by Allie York
Chapter Nineteen
Harriet
The feeling of not knowing what was going on was not new to me. Most days it took me a solid minute before I knew what day it was. Waking up with a pounding headache and in a hospital room was worse. The dim light intensified the throbbing in my head and I tried to move my arm but Briggs had a death grip on it. My fingers were numb and tingly but I didn’t dare pull away. He was sleeping peacefully, curled against me in the bed with his hand in mine. Fractured shards of the day came to me, but the more I tried to remember, the less I could piece together. What I did remember was Beck telling me Briggs was B and reading the notebooks. I remembered Briggs begging for forgiveness. I talked to him in the hospital room for a while and then everything went fuzzy again. Stupid head injury.
A nurse came in, handed me papers, and started unhooking the monitors. Briggs woke up, sucking in a deep breath, and sat up in time to hear the nurse go over what to look for in case I needed to come back. The nurse said I could leave over her shoulder, shooting Briggs a death glare, and closing the door behind her.
“Rae is coming to pick us up.” Briggs shoved his phone back in his pocket, finally letting my hand go and ruffling his hair. “You’re staying with me for a few days.” Did he just tell me what I was going to do? My face must have given me away. “Please. Please stay with me. Rae offered, but I’ll go insane if I’m not the one helping you.” The memory slammed into me. I was attacked after Briggs left. After I told him to leave. The guy knew my name and hit me in the head. I had no idea what happened after that. I nodded an acknowledgement. I was in no condition to argue and really didn’t want to. My anger didn’t matter when my head hurt so damn bad. I wasn’t good at grudges anyway. Grudges only hurt the person holding them, and Briggs meant too much to me for grudges.
Rae and Nick picked us up and chatted on the drive to my apartment to pick up clothes. Rae talked about some funny thing George had done and Nick joked with her about something. I didn’t pay attention, though. They were trying to tip-toe around me, trying to coddle me, and I let them because it’s what Rae needed to do. She needed pretend and deflect. Some psychiatrist she was. Briggs sat stoic next to me, watching me lean into his side. I was supposed to be mad at him, but I didn’t care. I had never felt a connection with anyone like I did with him, so my anger could wait, or just never matter at all. Briggs made me feel safe and I was going to let him after what I had gone through. Maybe if I got lucky, he would stick around.
Nick and Rae waited in the car while Briggs walked me in to pack a bag. His hand rested on the small of my back as we made our way up to my apartment, but even with Briggs there, I felt a slight unease creep in to my mind and I froze.
“Something’s wrong.” My head was still aching and my nerves were on the surface of my skin. Briggs touching my back was irritating, but I knew a bad feeling when it hit. I had not listened to the same feeling before getting attacked.
“Wait here.” Briggs held a finger up and slipped toward my door. Just as I reached for my key, he eased the door open and Morticia strolled out, rubbing his legs and meowing loudly. A shiver ran through my body. I braced on the wall and Briggs stepped in my open apartment only to come back a moment later shaking his head. I moved toward the door, pushing his arm from blocking me, and gasped. My apartment was destroyed. Tapestries slashed, books shredded, and glass broken. Briggs caught me just as I turned toward the door. His arms were around me and I buried my face in his chest, desperately seeking the safety I knew I would find there.
“Why would anyone do this? I’ve never hurt a soul. Why are they doing this?” Tears stung at my eyes and finally spilled over onto his shirt. My entire life had been one disaster after another and as soon as I found comfort, it all crumbled again. There was never any peace no matter how hard I tried to be kind, no matter what I did. The happiness I found in my new home was all short-lived, just like everything and everyone.
