Symóne sighed, sliding her chair back from the table. She stood to head upstairs, while Trevor suggested his mom and brother do the same.
He went through the main floor of the house and checked all of the windows, making sure they were all secured and locked while doing the same with all the doors.
He then headed upstairs, finding Symóne sitting at the foot of their bed.
“I know this is a stupid question, but—” he moved to stand closer to her. “Are you okay?” he asked anyway.
“I'm just really tired. I think it will be best if I just try to sleep right now,” she stared straight ahead. Her thoughts were, Maybe Lori didn't plan as well as she thought, and come rushing in to an ambush and get annihilated. Symóne got up and went to her side of the bed and kicked off her shoes, then made her way under the covers. She turned off her lamp without so much as a glance back in Trevor's direction and closed her eyes, in an attempt to hopefully sleep through the drama and wake in the morning to it all being over.
Chapter 14
At the store, Faye had returned with Alex in tow, to help Angela close down the store and secure it, and to make sure that security was in place. There were always the same sets of teams that rotated out for recognition so there would be no question of who was watching. If they had to replace one of the team members, there was a protocol and it couldn't be anyone new to the company.
“Alright, that's everything,” Angela chimed with relief. She was tired and ready to go home. They secured the warehouse and the store, then all left at the same time.
Faye and Alex went back home and had a discussion on the situation at hand, and how this may affect their wedding plans.
“When you called Symóne from the store before we left, how did she sound?” asked Alex.
“I'm not sure. She sounded way too calm for the situation at hand. I don't know if she's taken a sedative to calm her nerves or what?” Faye replied.
They were getting ready for bed, but had taken out something quick to throw on, just in case they were needed. Even Faye's nerves were on edge and her hands were shaky with anticipation.
A lot of hours had gone by with no sign of Lori anywhere. They had not spotted the vehicle in question and a public BOLO had been issued by the state of Georgia for an escaped patient. Her physical description and possible vehicle description had been given as well. With a reward for any information leading to her capture being offered, they all hoped to find her soon.
“Turn on the TV babe. I want to watch the news,” said Alex. Faye reached for the remote from her nightstand and turned on the television searching for the local news program.
Several other stories were airing at the moment, then there it was—Lori's face, her height, weight, hair color, eye color, and description of a vehicle she may be possibly traveling in.
If you see this woman, please do not approach her, she is armed and dangerous. Call 911 immediately and report her location and a description of what she's wearing. Is what the reporter had said.
Faye and Alex gave each other a look, then both shook their heads.
“I hope they find her soon, especially before she has a chance to get to Symóne and Trevor,” Faye sighed.
She scooted down and molded herself in Alex's embrace and worried about her friend and unborn son. Symóne had not had the chance to finish the nursery in order to surprise Trevor with the baby's sex. He knew that she knew, but wanted him to wait until the nursery was completed. He'd promised her that he would not peek, and has kept his promise so far.
“Alex?”
“Yeah babe?”
“I love you.”
“I love you like crazy too. I don't know what I would do if we were in that situation. I can only imagine how Trevor feels right now,” Alex cleared his throat.
“Who would have thought a little careless fun with a girlfriend in high school could turn into something like this? From what Trevor has told me, she was perfectly normal then, and apparently up until her son passed away. That was when things went bad for her; and now for him and Symóne,” he breathed.
All kinds of thoughts were running through his mind about a couple of different ex's he's had. Could either of them have issues? It's possible, no one could possibly know until they do something undeniably troublesome.
“What are you thinking about?”
“My past. Damn…this is scary,” Alex confessed.
“Same here,” she yawned. “You know, Symóne could have ended up just like Lori if she hadn't found Trevor. She had turned into someone that hated the thought of a man, and practically bit the heads off the ones who approached her. She gave Trevor the hardest time getting close to her,” she yawned again. “If it weren't for Trevor's persistent pursuit, and a couple of obsessed lunatics stalking her, I don't know what would have become of her. Alex…?” she whispered.
“Yeah babe?”
“What if all of these things that's happened to Symóne over the past year causes her more distress than she can handle? What if her calmness of this matter is her way of shutting down, blocking the issues at hand? What if…she's calm because she's planning something crazy!” Faye sat up and looked at her fiancé.
With his arm still around her, he pulled her close. “Babe, don't worry or stress. I see Symóne as a strong woman. Yes, she has braved more than she needed to in such a short period of time, but everyone is not fragile mentally. Symóne's situation is different. Her past attitude was the result of her doing the exact opposite of Lori. She built walls to protect herself. She rejected the possibility of future hurt. Didn't you say that she had even given up on getting her things back from her ex?”
“Yes. But—”
“Well, that tells me that Symóne avoids trouble, or conflict. She uses her strength to move forward, not backwards,” Alex assured her, leaning in to kiss her forehead.
“Now get some sleep. We don't know what tomorrow may bring. We have to be ready to be there for our friends,” he insisted they let things go for the night.
