ATTACHMENT | ANTHONY LOCKWOOD

SIX

LEIGHTON
35 portland row

I sat at the table, one leg pulled up to my chest with my head resting on it. I was doodling on the mat, whilst Lockwood was speaking.

"This stays in the basement until we can take it to the furnaces." He spoke slowly as he clasped the box shut, with the ring inside it.

"What? Why would we stop when we're just getting somewhere?" Lucy questioned, her head snapping up to look directly at Lockwood.

Lockwood's hand gripped my shoulder, making me rest my head on his arm. I felt exhausted, Annabel had truly drained me. And after Lockwood told me what she said, she now scared me.

"No more pet projects. There's bills to pay." Lockwood spoke definitively.

"Uh. What bills?" George questioned as he slid a cup of tea over to me before taking a seat.

I smiled to the boy thankfully, George was a whiz in the kitchen, his food was delightful and his cups of teas were always made to perfection.

Lockwood dug into his pocket, using two fingers to hand George the letter before taking a step back and leaning against the counter top. I turned to look at the boy with furrowed brows, his arms were crossed and his tongue swiped over his bottom lip.

"Sixty thousand pounds." George exclaimed. "In two weeks? What the hell?"

"Why didn't you say something?" Lucy questioned, snatching the letter from George.

"Because it's my name on the door." Lockwood shrugged. "It's my responsibility. I'll find a way."

Lockwood's eyes locked with mine. They didn't have the money for me to stay at the house. I would just be a burden, it's better I leave, like planned.

I slowly stood up, trying to be as quiet as possible, hoping that they wouldn't notice me going. But naturally, Lockwood was watching my every move. His hand gripped my wrist and pulled me back.

"You're not leaving either." He stated. "This is your home, Leighton."

His hand rested on my hips, pulling my back into his chest. Even if I wanted to move, his grip was too strong. His thumb running over my hip bone, causing my knees to feel weak under his touch.

"How? We hardly break even when things are going well." George shrugged.

"What about a loan? This place must be worth a bucketload." Lucy frowned, her eyes skimming over the letter again before looking towards Lockwood.

"This place is all that he has left of his family." I quickly stated, going to step forward so that Lucy would only pay attention to me.

Lockwood's grip on me tightened, I wasn't sure if it's because he wanted me to be there for his own comfort or if he didn't want me to start an argument with Lucy.

"Sorry. I didn't realise." Lucy quickly apologised.

"He's already borrowed against it to set up the business." George reminded. I turned to face Lockwood with furrowed brows, he nodded in response, confirming that he did in fact do that. "Jesus Lockwood, we're screwed."

My hand reached up, resting on his chest, that was quickly rising and falling. His heart rate was increasing by the second and I could tell that soon, his calm and collected façade was going to fade.

"No we're not. All it takes is a few big cases." As if on queue, the phone began to ring, which caused Lockwood's heart to skip a beat. "I bet that's one right now."

Lockwood gave my waist a tight squeeze before walking away and going to answer the phone. That's when both George and Lucy turned to look at me.

"So, you're staying?" George had a smile on his face as he spoke. I nodded in response, tugging on the sleeves of the shirt. A small laugh escaped his lips as he said, "He finally told you?"

"Told me what?" I asked with furrowed brows, not quite understanding what George meant.

George's eyes widened, his mouth opening but no words were coming out. He glanced to Lucy for help, which she quickly caught onto what he said,

"So tell us, how did he convince you to stay?"

"The source." I pointed down to Annabel's ring. "He reminded me that whether I was here or miles away, it could still get to me, Annabel would still be attached, so I might as well have support in figuring out what happened to her."

Lucy's nose scrunched up, I watched as she struggled to comprehend what I had just said.

"How powerful are you exactly?" She whispered, causing me to shrug.

Truthfully, I had no clue. All I knew was that my parents said I was dangerous and that I would bring harm to Lockwood.

"He's spent an awfully long time on the phone." I whispered. "I'm just gonna go check on him." I quickly left the kitchen.

Lockwood was stood facing the door, the phone to his ear. I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder, making him turn to face me.

"Who was it?" Lucy questioned as Lockwood ended the call.

"Wrong number." Lockwood plastered a smile onto his face.

But from knowing Lockwood and his tell signs when he was lying, I knew that the person on the other side of that call, said something that made Lockwood angry.

"Listen, exactly how famous did you say Annabel was?" His words were strong and steady, but if you listened carefully, you could hear the nervous crack.

I allowed my hand to drop down to my side, causing Lockwood's eyes to flicker up and down my body. I was still in his God damn shirt and I bet he was loving every second of it.

His tongue wetted his bottom lip as he stepped closer to me, his hand reaching out to grip my waist and his eyes flickering to my lips. Then just for a moment he made me think that he forgot that we weren't alone.

I quickly cleared my throat and stepped back, pointing upstairs before whispering,

"Imma get changed."

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