The bastard just smirked at me and headed in the direction of Logan, Reeve and Lisa.
***
I looked around the waiting room of the police station – Lisa was doing better, she was sitting on Reeve, snuggled into him. She really was such a tiny little thing. Logan was flicking through a magazine, I could tell he hadn’t read a word – he just needed something to keep his hands busy. Quinn had arrived about 15 minutes ago, and was still getting the story from El.
“You fucking did what?” Quinn screeched.
El rolled her eyes. “Calm down you nut case, this is a police station.”
I chuckled and shook my head at the two of them.
Some things never change.
I stood and moved into the chair next to Logan – I felt like a real asshole. “Hey man, I just wanted to thank you, for you know… stopping me back there. I’d well and truly lost it.” I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.
“I get it. I see how you feel about that girl.” He nodded in El’s direction. “I can see how quickly you’d lay your own life down in exchange for hers. I know she feels the same. To be honest, I just hope that one day I can love, and be loved like that in return.”
Logan’s response surprised me. He was the master of seeing things as black or white. With Logan, there wasn’t a lot of grey area. I’d been expecting to get a lecture on right and wrong.
I sat in silence, his words running through my mind.
“I’m glad you didn’t really hurt him Lawson.” He said more quietly.
“Me too man.” I replied.
The doors to the waiting room flew open in a rush and I instinctively flew to my feet, putting myself in between Ellerslie and the door. The man in front of me looked distraught, scared, and tired. So bloody tired.
El was the first to speak, “Evan.” I felt her rise to her feet. “I’m really glad you’re here.” She started to move around me and my arm instinctively flew out to catch her. She shrugged me off and I caught her rolling her eyes at me. “They are not the same person Law.”
I didn’t give a crap. They looked the damn same and that was close enough for me. “What the fuck was he playing at?” I barked out the words at Evan.
“Ellerslie… I-“ He looked right at El and I saw him begin to crack. My anger faded and I actually found myself feeling sorry for the guy. He swayed slightly – like he might fall. El moved around me and grabbed his forearm. She led him slowly to a seat and pushed down lightly on his shoulders until he was sitting.
She took the seat across from him – I sat right next to her. “Start from the start.” She told him softly.
He took a deep breath. “Matthew is my twin. We’ve always been close. A few years back, he came to me. Told me about some of the urges he was having. He told me that he wanted to fix all of my problems. He started interfering in my life, intimidating people, and showing some other concerning behaviour.” He paused and looked backwards and forwards between El and I.
“Go on.” Ells pressed.
“In the end, my parents and I admitted him into a hospital. He was difficult, he refused medication, he threatened the nurses. It took a full year for him to get to a stable condition. By then our parents had washed their hands of him.” He fidgeted with his sleeve. “I moved him in with me so I could keep an eye on him. I thought he’d been doing well. But getting the call tonight proves otherwise.” He looked at El in question. “What did he do?” I could hear the fear in his voice.
I placed my hand on El’s knee. “He’s been stalking El, harassing us. He assaulted her tonight, and Lisa too.” I gestured towards where Reeve was holding Lisa. “He kidnapped Lisa and attacked El in her home.”
Evan collapsed forward and held his head in his hands. “Jesus.” He muttered. “Are you hurt badly?” He looked back up to El and pointed to her blood covered clothes.
“It’s just a cut, I need stitches. But I’ll be okay.” She told him. “He had a knife.” She added.
“A knife?” He whispered in disbelief.
“He wanted to take me back to you Evan. He seemed to think that I belonged with you. He knew that we’d been out together, and that I’d told you I wasn’t interested in going out again.”
“I told him.” Evan replied quietly. “It wasn’t a big deal, he asked if I was seeing you again… asked where you worked… he’s my brother, we talk a lot. I’m so sorry Ellerslie, I made you a target… I thought he was well. God I’m so sorry.” He looked like he was on the verge of breaking into tears.
There was one thing that was still not falling into place for me. “Did you know El was at the club that night?” I asked him.
He shook his head quickly and met my gaze. “No. No, I had no idea. Matthew wanted to go at the last minute…” He trailed off. “Shit… he knew.” He looked back to El. “He knew you were there.”
I sat back in my chair. He was telling the truth. The guy was a mess. “He needs help.” I stated.
Evan nodded. “He’ll get it. I’ll make sure of it.”
I looked up at the sound of the door opening again. Mark strode in. “Evan?” He asked with an extended hand.
Evan nodded and shook his hand. “Can I see him?”
Mark nodded. “Follow me.”
Evan threw us both an apologetic glance and hurried after Mark.
