9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Mia

Okay, I’m bored. I’ve been here for a week now. My brothers still insist that I take more time off work, but since I’m too afraid to leave the house, there’s nothing for me to do.

I really should get over my fear and go to the grocery store today. It’s a good first step in getting out. I mean, honestly, is Don really going to be able to find me? Maybe I’m blowing this entire thing out of proportion. Even if he found me, he’d probably just beg to get back together, not kill me or anything.

Okay, good. It’s settled. I’ll go to the store and buy some food. I wonder what Eric would want for dinner. I should go ask him. I just hope he’s wearing a shirt this time. I swear I can’t even close my eyes now without seeing an image of his topless figure. It’s burned into my retinas.

I head downstairs and search the house. He must be in his bedroom and I am not about to barge in.

When I was in my room looking out the window, I saw a gazebo at the edge of his property by the woods. I pour a glass of iced tea and start to walk through the grass to see what’s inside of it. It could be another nice place to read or eventually pull out my laptop to work.

Maybe I could work without telling my brothers.

I start to walk past Eric’s large two-story barn when I hear a noise. The barn door is open and curiosity gets the best of me. I walk in and find Eric picking things up off the ground with his good arm and placing them back on a shelf.

I look around and my jaw hits the floor. The barn is covered with incredible woodwork, from long farm tables to rocking chairs. There are large circles made of wood with, what appears to be, last names burnt on the surface.

I’m stunned. I look up to the second story of the barn and it’s filled with unused wood.

It looks like a factory in here.

I look back over at Eric whose eyes are fixed on me, filled with anger. He takes a step closer to me, he stands over me, but I’m not scared. I stand my ground, refusing to back away.

“What are you doing in here?” he bites out.

I look him up and down, his jeans and black t-shirt cling to his muscles. His anger is doing something to my body, making it respond again in a way that is totally inappropriate for the circumstances of the moment.

“I was walking over to look at the gazebo and heard some noise coming from in here. This is amazing stuff. Do you make all of this?”

I see a moment of appreciation on his face before he goes back to glaring at me. “I do. But I don’t tell anybody about it. So do me a favor and keep your mouth shut. Don’t tell Layla.”

As much as I want to know why he would keep this art a secret, I know now is not the time to ask. He turns away from me and begins picking up nails and tools from the ground.

Instead of talking, I decide I can work with him in silence. I begin to pick up a bunch of nails and place them in the box lying next to them.

“How long have you been doing this?” I dare to ask, expecting him to blow a gasket.

“Four years,” he answers, continuing to clean.

Maybe if we just don’t make eye contact and work together on this, he’s okay with talking to me.

“I started out wanting a big table for my backyard. Couldn’t find the size I wanted anywhere. Then I just kind of kept going.”

I’m shocked he divulged that information without having to pull it out of him.

“It must come naturally to you. Your work looks like you’ve been doing it for much longer than four years.”

“Thanks. My ex hated it.”

“Why in the world would she hate it?”

He shrugs before picking up a nail gun. “She said the work was beneath me. She said carpentry is for poor people.”

What a bitch. I can’t believe those words could ever come out of someone’s mouth.

“Well, it’s a good thing she’s an ex because she’s wrong.”

I hear a strange sound coming from just outside the barn door.

“What the fuck is that?” I whisper as I drop the nails in my hands and run further into the barn.

In the process of it all, I trip and fall onto my hands and knees. What could that have been? Is it Don? Did he find me? Terror takes over my body and the room begins to spin.

Eric looks at me then at the door until a dog comes into view. “Um, that’s my neighbor’s dog, Max. He likes to walk around the property sometimes.” He crouches down. “Are you okay, Mia?”

I feel like I’ve reached a new low point. The reality finally hits me. I feel the sadness come in waves, the weight of it all pressing down on my chest until I can’t take it anymore. My breathing hitches and my vision blurs as tears spill over.

I’m here in this man’s house, who doesn’t want me here, and I’m scared of random noises because I don’t know if my ex is trying to hurt me.

Eric seems skittish and slightly alarmed. “Look, you’ve been acting strange and a little on edge at times. I’m just going to come out and ask. Is there something I need to know? Why exactly are you staying at my place? Are you in some kind of trouble? Drugs or something?”

I wipe the tears with the back of my hands. “No,” I say through an inhale, “not drugs.”

“What has you on edge?”

I look him in the eyes. “My ex.”

“Your ex?”

I nod. “He was stalking me for a while then I caught him trying to break into my house at night.”

His body visibly stiffens. “Where is this man now?”

I shrug my shoulders. “My brothers have the cops involved. He hasn’t been home in days. We don’t know where he is.”

Eric stands up. “You’re here hiding out.”

I stand up to meet him. “Yes. I’m so sorry. I should’ve told you, I just…it’s embarrassing.”

His head turns to the side. “Why is it embarrassing?”

“Because,” I throw my hands up in the air, “I thought he was normal. I thought he was a good guy. I didn’t see anything wrong with him. I liked him! Clearly something is wrong with me.”

“And you’re saying this guy could be out looking for you right now for all you know?”

“Yes,” I say through a shuttered breath.

He shakes his head and then turns around mumbling something to himself, walking out of the barn toward the house.

I feel awful. He should have known what he was getting himself into before he agreed to let me stay here. Now he’s involved in this mess when I know that’s the last thing he would want to be a part of.