Unanswered questions washed over me, threatening to take me under, but Briggs touched my face, stroking my jaw with his thumb. The gesture comforted me like I had never known. His lies were becoming less and less important. He was still Briggs, still the guy I sat up late talking to and thinking about, the one I had kind of obsessed over for a while. “Let’s call the police.” Briggs led me back out to the hall and pulled me down to the floor with him. I texted Rae, Briggs called the police, and we waited. My new safety net tucked me against him and rubbed my upper arm while we waited. My sister called my cell phone again, but I just let it ring. I couldn’t handle Carmen anytime soon, or ever. No voicemail, again.
“I don’t have anything worth taking,” I whispered with my eyes closed, stroking Morticia’s head.
“I wish I had an answer for you, but you’ll be safe at my house.” Briggs kissed my head. “I promise.” Three police officers stepped off the elevator and powered toward us as Briggs helped me to my feet. They secured my apartment, searching for the intruder, and I went over what I could remember from the attack that morning. Briggs sent me in to gather a bag while he wrapped up the story by filling in the details I missed. I put Morticia in her carrier and handed it off to Briggs while he thanked the officers. The three uniformed men walked us back out to Rae’s car, handing me report papers. I wanted to find out what was happening to me, why anyone would want to hurt me, but more than anything I wanted to sleep off the terrible day and start fresh in the morning.
Morticia went to stay at The Dog House and Briggs directed Rae to his house, weaving us through side roads in the neighborhood next to my apartment building. Rae made me promise to call if I needed anything and I hugged her through the open window. They pulled off and I focused on the gorgeous home in front of me. The raging headache made all focus a challenge, but the house was stunning. It was Victorian just like all the other houses in the neighborhood, but was twice the size of most. The three story, sky blue house was tall, towering over the sidewalk and the brown gardens in front of it. A breeze rustled the bare dogwood trees in the front yard and Briggs reminded me of his presence by putting a warm arm around me. I was led up the path and into the white door and greeted with a wide entry room complete with antique furniture. The dark wooden floors spread out leading to a staircase on one side and a living room on the other. Briggs tugged me toward the stairs, but I moved toward the living room. A massive Christmas tree was in front of a bay window and sliding glass doors on the other side led to a patio. I went back to the Christmas tree. It was a little over a week until Christmas and I had forgotten. In my defense, I had never celebrated Christmas. I left him standing in the doorway and looked up at the tree, noting the crisp smell of pine and the nostalgic decorations. I had literally never had a Christmas tree and it had never bothered me until that moment.
“Do you want a tour, or would you rather lie down?” Briggs made me blink to attention.
“Show me around.” His mouth played at a smile and he took my hand, pulling me past the stairs and down a carpeted hallway. I was exhausted, but wanted to know my way around before I fell into a sleep that deep.
“Ma lives down here. There are three bedrooms, one is used solely for her card games, and the bonus room has a pool table.” We walked a little further and I pulled him to a stop. One side of the hall was lined with pictures of him, the other side was Beck. Little Briggs had glasses and a giant smile in all the pictures. Soccer team pictures and basketball team pictures dotted the school pictures and I wanted to memorize each and every one.
Briggs cleared his throat and my gaze moved to his flushed face. “The kitchen is in here.” The hall opened into the largest kitchen I had ever seen. Everything was black and white. Diner-style black and white tiles lined the floor and all the appliances were black. The cherry-red walls set the whole thing off. I could do some serious vegetarian cooking in there. The bar in the center was black with white cabinets and red barstools.
“Harriet?” Faye’s voice made us both jump. When I turned, Briggs draped his arm loosely a
round my waist. “What happened to your head? What are you doing here?” Faye shuffled toward me, hardly able to lift her feet, and brushed my hair back to study the bump on my head. Briggs’s mother was a bit taller than me and had to stoop slightly to see it.
“Harriet was attacked early this morning. Then her apartment was vandalized.” Briggs tightened his grip and a door slammed from the other room. “The guy who attacked her was caught and the doctor said she’ll be fine, but I’m insisting she stay here for a few days.” Briggs made it clear with his tone that there would be no arguments, but I wouldn’t have anyway. It would almost be like having a family to stay with for a few days.
