Fallon
Every single noise, from the slightest creaks inside the house, to the cars passing by on the street below, has me jumping out of my skin and thinking about how many times I’d laid awake in bed waiting for Ethan’s car to pull in after he’d been on the road. After hearing his vehicle in the driveway, I’d lay silently and wait for the stairs to creak under his footsteps. While I know he’s never going to pull into the garage, never going to climb those stairs and crawl in with me, that still doesn’t stop each noise from messing with my brain. Yeah, I’m definitely going to have to sell the place, sooner rather than later. The bed coils creak as I turn to face the wall. But it’s short-lived and a second later I flip over to my other side, unable to settle myself.
Was it too soon to return?
Restless, I slide from the sheets and step into the hall to check on Chase, who thankfully is snuggled in tight and sleeping silently in his bed. Thank God for the resilience of children. My heart squeezes as I look at him, and I pray that Jamie can be the positive male influence he needs. Although after seeing the mental and physical state of Chase’s uncle, I’m not so sure. I don’t want to put any pressure on him, or ask him to be something he can’t, but deep in my heart I have a feeling a bond would be good for the both of them.
I fix the blankets around Chase and walk back into the hall. I make my way downstairs and boot up my laptop. I scroll through Facebook and Instagram. Oddly enough, I find myself doing a search for Jamie, although I quickly discover his accounts have been dormant for a little over a year now. So have mine. I do a quick search for real estate agents, and then another one on daycares. Since I’m up, I shoot an email off to human resources at Seattle General. I took an extended leave of absence, with the promise that my job would be waiting for me when I returned. After I fire off the email to Joyce, I close my computer. Hugging myself to ward off a chill I shouldn’t be feeling in the warm house, I stand and wander through the place which, when it comes right down to it, truly is far too big for the two of us. I have no idea where we’ll go from here, but I’d like to be in a community with small kids, near the hospital and good schools.
Stretching out my tired limbs as the wood floors creak from neglect, I notice that the clock on the kitchen wall has stopped. I almost laugh at the irony that time has stood still since I left. I make a note to change the battery tomorrow and head for the stairs. I’m on the third step when a loud noise outside reaches my ears. I jump, and grip the handrail, my heart thumping against my ribs.
Could Jamie be back?
Somehow doubting that, I sneak back into the kitchen and grab the baseball bat Jamie had set near the back patio door. I grip it, and flick the outside light back on. My hand goes to the lock, when I see a flash of someone or something running by.
“Oh, my,?
?? I shriek and jump back. Breathing hard, I hurry back up the stairs to my room and grab my phone. I grip it tight, and debate on calling Jamie. It’s late and he’s probably sleeping, but when I hear another bang, I dial his number.
“Hello,” a groggy voice says on the other end. I’ve clearly woken him.
“Jamie. I’m sorry for waking you,” I whisper.
“Fallon,” he says, much more alert now. I hear his bed creak and can almost visualize him sitting on the edge of it. “What’s wrong.”
“I heard a noise. I was about to open my back door but then I saw a shadow. It wasn’t you, right?” I ask, even though I know it wasn’t. He’s obviously at home in bed. Oh, shit. Another thought hits. What if he’s not alone? What if he’s with a girl, and I’m disturbing them?
“I’ll be right there.” Before I can protest, even though I’m not sure I want to, he continues with, “Go to Chase’s room and lock the door. Don’t hang up. I want you to stay on the phone with me.”
I tiptoe into my son’s room, shut and lock the door. I walk quietly to the window and peer through the curtains. I spot Jamie hurrying down the street.
“I see you.”
Breathing hard into the phone, he glances up, and the streetlight falls over him. “You okay?”
“I am. I feel silly for calling. It was probably nothing.”
“Or maybe it was something.” He disappears from my sight, and through the phone I hear him walking along the pathway to the back yard.
“Anything?” I ask quietly.
“Not seeing anything, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t someone snooping around. I want you to get an alarm system installed. I never did like you staying home alone without one. I talked to Ethan about it before, but he never got around to it.”
He’d talked to Ethan about installing an alarm system?
“I don’t plan on staying here too long, though.”
“I’ll make the arrangements tomorrow. I’m coming inside. That’s me you hear at the back door.”
“Okay.”
I open Chase’s door and close it quietly behind myself. I’m two feet from the stairs when Jamie reaches the top step, his hair a disheveled mess, his eyes tired and heavy from sleep. My gaze falls over his half naked, tattooed body.
Don’t look.
Don’t admire.
I look.