Page 61 of Wrecked By You

“Do you have to go?”

“Yeah. I’ll call you back in just a sec.”

“Okay.”

I put my phone down on the charger and closed my eyes. Then I heard something. It was just a light tapping, but I shot up. What was that? It literally sounded like someone was knocking on the far side of the house.

I got out of bed and crept toward the hallway. Another knocking sound came, but it wasn’t at the main door; it was at the side of the house. I was confused, and I wondered if therewas a tree or something that was hitting the house. Deep down, I knew there wasn’t. Plus, there was no wind.

I hesitated and then went back to get the gun. I pulled it out of the nightstand where I had put it. The metal felt heavy in my hands.

Another knock sounded. This time it sounded like it was closer to the sliding back door. My breath hitched inside of me, and I walked toward the kitchen.

I looked at the gun and pulled the safety off. Could I really kill someone? Could I kill Kyle? Deep inside, I felt like I could. If he had found me and was here to hurt me, I could.

Determination washed through me. I got to the sliding glass door and unlocked it. I pushed it back and yelled out, “Hello?” My heart hammered hard in my chest.

I was tired of being the victim. I wasn’t going to be the victim anymore.

“Hello? Come out! Who’s there?”

Nothing. I strained to listen, but no one answered.

My phone rang. I almost dropped the gun.

I came back inside, shut the door, and locked it. Then I ran down the hallway, listening to my phone ring. I put the gun down and then answered the phone, thinking it would be Damon.

Silence.

I looked at the phone. It said the number was blocked, so I quickly hung up. My whole body was shaking. I reached for the gun again. Was he here? Was someone here?

The phone rang again, and I saw that it was Damon. I answered it. “Hello?”

“What’s wrong?”

I realized that my voice was shaky. “Someone was here. Or they called. I don’t know. There was knocking.”

“What? Are you okay? I’m coming.”

I tried to settle myself. I wasn’t the victim. “I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine.”

Damon growled into the phone. “Is this one of those times you’re just saying that and you want me to come? Because I’m seriously out the door.”

I didn’t want him to have to leave his kids, and I didn’t want to be the victim. I crawled into bed. “I’m fine. Just stay on the phone with me.” I grabbed the gun and put it beneath my pillow.

“I can text Kayla right now.”

“Talk to me.” I closed my eyes and tried to imagine that I hadn’t heard anything before.

“I’m checking the cameras, and I can’t see anyone.” He huffed out a breath. “I can call Noah and ask if he can rewind it.”

“Just tell me something. Something good. Something like puppies licking your face.”

He was quiet for a minute, and then he said, “What are you talking about?”

I couldn’t help but let out a light laugh. “I watched a YouTube video one time. It was about how we can change our feelings by what we’re thinking about. So I like to imagine puppies are licking my face. I don’t know if I told you this, but when I was in Texas, I would volunteer at a dog shelter sometimes and I loved it when they would lick me.”

“You like dogs?”