Page 56 of Imbalanced Minds
Saying our final goodbyes, I head over and get my coat. Doing a final check everything’s in order, I spot a lone piece of paper sitting on my desk. Grabbing it and reading what it says has me freezing on the spot.
You’ll regret what you did
I’ll be seeing you real soon
I’m coming to collect
“Shit. Iris. What’s wrong, honey?” I hear Dad’s voice, but I can’t seem to form words or will myself to move. He notices the piece of paper in my shaking hand and grabs it. “Is this what’s gotten you all closed off?” I can sense his change in demeanour as he reads it.
“Fuck!” Dad bellows. Before I know it, he’s on the phone and my ears are buzzing.
I still don’t understand what’s going on. My stomach protests because I’m about to hurl. Quickly turning toward the rubbish bin, I fall to my knees while all the contents of my stomach come up. My throat’s raw like it’s being cut with a razor blade, while my breathing becomes heavy, and I’m light-headed.
Oh no, not again.
I can’t have an anxiety attack in front of Dad. Sensing I’m about to fully lose it, Dad manoeuvres me so I’m sitting in the chair with my head between my legs. He’s still speaking but I don’t understand a thing. I try my best to focus on my breaths and it slowly starts to work as Dad rubs slow circles on my back.
“Get here, now!” The phone falling on the desk beside me makes me jump and brings the room and my surroundings into focus.
“W-what do I do? Who was in here? It has to be him. Has to be!” I say in a panic. I’m fully freaking out now, beyond hysteric and I start trembling.
“Shit, Iris, you’re in shock. Here, put your coat on, I’m taking you inside. The Police will be here soon and Cory’s on his way.”
I manage to comply, my body on autopilot while my mind melts the fuck down.
I’m so scared!
Why do I deserve this?
I can’t do this anymore!
Someone take me away from here!
Negative thoughts run rampant through my head as I cross the yard to the house. Dad has me snuggled into his side, and I have to admit if he wasn’t holding most of my weight there’s no way I’d be able to walk myself.
As if I’ve magically appeared in the house, I’m now sitting on the couch. I don’t hear any vehicles pull up, but there are fast, heavy booted steps coming through the house. Cory’s on his knees, in front of me, holding my face between his two warm palms. It’s so soothing that I break out in an ugly sob. The shock has fully set in and I can’t control my emotions. The dams burst the moment he starts talking to me.
“Angel, baby, are you okay?” He searches my watery depths and all I can give him in return is a slight shake of my head.
“Michael, Iris mentioned you had a bachelor party booked. Can you pull the name and any contact info from your files?”
“Yeah, they’re in the office.”
“Angel, I need to speak with your dad. Your mum will look after you, okay.”
Mum comes over and hugs me tight to her body. “She’ll be fine, dear. You men go and do whatever you need to. I’ll look after her.” Her comfort is something I’ll never get sick of. She has such a calming manner; I think even a bull would fall to its knees if it bared witness to her.
As the men leave, Mum hugs me tighter, as if she needs the reassurance, not me.
“Petal, do you want to talk about it before the men get back? This can’t be easy for you. Heck, I’m in shock too.” I let my barrier go, snuggling into her as we wait for the authorities to get their job done so I can go home.
—
It’s dark out now, the cops are long gone, and we’re still all on edge. Over the last few hours, I’ve been interviewed, Dad’s shown the footage from the surveillance and I’ve fallen into a shell of my former self. I knew my being happy was too good to be true. I’m such an idiot.
I’ve not moved far from the living room. I can’t summon the energy, although, my own bed would be nice. “Can we go home?” I ask Cory. He looks over at me from the other side of the room and nods. “Okay, sweetheart. Let’s get you some rest.”
Saying our goodbyes, we climb inside Cory’s truck and head for home. Not even the thought of my new home gets me excited. I think back to earlier in the week when there were no threats to my life. Something tells me there’s more going on here than I’m led to believe.
Tomorrow, I’m going to find out exactly what they’re all hiding.