For a moment I don’t respond making sure that I’ve heard her right. I’m slightly shocked, but don’t dwell on the thought. If she’s offering me a chance to touch her, to soothe her without a fight, then I’m taking it.
“Sure, roll over,” I finally say and help her turn so she is lying on my chest. Once on her belly she moves to bury her face into my chest and tucks her arms between us. I snake an arm around her and start rubbing small circles against her lower back, eliciting tiny moans of satisfaction out of her.
“That feels nice and it helps with the cramps.”
“Do you always have them this bad?”
“Every month. It’s only really bad the first two days, then they usually subside. Most of the time I just take a bunch of pain meds, stick a heating pad on, and go to work, but this, this is much better.”
“You can stay in bed all day, if you want. I’ll bring you food and whatever else you need.”
“That would be really nice. It’s been awhile since someone cared for me.” Her admission annoys me because all I’ve been trying to do is take care of her. Everything I’ve ever done was to make sure she was safe, happy, and cared for. My fingers trace idly against her back not matching the annoyance filling my gut.
“Are you hungry?” I ask after a while.
“A little, maybe for something light.”
“I’ll make us something and bring it to bed,” I tell her before gently placing her beside me and covering her up with the blanket.
“Thanks,” she whispers, as I get up to put some shorts on. Right before I exit the room, I turn and look at her one more time. This is what I wanted, what I imagined our life would be like when I thought about bringing her here. All I could hope for now was to keep the peace between us.
Opening the door, I step into the hallway. My feet have barely touched the wood floor when I feel it. The air around me changes, it becomes thick, heavy and, the small hairs on the back of my neck rise. There’s this uneasy feeling rattling around inside of me. Moving with stealth, I walk back into the bedroom and head straight for the closet where my guns are located. I grasp onto my Sig Sauer and grab two extra magazines as well.
Exiting the closet, I look to the bed where Grace is lying. I hate to do it, but I need her safe, and hidden. Heading for the door I whisper yell, “Grace, get up, and hide in the closet. Do not come out no matter what you hear or what happens.”
The thought of her getting hurt because of me makes me sick to my stomach.
“What’s wrong?” Grace sits up in the bed, catching onto the seriousness of my voice. She rushes from the bed only wearing her underwear. Her eyes move to the gun in my hand and instantly widen. I can see the panic forming and I know I have to tell her what’s going on before she reacts in her own way.
“I think someone is in the house. Please do as I say, there are guns in the closet, grab one and shoot anyone that is not me. Got it?”
“O-okay… okay…” she stutters nervously but does as she is told. I wait, watching her disappear into the closet. I sneak out of the bedroom, pulling the door shut behind me and locking it. It might not do me any good, but it puts another wall between her and the enemy.
Back in the hallway I shove all thoughts of Grace from my mind and focus all my attention on the task at hand. I peer down the stairs and into the darkness of the house. I don’t hear any sounds and I don’t see anything, but I know someone is there. Like a sixth sense, I can feel the danger.
Slowly and silently I make my way down the stairs, careful not to step anywhere I know the wood creaks. When I reach the bottom of the staircase, a noise reaches me. It’s a male whispering, coming from the direction of the kitchen.
With my gun raised in front of me, I flatten myself against the wall and stalk toward the intruder. A second voice meets my ear and I tighten the grip on my gun. Fuck.
I’m almost at the door when I see a shadow move across the floor, someone is about to come through that door, and I’ll be damned if I let them get to Grace. Pointing the gun right about where I predict the head is going to be, I wait, and when I see a large body coming through the door, I pull the trigger.