Page 169 of A Lie in Church

“We should make that official,” he said.

“What? The baby?” My blood froze.

“I meant, the truth about no baby.” He laughed.

“What about your mom?”

He stiffened for a moment before replying. “I will tell her the truth.”

Cooking with Tristan was annoying and fun at the same time. He was bossy most of the time, and I almost gave up on learning his Nana’s recipe. The food was great, and to be honest, I forgot how it had been made after an hour.

I wanted to ask about his treatment, but a part of me knew he wouldn’t tell me. Today had to be the best day I had had since the incident.

The bodyguards were fired. Tristan believed it was over. I wasn’t sure if the person was satisfied.

Whoever it was, I hoped he or she was happy now.

Later that night,we both stayed awake in bed. I snuggled closer to him in the dark. I knew he was still awake. His beard grazed my cheek.

“Are you still having nightmares?” I asked quietly.

“Yeah, but not every day,” he whispered.

“Were you badly hurt?” he asked after a while.

I could feel his eyes on me in the darkness.

“No.”

“I’m sorry for hurting you. I will say that every day if I have to,” he mumbled.

“I’m not holding anything against you,” I told him.

“Thank you for staying. I thought I’d lost you.” He increased his grip around me.

“I’m here. I won’t let go or walk away. You’re stuck with me. No refunds,” I whispered, and I felt his smile against my cheek.

“Where have you been all my life?” he asked and kissed me before I could think of an answer. I didn’t even have one.

I wokeup when I heard a noise outside. I untangled myself from Tristan’s arms and checked the time. It was past two in the morning. I glanced at Tristan and quietly got down from the bed to avoid waking him up.

I left the room to check if it was Morris. I saw a silhouette from where I stood at the stairs.

“Morris?” I asked, going down with steady steps. I found the switch at the staircase and turned the lights on.

It wasn’t Morris. I was sure of that. The tall form and long legs convinced me it was someone else. The person took off before I could take a good look.

“Hey!” I ran down the stairs and followed the figure.

The intruder had a black hoodie on and looked too lean to be Morris. It had to be the monster tormenting Tristan with those memories from his past. I ran faster. Thank God for those laps my PE coach had forced me to finish back in high school.

I was gaining on the form. We ran past the pool to the other side of the yard.

“Stop!”

I increased my speed and knocked the body down with my whole weight. I pulled the hood down, and my eyes couldn’t believe who I was staring at.

“No way,” I mumbled.