Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 174623 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 698(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 174623 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 873(@200wpm)___ 698(@250wpm)___ 582(@300wpm)
I've enjoyed my last two shifts here at Juniper House, but my enjoyment here has little to do with avoiding going home.
I thought years ago that the loneliness I felt when I first left home would fade, and it did for a while. I was able to get lost in my jobs and the new, almost-freedom I let myself believe I had. In recent years, the isolation from any genuine friendships or even confidants has taken its toll on me.
There are days I question whether leaving was ever really necessary, or if the danger I felt would find me at some point was just something I created in my head, more about needing a change of scenery than real necessity.
I startle at the shuffle of feet on the outside of the fence, the shadow of someone walking making its way through the cracks.
"Hello?" I ask when everything in my body tells me to run.
"It's just me," an unfamiliar voice says.
I don't respond, frozen in place, despite thinking I would act differently in the face of what I felt was real danger.
"Holler, ma'am. With Cerberus," he clarifies when I don't speak.
Confirmation that he's not someone trying to get to me or one of the women in the house does nothing to calm my racing heart.
"O-okay," I stammer.
"Didn't mean to startle you," he says. "We're always out here."
"Thank you for protecting us," I manage. "Have a good night."
I go back inside before he can respond, leaning my back against the closed door.
Several eyes dart in my direction, and I do my best to manage a smile for the women sitting at the dining room table, still finishing their dinner.
"What is it?" Daisy asks, her eyes wide and full of fear.
"A fly," I lie, not wanting to scare her.
"A fly?" she asks, scrunching her nose. "You're afraid of a fly?"
"It was this big," I say, holding my hands up about four inches apart.
A round of laughter sweeps through the room.
"Probably a horsefly," Andrea offers.
"It was massive," I say with a smile.
Conversation at the table goes back to whatever they were discussing before I came back inside, but Daisy holds my eyes just a little longer, suspicion marking her young, little face.
I leave the room, heading to the office. My shift ended hours ago, and my relief, a lovely woman named Denise, arrived long ago, but I just can't seem to leave.
After typing up and verifying all of my case notes for the house, I literally can't find anything else to do, and I know I have to head out.
I check the window I was caught peeking through earlier, but thankfully Dana and the kids are playing a card game in the living room, and the others have headed back to their rooms for the night.
I take a deep breath, grip the strap of my purse, and test its weight to make sure my pepper spray is inside before opening the front door.
The sun has disappeared, the floodlights on the outside of the house making it easy to see the property. I glance up, seeing no shadows around my car that make me nervous.
The same man who was out front earlier is standing to the side of the porch, looking just as vigilant as he did over twelve hours ago.
I don't speak as I walk past, but I know his eyes are following me to my car.
As embarrassing as it might seem, I won't let his attention on me keep me from doing my checks.
I crouch slightly, looking under the car before checking the back seat, refusing to look in his direction again before unlocking my car and climbing inside.
I take the longest way I can manage back to my apartment, and for the millionth time since leaving my hometown, I make it home safely without so much as a hint that someone is following me.
I know better than to stop what I have been doing to stay safe. Graham Whitmore isn't the type of man who ever quits, and when a voice tells me I'm wasting too much energy trying to stay safe, I always reflect back to that smile of promise on his face the day he was sentenced.
I know deep in the marrow of my bones that he isn't done with me yet.
Chapter 13
Nyx
The bike rides in New Mexico are the absolute opposite of those I had in East Tennessee.
The sun is burning my back, my dark clothing absorbing every ray it has shot my way since I left a few hours ago.
Unlike the curves and serenity of tree-shaded Tennessee, New Mexico is vast and open and extremely hot.
The gate doesn't open as I drive closer, and it sets off an alarm in my mind as I slow down and stop.
Thumper steps out of the security station.
"What's going on?" I ask, my blood already running hot from the bike ride.