I turn and walk back to the house as well, wondering if I should pack my things and leave. That’s probably the right thing to do. When I get back, he is standing outside on his porch pacing back and forth while he yells something into the phone.

That’s it, I’m leaving. I can’t be living under the same roof as someone who clearly wants nothing to do with me or my drama. I walk upstairs through the blur of my tears and pull out my suitcase.

I open a drawer full of shirts and scoop them up against my chest.

“What the hell are you doing?” a voice startles me.

Eric is standing in the doorway. “Umm, I’m packing. You were so mad. I figured you didn’t want me here.”

“You’re not going anywhere, Mia. Put those clothes down.”

“But…” I start but he storms into the room and grabs clothes out of my suitcase and tosses them in a drawer.

“But nothing. You just told me there is a psycho out on the loose possibly looking for you. Do you really think I am letting you get in that car and leave?”

I don’t know what to say. But the doorbell rings before I can think of anything. Without another word, he stomps out of my room, down the stairs, and answers his door. Layla’s voice rings throughout the house.

I close my door for a second. I need to gather myself and apply some makeup, so I don’t look like I’ve been crying. By the time I go downstairs, his entire family is standing in the kitchen.

“Mia! Thank God you were here,” his mother wraps me in her arms. “Who knows if something worse would have happened to him if you weren’t here to get him help.”

She pulls away and I realize he finally told his family he got hurt. Just as he suspected, they are all here and freaking out. I smile to myself.

I spend almost an hour listening to their questions about what happened. They all want to know what he was doing in the shed. He looks over at me as if to see if I’ll call him out on his secret. The power of his eyes on me is staggering. I have to look away.

“Well, I brought dinner from the restaurant,” Layla says. “Let’s sit down and eat. We can talk about why he is such a dick and didn’t call us right away later.”

Everyone starts to walk into the dining room, but Eric trails behind.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Me? I’m alright. What about you?”

He looks over at his family then shrugs. “I’m alright.”

We both smile at each other then join everyone in the dining room. Everyone eats, talks, and laughs, but my eyes are drawn to Eric. Every time I look, his eyes are on me. He doesn’t make any effort to pretend like he’s not looking at me. It makes my body temperature spike with each lingered stare.

I feel like I’m getting whiplash. He was angry when I told him about my ex, but then seemed equally pissed at the idea of me leaving. I don’t know what to expect. His behavior is erratic, and I should be scared. I should still leave. But as weird as it may sound, I don’t want to.

Eric finishes his beer and then looks up at his brothers. “Are you guys ready?” he asks.

They all nod and get up from their seats, his father and Josh included. That leaves me with the women. His mom, Layla, Charlotte, and his niece Brie. I don’t know what is going on, but no one else at the table seems curious as to what is going on.

“Do you know what they’re up to?” I ask Layla.

“It sounded like Eric was trying to turn his house into the latest CIA center.”

I don’t know what the hell that means, but Brie jumps up and asks all of us to play Uno, so I let it go. After she whips our butts, only because we all clearly didn’t play to win, I hear power tools just outside the front door followed by Eric barking orders.

I open the door, the cool autumn breeze sending shivers all over my body, and I see Eric walking up and down the front lawn yelling at the guys.

“I want them everywhere. Every single point of entry. Every window, every door. Asher, you make sure to check Liam’s work. I don’t want anyone slacking.”

“Fuck off, man. I’m not gonna slack,” Liam yells back.

What is going on? I run out to the front yard and look up to see all the guys on the roof.

I gasp. “What are they doing?”

He looks my body up and down which makes me visibly shiver, then he shakes his head. “I’m installing more security.”

“What? Why? I thought you already had a great security system?”

“I have a basic security system. Layla doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She thinks her dog is a form of security, but I can promise you, he’s not.”

I bite my lip as I try not to smile, but that sounds like Layla. “What are they putting up there?”

“Flood lights with motion sensors.”

“At every window?” I ask.

He looks at me intensely. “At every single point of entry.”

“You don’t have to do all of this. I understand if my being here isn’t worth the risk for you. I don’t want to make you feel unsafe in your own home.”

Instead of answering, he continues to bark orders at the guys. I do my best to avoid everybody for the next hour. I start cleaning and doing the dishes while the girls play another round of Uno. I’m just too distracted to participate.

I don’t know what’s gotten into Eric, but he’s acting insane. I’m relieved once everybody has left. But then it’s just the two of us standing awkwardly at the front entrance once it’s closed. I shift my weight back and forth from one foot to the other, finding it impossible to stay still.

He steps closer then reaches out and tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear. The gesture is small, but it steals my breath away.

“How are you doing?” he asks.

I’m thrown by his question. I don’t know what he means by it. “I’m confused. I feel like I’m turning your life upside down. I really should leave.”

He shakes his head back and forth disapprovingly. “You aren’t going anywhere, Mia. Not with that man out there looking for you. If that motherfucker ever tries to lay a hand on you, he’s gonna wish he was never born. Now go get some rest. The place is safe.”

He walks away like he didn’t just say the sexiest thing any man has ever said in my lifetime. For the first time since I’ve been here, I truly do feel safe walking up to my room. Although, safe from Don, the feelings brewing for the man I’m living with are anything but safe.