***
It was late and I was starving. All of us had been questioned, and I’d taken El to get her cut taken care of. Thirteen stitches later, we emerged from the emergency room. Logan had gone back to my place with Quinn, and Reeve had taken Lisa home right after finishing at the police station.
We’d been told that Matthew had admitted everything. He’d copied Evan’s keys, stolen his pass card for the office building, copied contacts from his phone and even pretended to be him to gain access to different facilities. He’d entered our office building several times, pretending to be Evan. It was a scary situation.
As much as I wanted to hate Evan, I couldn’t. He was as much of a victim as El and I. I couldn’t even hate Matthew for what he’d done. He was clearly mentally unstable. He’d been admitted into a psychiatric facility tonight and would be supervised around the clock. El seemed happy that he would be getting the help he needed.
She is unbelievable.
The woman was a saint. He’d threatened to kill her, and yet, she was worried for him, for his well-being. I loved her even more for her compassion.
I opened the door of the truck and helped El in. She’d lost a lot of blood, and she was shattered. She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. I buckled her in and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. I shut her door and leaned against the truck for a moment.
She was my whole world. I shuddered thinking about how I could have lost her tonight. I never wanted to be without her. I jumped into the truck. started the engine and cranked up the heater. I turned to Ells. “Can I ask you something baby?”
“Can it wait?” She asked quietly. “I’m just so tired.”
“I know baby, just one question, I promise.” I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading on my face.
She rolled her head towards me and opened her eyes. “One.” She breathed.
I reached over and took her hand. “Will you move in with me?”
She stared at me and a smile slowly spread across her lips. “Yes. I’ll move in with you.”
I danced and fist pumped internally.
Fuck yes!
I pulled her hand up and pressed my lips against her knuckles. “Thank you baby.” I let go and flicked my indicator on.
“Is that it?” She asked.
I chuckled at her frown.
“No song and dance?” She asked with amusement.
I just laughed – she knew me too well already.
“I think there comes a time when you meet someone and you just want to make them smile for the rest of your life.”
- Author unknown
76. Ellerslie
Four weeks had passe
d since Matthew’s attack.
The first week had been tough, everywhere I looked there was guilt – Lawson’s guilt for letting me go up alone, Evan’s guilt for dragging me into this mess, Mark’s guilt for not looking into Evan’s family, Lisa’s guilt for taking him to the apartment, my own guilt for Lisa being involved… the list went on. I had spent so many days telling them all that they weren’t responsible, that I didn’t blame anyone.
I had made peace with the whole experience. The last time I’d been attacked it was completely random, I wasn’t the intended target anymore than the next person who walked by, and even though this time, it was personal, I eased my fears the same way. I’d found a small self defence class and had begun attending. Quinn and Lisa had decided to join too. I hoped it would help to get Lisa’s confidence back, she was stronger than she looked, but since the attack, I’d learned she had some horrible demons in her past – she needed a way to take the power back in her life.
We had learned that when Matthew found he couldn’t get through Lawson, he’d decided he needed another way to get to me. He’d given up on Quinn, she was as much under lock and key as I was, and he hadn’t wanted to mess with Reeve. That was where Lisa came into the picture. He’d assumed that she would have access to the apartment building, and that she wasn’t being guarded. He’d grabbed her from the car park outside the hospital she was doing a placement at, and forced her to drive him to our apartment building. His plan was to get inside our apartment – the fact that I was there, was sheer luck on his behalf.
His plans had so many flaws, but that was unsurprising – he was mentally unstable. I’d called Evan a few times, and he’d assured me that Matthew was doing better, he was taking his medication and talking about his issues. It was a good start.
I shook my head in an attempt to clear the memory. I closed the lid of the box I was packing and looked around the now empty apartment. I was beyond excited for this day – today I was officially moving in with Lawson.
I didn’t think it would have been possible, but Lawson had been even more protective of me for the first few days. He’d not only kept me in his sight, but he was always touching me, holding my hand, or resting his hand on my back. It was as though he thought I might disappear if he let go. I’d woken up every night to him crushing me against him with his strong grip. As the weeks had gone by, we’d both gone back to work, and he’d learned to relax a bit – I still hadn’t spent a night away from him, but that was fine with me. My life was his life now too.
“Are you done back there?” I called to Quinn.
Lawson and Logan had left about an hour ago with their last load of boxes. Some would be going to our house and some would be going to the house that Logan had brought.
He’d purchased a large home, not far from us and he was planning to renovate it. He had asked Quinn to come and live there with him. I was relieved she’d agreed. The two of them got on like a house on fire, and I knew Quinn would enjoy the company – they both would. Lawson was happy that Q would have Logan there to watch her back, so it was a win-win for everyone.
