“Either way, I don’t trust her intentions. She sends them with threats, and I feel like she’s building this up to do something, to lash out, to hurt one or both of you. Do you understand how serious this is?”
She sighs. “Yes. I do. But I can’t do anything about it. I could go to the police but tell them what, exactly? Someone took a picture of me in a public place, and now my brother is worried? I don’t have evidence. I haven’t been attacked. She hasn’t approached us, so she’s not in violation of the restraining order. Maybe you’re blowing this up to be more than it is because she’s playing mental warfare with you. She knows your weaknesses, and she’s using them against you. These types of intimidation tactics are meant to cause paranoia. Ever thought about that?”
“It’s deeper than that, Annie. You and I both know that she’s unhinged and was extremely upset when Chad died. Unless you’ve forgotten the smear campaign she went on? She hates that I got out of prison and has let it be known that everyone I love will pay. The woman is insane, and I wouldn’t put it past her to put her threats into action. That’s all I’m saying. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if something happened to Sadie or you when I could’ve prevented it all.”
“Listen...” Her voice softens. “I understand that, and I know she’s mentally unstable, but I can’t just be on the run for the rest of my life. I already left my hometown after you got sent away. I can’t put Sadie through that without plausible cause. I’m keeping watch and always checking my surroundings, Archer. I promise. If anything else happens, I will make sure you’re the first to know. Not so you can fix the problem, but so you can be aware. I didn’t think the car thing was her because it’s on its last leg anyway. Everything over here is fine. You need to relax and breathe, okay?”
The house comes into view, and I take the sidewalk that leads to the porch.
“I just love you guys so much and would be destroyed if she harms you. I’m struggling with wanting to be there and here at the same time.”
“I know, and I hate that you feel that way. But I promise, I’m doing my best to keep us safe too. But anyway, my break is over now, so I gotta get back to work,” she says.
“Alright, fine, but you know what would make me feel better?”
“What’s that?”
I pause for a few seconds. “If you shared your iPhone location with me. That way, if I can’t get ahold of you or if something goes wrong, I can at least see where you are.”
She laughs. “Fine. I’ll share it when we hang up.”
“Thank you. Love you, sis.”
“Love you too,” she says and ends the call.
I suck in a deep breath, then walk into the house. Immediately, I hear music playing in Everleigh’s room and find her carefully hanging clothes that arrived in her inventory order yesterday. I give her a kiss, and she’s all smiles. I have to force myself not to show my anger, but she notices.
“Uh-oh, what happened?”
I slowly close my eyes before meeting hers, trying to compose myself so I don’t sound like a paranoid maniac like when I called Annie.
“I got another text.”
Everleigh shakes her head. “More threats?”
“And photos,” I say, handing her the phone so she can see for herself.
“Did you forward them to the detective?”
“Not yet. I will right now,” I say, attaching screenshots and sending them in an email. I sit on the edge of the bed, and Everleigh gets back to work, but I can feel her mood shift.
“I hate that bitch,” she mutters. “I swear, I’m going to hunt her down myself if she doesn’t stop. I’m tired of this. Right when things are lookin’ up, she comes right back into the picture and ruins everything.”
“I know, I’m sorry. This is my fault.”
Her brows furrow. “No, it’s not. You didn’t ask for her to constantly harass you like this. I just hate that no one can do anything about it. It’s so damn frustrating.”
“I think she knows she’s under my skin, but I think it irritates her even more that I don’t respond. She has nothing to feed off when I ignore her, so she keeps trying, hoping I’ll crack,” I say.
Everleigh sets down the extra hangers she was holding, then comes closer to me. I wrap my arms around her waist, pushing her against me.
“I love you so much,” Everleigh whispers, threading her fingers through my hair. “We’ll get through this together.”
“I love you too, baby. I’m so worried something will happen and I won’t be able to do anything about it. I know her words are just threats, but what if she actually harms one of you guys? We don’t know how the fire started or who broke in, so then my mind wanders to her being the culprit. And if she is, what else is she capable of doing? What if she escalates next time? I want to protect all of you, but I can’t. Maybe driving me insane with threats is what she wants. I’m just rambling at this point,” I breathe out in irritation.
“Concerned and protective Archer is hot.”
That makes me chuckle. “And somehow throughout all of this, you always make me laugh.”