Levi's Last Hope

8.

          ROSIE'S IMMEDIATE INSTINCT WAS TO GRAB HER DAUGHTER. She snatched Lily from the bed, startling her, and rushed into the living room. Lily bawled at the abrupt wake-up call, wailing into her mother's shoulder.

        Rosie glanced around frantically, eyes eventually locking onto the living room window. It was on the same wall as the bedroom one, only a short distance away too. She didn't feel stay in her flat right now, not with eyes violating her private space. Rosie couldn't bear the idea of someone so freaky laying eyes on her baby girl.

        She made the abrupt decision to leave the flat and then stood awkwardly outside, second-guessing her choice. They weren't any safer out here, either.

        "Rosie!" Levi's voice bounced down the stairwell, followed by heavy footsteps. It sounded as if he was jumping down them. "Rosie! Lily!"

        "We're ok!" Rosie called back, heading for the stairwell to meet him. A short few seconds later, he came rushing down like a force of nature. She stumbled back when he grabbed hold of her, eyes frantically checking over her and Lily.

        There was a heart-wrenching amount of fear twisting his features.

        "We're ok," she reassured again, feeling guilty for scaring him so much.

        Levi placed one hand on top of Rosie's, the same one she had resting on the back of lily's head. The other rested on Rosie's shoulder, grounding them both.

        "You screamed," he stated in a strange tone.

        "There was - I think I saw-" Saying it out loud made her feel crazy. "I think someone was watching me through the bedroom window."

        Levi's jaw ticked, anger blazing in his eyes. He didn't ask her if she was sure, or if she could have imagined it. He simply believed her. "I'm gonna kick their fuckin' head in. I swear to God."

        Rosie was oddly flattered with how angry he was on their behalf. "There's something else, too."

        "Tell me."

        She sighed, hugging the now-quiet Lily closer. "It's best if I show you."

—

        "What does this freak think they're playing at?" Levi muttered, staring up at the hole in the ceiling.

        She'd shown him the one in the living room, confirming her fears all along that the little black dots she'd kept seeing weren't spiders at all but holes. Just like the one she'd found in her bedroom. "They must have been doing it whilst I was asleep. Or," Rosie paled, feeling sick at the thought. "Whilst I was out of the flat during Rosie's naps."

        "You mind if I stand on your sofa?"

        Usually, she would but considering everything. . .Rosie sighed. "Go ahead."

        Levi was a tall man but not tall enough to get his eye on the ceiling without a bit of a boost. He braced one hand against the wall, his headlamp lighting his path and with the added height, Levi lined his eye up to the hole. "Yeah," he grunted, annoyed. "It's gone all the way through. Can see something blocking it up there, though. Carpet, maybe."

        "Why, though?" Rosie bounced Lily on her hip and rubbed roughly at her eye. "Just - why do all this? It doesn't make sense."

        "Crazy people don't make sense, love."

        "Well, they have to have a reason."

        "Probably," Levi agreed, hopping down. "Doesn't mean it'll make sense to me and you, mind."