“Briggs!” Beck’s voice rang out before Faye could respond. “Briggs! Did you hear? Is she all right?” Beck came to a stop behind Fay in the hall and furrowed his brow. “Harriet, I just heard what happened. I should have never left you alone this morning. Are you okay?” Then all eyes were on me. I remembered Beck coming by and I remembered what he told me, but he had left long before I had. Right?
“I’m fine, and I wasn’t attacked at home. It was at The Dog House so you leaving wouldn’t have mattered. I was already gone when my apartment was trashed.” I said it, but wasn’t entirely sure if my rendition was accurate. I moved my attention back to Faye, “I have a mild concussion and Briggs was very insistent that I stay here for a few days, but I don’t want to intrude.”
“Get yourself into bed. Do you need any pain killers, honey?” Faye winked at me, starting toward a cabinet next to the fridge and Briggs followed to help her. Something to ease the ache behind my eyes sounded amazing. I hated medication of any variety, wanting to stay lucid, but the pounding was overwhelming and the medicine the doctor sent me with would put me in too deep a sleep.
“We have three guest rooms, one on each floor.” Beck took a step closer to me and I took a step back right into a person. Briggs wrapped his arm around my middle, dropping two pills into my hand and offering me a glass of water. I popped the pills and took a sip, watching the tension move between the brothers. Beck finally took a step back. “I hope you feel better Harriet. Briggs, man, I called you when I found out. You may want to check your phone.” I was more than happy to find that guest room and lie down after that. I hated confrontation, but Beck had seemed to back off. Faye ushered us upstairs, telling me to “holler” if I needed anything and I was led down another hall and into a bedroom.
The desk stacked high with papers and the notebooks lining the shelves told me it wasn’t a guest room. Briggs had running shoes near the door and a king-sized bed in the center. A large black dog leapt from the bed, wagging his whole body as he approached. I dropped to my knees, rubbing Murphy’s head, and letting him bathe my face in doggie kisses. When Murphy was done with me, he took off down the hall and Briggs offered his hand to help me up. I pulled my boots off, leaving them by his running shoes, and crawled up into the mound of pillows. It smelled like Briggs. It was clean and distinctly masculine. The bed dipped and Briggs pulled me into him.
“I’m still upset with you.” I backed further into him, desperately seeking that feeling of safety. Briggs delivered, squeezing me tighter, and rubbing his beard in my hair. How was I so comfortable so fast? We had sex, good sex, mind-blowing sex, but there was no date, no time for a relationship. Yet, I was staying at his house, and eerily comfortable doing so. Am I that naïve or that foolishly trusting, again?
“Be mad after you get some rest.” Briggs kissed my hair and I followed orders. My eyes closed and I let go of all the questions about Briggs before falling into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter Twenty
Briggs
As soon as I knew Harriet was asleep, I grabbed my phone and Googled the man who attacked her. Marco Salter was a Washington native with a record that required several thumb swipes to cover, but none of them involved any violence. Lots of burglary, breaking and entering, and some blackmail. I kept digging, and finding more on Mr. Salter, trying to piece together the connection. The only thing they had in common was Washington, but I had to be missing something. Harriet had no family, no friends, nothing to still connect her to Washington that I knew of, but yet the man who attacked her and most likely trashed her apartment was from the same state. It was all too coincidental. The goal was to scare her, obviously, nothing was taken from her apartment, so what else would the purpose be? Scare her to what end? Was someone trying to make her leave? I had a hard time picturing Harriet making anyone mad, but there were crazy people out there.
A faint knock made me fumble my phone and Harriet shifted on my chest. Beck stuck his head in. My brother had acted almost human in the kitchen, seemingly worried about Harriet, but I knew Beck better than that. The asshole had tried to ruin us just that morning.
“How is she?” Beck sat stiffly in my desk chair, looking at all the notebooks piled on my desk. I still hadn’t organized them after he made a mess.
