“Want me to stay with you?” he asked as he set her gently down on his bed.
“Thanks, but it’s okay, I’ll be all right on my own,” Naomi assured him. She had confessed how utterly exhausted she was, and she had admitted how broken she felt inside, but she needed Sam to know that she was still strong, that she was still tough, that she was still able to handle whatever was thrown at her just like she always had. It was why she worked so hard to always be strong, always be in control, and always be whatever anyone needed her to be. She needed to convince herself that she wasn'tcompletelybroken inside. “Besides,” she ran her fingers up Sam’s stomach, his chest, and to his lips where she brushed her fingers backward and forward across them. “If you stay, I don’t think I'm going to sleep.”
Slightly turning his head, his tongue darted out, the tip tickling her fingers, and then he laughed. Sam rarely laughed, hearing him do it made her relax a little. “Yeah, you're right, and you do need rest. I’m just downstairs if you need me.”
“I know. You’re never far away.” Sam’s presence was the only thing helping her keep holding it together.
“Never,” he echoed. “I'm never going to be far away from you. I love you, Naomi.”
His hands clasped her cheeks, his fingers caressing her skin, then his head dipped, and his mouth touched hers. As he kissed her, Naomi could feel her emotions swelling inside her. They were so strong. How did Sam do this to her with one simple kiss? And why hadn’t she let him do it to her many years ago?
“Sleep now. Call out if you need anything,” Sam ordered when he finally broke the kiss.
“I love you too, Sam,” she whispered to herself as he left the room. Why couldn’t she say it to him? She felt it but she just couldn’t make the words come out of her mouth. She wished she knew what was holding her back. The next time she saw Sam she was just going to say it.
Closing her eyes, she rolled onto her side, right into the middle of the bed, and pulled the blankets right up to her chin. She had been dozing off and on for a while when her new phone beeped with a message. Sam had organized new cells for both himself and her, and had their old numbers and data transferred to them.
Naomi debated whether or not to check it, and almost let it go, but she knew the niggling wondering about it would stop her from sleeping so she sat up and grabbed her phone from the bedside table.
The text was from Ruth.
She hadn’t heard from her big sister in weeks, she really hoped Ruth hadn’t dropped out of rehab again.
When she opened the text what she saw made her drop the phone.
Her hand was shaking so badly she fumbled with it several times before managing to pick it up.
The picture that had caused her to drop the phone was still there. She hadn’t imagined it.
Naomi realized she was panting, struggling to draw enough air into her lungs.
She had to calm down.
She had to.
Sam’s name was on the tip of her tongue when she froze.
She couldn’t call him.
The text may have come from her sister’s phone, but Ruth hadn’t been the one to send it.
It was her stalker.
He had her sister.
Ruth was bound and gagged and tucked in the trunk of a car.
The message gave an address and warned that he would kill her sister if she didn’t come alone.
It was signed, the monster under her bed.
How could he know about that?
How would he know that was her biggest fear?
She didn’t have time to worry about it. She had to go. Now.
How was she going to get out of the house without anyone noticing?