Adore

Chapter 68

Sliding the key into the front door, I let myself back in. Archie was beside me in moments, circling my feet excitedly.

"Hi good boyyy" I cooed at him while crouching down to pat him. He gave me kisses before I stood back up and dropped my keys on the entry table. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a folded piece of paper that must have been shoved under the door frame.

Crouching to the floor, I picked up the note, wondering if it was something from one of my neighbours. My stomach dropped when I opened it and read the words plastered on the page.

HE'S MINE BITCH!!!

Was stuck to the paper in cut out letters, seemingly from a magazine. The final word was in all red letters, exclamation points stuck on the end. My stomach rolled with nerves as goosebumps erupted over my body. A chill crept down my spine.

I turned the page over, scanning for any more words but there was nothing. I turned back to my front door and engaged both locks feeling spooked. My mind was running with so many wild thoughts. Was this a prank? Some kids playing a silly game, or was it something more sinister?

Archie yipped quietly by my side, snapping me out of this strange day dream. I crumpled the note up, throwing it into the recycling bin.

Putting Archies dinner together and setting it down on the floor for him, I grabbed myself a glass of water to settle my aching stomach. Three loud knocks rapted against the front door, making me jump slightly.

I set my glass down and slowly approached the door. Through the side glass panes I could see Tom's side profile, a breath I didn't know I was holding escaped my lips. Touching a cold hand to my chest, I could feel my heart hammering away under my palm. I masked my feelings of unease and unlocked the door, welcoming him inside.

"Hey baby, how are you?" He said, pecking my cheek as he hugged me warmly.

"I'm okay, how are you?" I responded, trying to change my tone to more relaxed. Tom was staying over with me tonight and I was making us dinner. He set his keys on the entry table along with his wallet.

Archie padded over to greet him but began whining softly when he realised Tessa wasn't with him.

"Aww buddy, I'll bring Tess next time okay" He spoke while scratch behind Archies ears.

"How was your day?" I asked Tom. The silence that filled the air made think about the strange note sitting crumpled in the recycling bin in the kitchen. We fell into the soft couch together as we cuddled up. Toms arm hanging lazily around my shoulders, his fingers rustling with my shirt.

"It was really great, I had a phone meeting with some of the Marvel people, talking about the next movie" He beamed excitedly. I could tell he was eager to get back to his beloved Spider-Man role. He told me where they would be filming most of the movie and the dates when he would be overseas. I could feel my heart sink momentarily when he told me how long he would be away for.

He mentioned me coming to visit him at some stage if I was able to sort out time off from work and a dog sitter for Archie. It was almost like a feeling of relief when we talked about doing stuff in the future together, knowing we both saw us being together for that amount of time.

Our night went smoothly, I cooked us a delicious meal that we enjoyed on the couch, watching some cheesy romantic movie that we both loved. Tom had turned on the spa outside earlier, giving it ample time to heat up. We both changed into our swimmers and headed outside. The weather was still rather cold, so I dashed across the lawn to get into the warm water, still not accustomed to the cold London weather. I sunk into the water, letting it lap soothingly around the tops of my shoulders, the temperature helping to relax the anxious knot forming in my left shoulder.