The story was circulating on the news channel again, and since there was no new information on her where-a-bouts, Alex took the remote from Faye and turned the television off and got comfortable, wrapping himself around her, then falling asleep.
Chapter 15
Symóne had finally fallen asleep. Trevor watched her face, looking ever so peaceful, while she curled up to her body pillow that she sometimes took naps with.
He eased out of bed, pulling the covers over her shoulders, then kissing her forehead and stepping into the bathroom to wash his face. After drying the excess water with a hand towel, he rested his hands on the counter, looking at himself in the mirror.
How did this happen? He asked himself. What will I do should I encounter Lori again? His mind began to run through scenarios of possible confrontations.
Thinking of every possible situation, and possible ways of handling it, he decided to go check on his mom and brother.
When he came to the first guest room, Drew's room, he opened the door. His brother was sprawled out wildly across the bed, his phone on the charger, and his clothes and shoes strewn all over the place, just like always. His brother had grown a lot in the last year. Lying asleep, he looked like a grown man.
Trevor chuckled at what must have hit his mom like a freight train. Her baby boy, grown up, a man with feelings for a young lady.
Trevor backed out of the room and closed the door, then started for his mom's room.
A lamp was on. She was sitting up in bed, reading a book. She noticed him standing there when she looked up at a figure that had caught her attention from the corner of her eye.
“Hey Trevor, what are you doing up?” she asked.
“Just checking on everybody,” he exhaled, sticking his hands in the pockets of the sweats he was wearing.
“Couldn't sleep huh?”
“Nah. I guess you couldn't either?” he stepped all the way inside the room, coming to stand closer to the bed.
“Take a seat. Let's chat for a bit,” she suggested, patting the space beside her on the bed.
He joined her, and for some odd reason, he felt right at home, just like old times before he went off to college.
“Talk to me son. Tell me whatever is on your mind,” she urged him to let go of his frustrations to her.
He let his head fall back dramatically, then raised it and looked to his mom. “I've been going over in my head how I wanted to handle a face to face encounter with Lori. I just feel so bad for her, everything she's gone through alone. It's sad really, her parents not coming to see her even once since she's been in that place. What must she be feeling right now? Abandonment for sure. Hopelessness…maybe failure?” he breathed.
Julia placed her hand on top of his, he intertwined their fingers together, then continued. “I want to help her. Well, get her better help to deal with her issues. Only…I feel like if I give that much attention to Lori, it will hurt Symóne. I can't—no, won't hurt her. I never want her to feel what Lori must be feeling right now. Symóne has been through a lot too. Hurt by her past, put in danger on many occasions, and now this? What can I do? What should I do?” he asked, his voice almost a whisper. The stress was in his breathing. It was harsh and his words were sad.
“Son, you always carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. You help a lot of people—save a lot of people, with what you do best. You're a good-natured man, kindhearted, gentle and strong. Right now, you need someone to help you. I know you Trevor. It's easier for you to make all the right decisions when it comes to everyone else, because you're out of the situation and can think rationally about things. However, this is your life, your future at stake, and you want to do the right thing, but at the same time it will force you to hurt someone, somewhere. So, this is what I want you to do,” she set her book down beside her and took his hand into the both of hers.
“Step outside of yourself. Pretend this is one of your cases and figure out how to help your client. This is not your life, but someone else's. How would you help them?” she urged him to think like an attorney. Pull himself out of the situation and look at things from a different perspective.
He drew in a breath and closed his eyes. They were jumping back and forth under his eyelids. He was in thought mode—calculating, planning, seeing things the way he would if he were trying a case. Discovering traits, pin-pointing personalities, possibilities, patterns, and most of all…thinking like a mentally disturbed woman who wants nothing more than a second chance or nothing at all.
His breathing leveled out, becoming softer, his brain on a mission. If I were her, how would I get to someone who has access to a grand amount of security? How would I infiltrate their safe haven? Eliminate the source of the problem?
He gasped suddenly, “Symóne! She's going after Symóne first. She has to get to her first!” he growled in a whisper.
He jumped up and rushed back to his bedroom, leaving his mom clueless, but she sort of knew what he was doing. Symóne was still asleep in the same position he'd left her in before. He walked over to her, watching her chest rise and fall with each breath. Her foot moved—she was okay.
He went to his nightstand and pulled open the top drawer, taking out his gun and started back out of the bedroom, where his mother was waiting in the hall.
“Mother, stay here,” he spoke in whispers.
She backed into her bedroom and watched as Trevor started down the stairs. He checked outside, the guard still on post, watching dutifully. He went through every room on the first floor, checking and searching everything. He went to the patio doors, looking out over the yard, scanning every tree, bush, piece of furniture…everything. All clear.
Trevor sighed, going back into thought mode. If I had escaped from the institute and wanted to get to someone, I would…wait! They would have to know that I'd escaped, and be watching and waiting. I would make them think I was nearby, but be somewhere safe. Waiting…waiting…waiting for what? Things to cool down? Yes. Get complacent, relaxed, hoping I had gotten in too deep and lost my way and had given up. I would watch everyone's comings and goings, follow their patterns and learn them. He had devised a course of action.
