Stay

Chapter 14

I woke up to the sound of footprints in the apartment. I sat up from the bed and rub the sleep out of my eyes. I fold the blankets over and stand up. I open the door to see a figure that creeps away from me. I walk into the living room to notice that Peyton is still asleep, which means that someone had broken in the apartment.

"There you are." A familiar voices mentions. I turn around to face none the other Nathaniel is standing before me. I immediately back away, creating a bigger space between us.

"What are you doing here?" I ask in a whisper. I can feel my anxiety kicking in. All I want to do is run, but I don't. I can't move, but I want to. Why won't my body cooperate with me.

"Here to find you, and my son." He steps forwards into the dim light. He's wearing his usual clothes, but there's blood on his hands. Well, I'm assuming it's blood. He still has the wedding band on his finger, but it's on the wrong one, implying that he's single now.

"Please, you need to leave." I show him to the door. He doesn't move, except to be closer to me. I take a step backwards which just makes Nate take a step forwards.

"Not until I have my family back." He grabs my by the arm and I weep, until Peyton move son the couch. I cover my mouth to keep myself quiet. His grip grows stronger until I cry out. This time Peyton jumps up and knows what's going on.

"You need to leave, now!" Peyton shouts. I flinch because I don't want Carson to wake up and see his father acting like this.

Nate lets go of me and walks towards the door. I can feel my body shake now as Peyton wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into his side like I'm his sidekick.

"I'll be back for you, baby." Nate winks before he walks out of the apartment. Peyton slams the door shut behind him and locks all three locks, insuring that he won't be able to break in again. My breathing is now irregular and I nearly faint. I sit down on the leather couch and try to calm my breathing. Peyton sits down besides me and rubs my back for me. Eventually, I calm down knowing that I'm safe right now.

"Did he hit you at all?" Peyton asks me. I shake my head no.

"He just grabbed me. I'm fine, really. He just freaked me out. That's all." I insure that I'm okay and stand up. I walk into the kitchen and fill a glass up with water and chug it down. I'm all sweaty which grossed me out and I head towards the bathroom.

"Want some company?" Peyton asks me. I smile at him and nod my head. He sits on the toilet while I scrub all the sweat off of my body. I don't bother to wash my hair or to even shave because I have no need to.

Peyton talks to me about how his dreams were going and asks me about what I was dreaming about. I make it a quick shower so we both can go back to bed and finish the night off.

I wrap myself up in a towel and walk out of the shower. Peyton is still here, but he closes his eyes as soon as he saw the shower curtain open. What a gentleman.

"I'm just going to put on my clothes, then go back to sleep with Carson. You can come join if you'd like." I mentally beg him to come join because whenever he's around, I feel like nothing can hurt me. After what just happened, he proved to me that he won't let anything happen to any of us. I guess it looks like I'll need to be putting a restraining order on him now and wait out the month.

I pulled my clothes on and brushed out my hair. I crawl into bed with little man , hoping that I don't wake him up. Not too long after I lay down, Peyton joins Carson and I. He lays down on the opposite side of Carson, but doesn't cover himself with his blankets. I feel bad that we keep taking over his bed, but there's no room to add another.

I lie away, replaying everything in my mind. What if I didn't wake up? What would Nate have done to Peyton? What would he do to Carson and I?

Before I know it, my alarm is going off and I refuse to get up out of bed. I sit up and turn the alarm on my phone off. The boys are still asleep, so I creep out of the room and gently close the door shut. I pull my hair up into a messy ponytail and begin to make breakfast, but my body is too tired to do anything. I keep being drawn to the files. Something or someone is luring me into them, telling me that there's something in there, just keep looking.

The boy pops into my mind and dial the home phone that Peyton has. I call one of my coworkers whom I've done cases with. Aralia has helped me solve several previous cases and in bound to solve these two.

"Hello. Dakota?" She sounds concerned for me, but I ignore it.

"Hey aralia, I know it's early, but there's a file I want you to run and find the boy. The case number is 159-40. There's no name given but the last name can help. Her first name may help with hospital records. Call me on my cell when you think you have something." I immediately jump to the favor I'm asking her for.

"Sure thing. I'll get right on it." She sounds cheerful to be working with me again. Whenever we received the checks for a case, I would give her more of my money because she's a single mother of three and her eldest son is working but only part time. I try to help out as much as I can since I lived in a house with two incomes.

"Thanks doll." I hang up the phone and turn to see that Carson is standing there holding a file. I take it from him and open it up. He's holding a picture that's missing, and hands it to me.

"I know her." He whines. I can see the water works coming on, and I hug him tight. He doesn't hold the tears in for long, because I can feel wetness on my shirt.

"Hey, it's alright. She's in a better place. Just say your prayers alright?" I ensure everything is okay. No one can hurt this woman anymore. Peyton walks in, yawning and stretching to the point where his belly button is showing. I check out his body for a quick second then set the file down.

"I have to go to work today, and you get to Cole with. So bring some movies and toys." I rub the top of Carsons head, then he turns and bolts to his bags.

"How'd you sleep?" He asks. I smile at him.

"I didn't." I admit to him. I push brew on the coffee pot and wait anxiously for the coffee to be finished.

"Still thinking about last night?" He asks me. I nod my head as I grab a coffee mug.

"I'm more shaken up than anything. It's okay. I'll sleep well tonight." I insist. The coffee finally finished brewing and I pour the mug up to the rim and drink my coffee black. I normally add milk and sugar or creamer but I'm too tired to care for anything right now.

Carson runs in with a handful of toys and movies, already dressed and everything.

"Well, that was quick." Peyton comments. Carson nods his head and smiles.

"Can we go yet?" Carson asks.

"Not yet. I'm not ready. I need some energy." I reply. I haven't been working all week and I need all the money I can get. If I didn't miss all week I would stay home, but I can't.

"I'll give you some energy." Peyton murmurs. I understand completely on what he just said and I can't help myself but to giggle. Carson looks lost as ever but just walks away and puts his things on the couch.

"Seriously?" I ask Peyton. He winks at me and turns around. I stare at his butt for a few moments and decided that I need to control myself.

"Lemme get dressed and I'll be ready to go." I call out. I set my mug down next to the coffee pot and turn it off. I grab my bag and dig for a decent pair of clothes to wear. I settle on a skirt and a nice pink blouse.

I walk out, holding my purse and hair brushed to see that everyone is waiting patiently for me to finish getting ready.

"Wipe those smiles off your faces. It's creeping me out." I demand. They stop smiling and we all walk out the door together, like a happy family that we aren't.