick off any remaining syrup. It’s a small, innocent gesture that causes a jolt of desire through me. I try to shake it off, reminding myself that she’s been through a traumatic experience and it’s not the time to act on any urges.
“Is everything okay?”
I clear my throat. “Yeah, sorry. Just lost in thought.”