He knew that he was going to have to change things up, at least for the next couple of days—trip Lori up. The only problem was executing the plan without putting Symóne or anyone else in harms way.
He checked the security once more, then decided that it was time for him to get some sleep. He would feel more comfortable if he were on the bottom level where he would hear a struggle outside, or someone attempting to get inside the house. He decided to sit in one of the single chairs in the great room, taking a throw and a pillow from the sofa and making himself sort of comfortable there. He could watch and wait.
Hours had gone by before his eyes were too heavy to stay open. It was after four in the morning when they finally fell closed. Now, the sun was glowing through the windows and his shoulder was being tapped on, by his mother.
“Trevor?”
He moaned, sitting forward, stretching his neck, with the sounds of joints popping and protesting. He stretched and yawned, his eyes squinting from the brightness in the room.
“You really shouldn't have slept down here in this chair. You're going to pay for it later,” she told him, taking the blanket as he stood to his feet. He reached his arms high in the air, stretching again, hissing at the kinks in his back.
“Is Symóne awake?” he asked.
“I think so. I did hear moving about in your bedroom, but I didn't want to invade your privacy. But that was when I thought you were in there too. You'd better go check on her.”
Trevor tossed the pillow back to the sofa and started up the stairs. He entered the bedroom, but Symóne must have been in the shower.
He could hear water running, so he went in the bathroom and saw that it was being filled with steam from the hot water. Symóne's silhouette was moving about, washing herself with calm motions.
Trevor walked over to the shower and stood outside of the glass door, gawking at her, looking her up and down. Her eyes had been closed as she hummed to herself, but when she opened them, she was startled at his presence.
After the initial shock, she smiled at him. “Hey you. Did you come to join me?”
Trevor raised his hand to his chin and looked up in thought sarcastically, then stripped down and opened the door to get in. Symóne moved from under the shower head and let him soak his body. The sweltering temperature of the water was a welcomed endurance to his aching muscles. He stood for the longest moment, enjoying the pulsating out pour of relief upon his shoulders.
Her hands rested on his back, she pressed her fingers against his muscles as they continued to glide up to his shoulders. Stopping there, she began to dig into his trap muscles, kneading her thumbs up the back of his neck. Trevor's head fell forward, receiving her gift…he relaxed.
Once she felt him loosen up, she lay her head against his back and moved her hands around to his chest muscles, palming them with gentle squeezes. He put his hands on top of hers, taking one and bringing it up to his mouth, kissing her fingers.
He then turned to face her. Moving her water soaked hair from over her eyes. His eyes fixed on her face, his jaw dropped as he felt the pang of nausea plague his stomach—
It wasn't Symóne, this was Lori that had her hands all over him, standing in the shower with him, kissing on his bare body. He backed into the wall, no sound able to escape his lips. She leaned forward, pressing her body against his, resting her lips against his chest, planting gentle kiss after gentle kiss, while her fingers caressed his shoulders.
“What the hell? How did you get into my house?” he screeched when he found the muscles that worked his larynx. He pushed past her, almost breaking the glass door as it swung back hard into the tiled wall. She reached for his arm, too wet to get a firm grasp, as he snatched away from her.
“Trevor—” she whispered.
“Trevor,” she called a littl
e louder.
Suddenly a pair of hands were gripping his shoulders, shaking him hard.
“Trevor!” Drew called out loudly.
He jolted upright, stumbling out of the chair, almost falling face first into the coffee table. His breathing was harsh and his fist balled tightly beside him.
“Trevor, what's wrong with you? Are you having a bad dream?” his brother asked.
Shaking his head, finally composing himself to stand upright. He exhaled, “Yes, something like that,” he looked around, seeing his mom coming toward him and Drew.
Trevor gasped as the realization of the dream hit him, and rushed up the stairs in search of Symóne. He burst through the door just as she was waking, focusing in on his panicked expression.
“What is it, what's wrong Trevor?” she asked, tossing the covers off her body as she sat up.
He rushed over to her, pulling her to her feet and embracing her firmly. After a moment, he pulled back to look at her face, checking, inspecting, verifying that it was actually her. He sighed a weighted breath and pulled her back into an embrace again.
“I know I'm acting crazy right now, but I just needed to see your face, feel you in my arms. I just…” his voice cracked.
“Just what?” she asked him, holding him just as close.
“I love you.”
“I know that babe. I love you too,” she assured him.
He took her hand and guided her to sit with him on the bed. Finally able to get his breathing under control, he was able to speak more clearly now.
“I donsleep deprivation or what, but I just had a terrible dream,” he exhaled. He had yet another confession for her, one that would surely upset her and he didn't want 't know if I'm suffering from that.
“You seem hesitant Trevor,” her brows furrowed, her imagination starting to run possible dreams in her head. “It was about her, wasn't it?” she sounded as though she hoped for a quick no to her question.
Trevor drew in a huge breath, his eyes closing dramatically, his posture tensed.
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