“She’ll be fine.” My grip instinctively tightened when his eyes moved over her. “The shit that happened with Penny isn’t happening again, Beck. I don’t give a fuck if you’re my brother or not. You don’t touch her, you don’t look sideways at her,” I ground out the words, making sure my brother understood what was going on. I would never sit back and let him take anything from me again, especially not Harriet. The instant I saw Harriet, I was sold. I fell like there was no place to land and wasn’t about to look back. Not even for my brother.
Beck shook his head. “Nah, I’ve been a big enough ass. When Nick got that call, man, I was seriously scared for a minute, and you know I don’t give a shit about people. I’m a selfish bastard.” My brother rubbed the back of his neck. “I was worried about her, but then I thought about how devastated you would be if she was really hurt.” The confusion must have been all over my face. “Look, the thing with Penny was shitty of me, but if she was in love with you, it wouldn’t have happened. That one looks at you like you’re the only man on the damn planet, has since that damn lunch. She’d never touch me.” He cocked his head at a sleeping Harriet and pushed up from the chair.
“I’m taking a couple of days off. Something’s going on and until we figure it out, I don’t want her alone, and we need to install an alarm.” My brother nodded once and left without another word. As badly as I wanted to believe him, it wouldn’t have been the first time Beck tugged the brother heartstrings to get one over on me. More than anything, I hoped he was right about Harriet.
My phone buzzed again and I read the text.
Jovie: A letter came for Harri. I didn’t want to bug her, but I think you need to see it. It was accompanied by a picture of a paper with red writing, “you can’t hide”.
* * *
Briggs: Return address?
* * *
Jovie: No. This shit is scary though. If anyone knows about creepy stalkers, it’s me. Text Ewan for his friend at the PD if you want.
* * *
Briggs: Thanks. I’ll take care of it. Be careful
I nudged her shoulder and brushed a lock of black hair from her face the next morning. Truth was, I could just lie there and watch my girl sleep, but the doctor made it clear that Harriet needed to stay hydrated and fed. She rubbed her face into my shirt, sighing and squeezing me tighter. My chest swelled with complete adoration. I would never sleep alone again, I just had to convince Harriet of that fact. I tried to remember the texts with Rae the night before. It takes her a minute to acclimate once she wakes up.
“I can read your mind, you know? Your face gives you away.” Harriet looked up at me with the edge of her mouth turned into a smirk. “I know where I am and even remember why. I’m not broken, just a little bent. Can I assume you’ve been talking to Rae?” I nodded, feeling stupid for putting so little faith in her. “Mama Rae loves to act like I can’t function so she can play protective mother, but it’s not as bad as she makes it out to be.” She pulled her body up slowly, bracing on my chest. “I’ve made it twenty-five whole years. You knowing about my issues do
esn’t make things different. I keep a list of the things I know I won’t remember and go about my day.” Her tone wasn’t angry and there was even a hint of humor to it. “I have to confess, it is kind of nice to have someone worry about me, though.” Her phone rang and Harriet leaned over me to silence it.
I motioned her back on to my chest. “You scared the shit out of me. Worry doesn’t even begin to describe it. Try all-encompassing, paralyzing fear. Are you still mad at me?” Harriet shook her head. “Good. Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving.”
Standing outside the shower and watching her lather my soap on her body was painful, but somehow, I managed to control myself. Then I had the strength to watch her dry off and get dressed without bending her over the counter. Her petite frame was pure temptation, begging me to cup a handful of her perky breasts and tug her long, dark hair. Every inch of her was a rich caramel, and I needed a taste. I kept my hands to myself, though, and suffered through the painful erection.
Once Harriet pulled a shirt gently over her head, I circled her waist and pulled her between my knees. My perch on the counter gave me the right height to kiss her forehead. The desire surged between us, just like it always did. Even at that first lunch, our heated glances felt combustible. Waiting for her to heal up was going to be torture.