I smiled as I thought of Lawson. He’d tip toed around me for the first few days after the attack, I knew he had questions he was burning to ask, but he didn’t want to upset me. I’d finally begged him to just ask me, and Jesus, had he what.
He’d wanted to know if I could have really hurt Matthew, how I’d used my body to fight him off, then he’d even made me show him. He’d wanted to know if I thought I could take him down in the same situation… the list went on. Apparently Lawson was a teeny bit obsessed with combat. When I’d asked him about it, he’d just winked, told me he’d once been a bit of a scrapper, and promised it was a story for another day.
“Yeah girl I’m done.” Quinn announced as she walked into the empty living room.
When we’d taken the apartment, we’d signed the lease for a year. I’d since learned that my sneaky big brother was in fact our landlord , and he’d been more than happy to let us out of it early. I still couldn’t believe he’d brought this building so he could give us somewhere nice to live. He’d told us that like much of Boston, his waiting list was as long as his arm, and he’d have no trouble leasing it right away.
Best big brother in the world.
“It’s weird seeing it empty again so soon.” I thought aloud.
“It kinda gives me the creeps now.” Quinn shuddered. “I’m really glad you’re a secret badass.”
I snorted at her and we both laughed – I’d never told Quinn about my self defence classes. It was something I’d done just for me.
“I’m just glad he’s getting the help he needs. The next person might not have been so lucky.” It made me feel sick to think about it. He could have seriously hurt Lisa.
“Do you want to go and grab some lunch before we head back?” Quinn asked as she lifted a couple of small boxes.
“Sounds great.” I replied with a smile. It was such a good feeling to be able to go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted. “I’ll let Law know I’ll be back a bit later.” I told her as I pulled my phone from my pocket.
“I’ll meet you down there.” Quinn called as she headed for the elevator.
I dialled Lawson.
“Hey baby.” His deep voice tickled at my senses.
“Hey cowboy.” It was ridiculous that just talking to him could make me smile like this. “I just wanted to tell you that me and Q are gonna get some lunch on our way back. I’ll drop her off to Logan’s and then I’ll be home, okay?”
“No rush pretty girl. Me and Zef are just unloading some of your stuff.” I could hear the smile in his voice. I think he was more excited about this move than I was.
“Aren’t you two just the best boys?” I teased.
He chuckled. “Damn right we are. I’ll see you soon.”
“I love you.” I replied.
“I love you too.” I was about to hang up when I heard him speak again. “Oh and Ells?”
“Yeah?”
“I love hearing you talk about coming home.” He replied quietly.
The line went dead and I clutched my phone to my chest for a few minutes before finally getting up and leaving my first Boston home for the last time.
***
I pushed the button on my very own garage door remote and drove into my space. It was still surreal to me that this was my new home.
I jumped out and took the one box that was left. The other stuff in my Jeep had gone with Quinn.
God that girl has a lot of shit.
“I’m home.” I called as I walked down the hall way towards the living room. Saying the words made me smile. The entire house was silent. I was beginning to wonder if Lawson had taken Zef for a walk without me. I stepped into the living room and music filled my ears.
“Somethin' in your eyes, makes me wanna lose myself. Makes me wanna lose myself, in your arms. There's somethin' in your voice, makes my heart beat fast. Hope this feeling lasts, the rest of my life. If you knew how lonely my life has been. And how long I've been so alone. And if you knew how I wanted someone to come along. And change my life the way you've done.”
It was Edwina Hayes, ‘Feels like home’.
“It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me. It feels like I'm all the way back where I come from. It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me. It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong.”
I walked over to the sound system and smiled at the soft music.
Lawson…
My eye caught on a note sitting on top of the cabinet. I unfolded the square of paper and read the five words scrawled in Lawson’s handwriting.
“I’m waiting in our room.”
I bounded up the stairs to our room. I could still hear the music playing.
“A window breaks, down a long, dark street. And a siren wails in the night. But I'm alright, 'cause I have you here with me. And I can almost see, through the dark there is light”
“Lawson?” I called as I pus
hed open the door to the room – it was empty. I frowned and looked around. Another note was sitting on the end of the bed. I scurried over and snagged it. I felt like a little kid on a treasure hunt.
“Call Zefer.”
“Zef!” I yelled lightly. “Come here buddy.” I smiled as I heard him bounding up the stair case. He rushed in to the room, his whole body wiggling with excitement. “Hey there, how’s my best boy?” I crooned as I stroked his silky coat. I giggled as I spotted the note tied to his collar. “Let’s get that off you huh buddy?” I untied it. “Your daddy is so sweet isn’t he?” I scratched his head with one hand and awkwardly unfolded the note with the other hand.
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