Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117443 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117443 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
"No, really, I-"
"Hayley. I want eyes on you. Right now. Open this door or I'll get an axe and chop it the fuck down."
A moment passed and then he heard her struggling with something on the other side of the door. His whole body tensed with the need to see her. Whatever it was, it was taking far too long. "Hayley," he growled.
"I'm getting it. Just hang on," she called out.
Finally he heard the flimsy doorknob lock flip and the door creaked open a few inches. Hayley blocked it with her body. "I'm fine," she informed him.
Ignoring her attempts to shut him out, he shouldered the door open and stalked past her. Directly across from the doorway was the side wall that encompassed the clothes closet. It had a giant hole in the dry wall. His eyes scanned the room and found the highboy dresser sitting at an odd angle between the bed and the closet door.
"That," he said, pointing at the highboy, "was what was blocking the door?"
She chewed her lip and nodded. Obviously when Chris threw his weight into the door, it had merely succeeded in toppling the highboy into the closet wall, still rendering entry impossible.
Chris scrutinized Hayley from head to toe. She was wearing sleep shorts and t-shirt, both in good order, no rips or tears. Her legs, arms, and face looked okay other than her eyes were a little puffy from crying.
He strode past her and flung open the closet doors, peering inside, when he turned, Hayley caught sight of the .44, pointed at the floor, and stumbled back, eyes wide in terror.
"I thought you were in trouble," he said by way of explanation.
His eyes moved over the room, assessing it. Nothing else seemed out of place. Everything looked normal. His gaze settled on four indentations on the brand new carpet in front of the door. "Hayley, if-" he said, taking a step toward her. She instantly moved away from him.
He sighed and placed the .44 on top of the highboy behind him, then turned back to her. "You're okay?" he asked, and she nodded slightly. "Jesus, Hayley, you scared the hell out of me."
"I'm sorry," she told him. She started to cry and he felt like an ass because he knew he sounded harsher than he meant to.
"No, I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to yell. You want to tell me who Jake is?" he asked gently. She'd been screaming his name over and over, also "Stop" and "Please, don't do this."
He felt her head shake against him. "No one. It was just a dream," she lied.
He sighed. "This happen a lot?"
"Not really. Sometimes. Not for a long time, though," she admitted. "I'm sorry. “Tonight scared me.”
"Hayley, this isn’t just about tonight. You move that dresser every night," he observed. Hayley continued to chew her lip and nodded. "Why?" he asked, then chalked up his stupidity to being woken up in the middle of the night. "You're that afraid?" Hayley didn't move or respond.
Chris let her go and picked up his gun off the dresser. He stalked out to the living room and frowned at the broken door. Hayley had cautiously followed him and was now staring at it with growing panic.
"Didn't have time to get keys," he grumbled. "Thought you were...in trouble. I'm gonna stay the rest of the night, Hayley." His heart squeezed as he saw the panic threaten to overtake her at that point. "I'm taking the couch. I'll have the guys here in the morning to fix your door." He tucked the .44 into the waistband of his shorts at the small of his back. "I'm just gonna run to my house and lock the door. I left it open. I'll be right back, honey. Okay?"
She nodded and he jogged down the porch steps intent on returning as quickly as possible. After securing his own place, he swung her front door shut and carried a dining room chair over to it to keep any wind from blowing it open.
He set the gun down on the coffee table and sat down on the couch. Hayley was still standing at the entrance to the hallway, gazing around the room, slightly dazed.
"Hayley," he called out to her. She swung her gaze to him. "You should go back to bed. Try to rest if you can."
****************************
Hayley stood helplessly in the bedroom, unsure what to do. A large man with a gun was in her living room. On the other hand, she was terrified to think what might happen if he wasn’t there tonight, since the door was broken. She looked around the room, slightly bewildered and then settled her gaze on the bed.
She slowly crept out of the bedroom, practically tiptoeing down the hall to the living room. Chris was sitting on the couch and looked up at her as she approached. “Here,” she said awkwardly, handing him a pillow and the blanket from the foot of her bed.