her disappearance

12

ANOUSHKA

"Creighton's here," Kai says.

I slowly stand up from the bed as I walk towards Kai. He stares at me with a concerned expression. "Are you okay?" he asks quietly.

I shrug. "I'm fine." I mutter.

He strokes my arm gently and I follow him to the main hall. Creighton was standing by the front door. He immediately sees me. I head straight towards him. "Are you alright?" he asks, his voice full of worry.

I nod.

"Let's go back to our dorm." he says.

I freeze and stared at him with a pleading look. "I already checked the dorm. No one is in there."

I hesitantly nod my head.

I slowly walk towards him. He touches my lower back. Kai and Creighton exchange a few words and then we leave. We walk to our dorm in silence. When the door closes, Creighton pulls me towards him. "Are you okay?" he asks.

I shrug. "I don't know," I mumble, looking down at the ground.

I'm terrified. Someone was in this apartment probably when I was sleeping on the couch. The fucking couch. They could have hurt me and I wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. A shiver rolls through me at the thought of that.

Creighton grips my chin as he lifts my head so I could look at him.

"You're always going to be safe with me." he tells me.

"Where were you, Creighton?" I ask, my voice trembling out of fear.

It wasn't that I didn't trust his words I just didn't know if he would be able to live up to them because someone is clearly stalking me and I don't want them to hurt him.

His eyes soften. "I should have been here," he mutters. "I had to meet with someone who knew something about Isabella's disappearance," he admits.

"What did you find out?"

He looks at me with uncertainty. "Are you sure you want to talk about her?"

I nod. "I need to get my head off things."

"Well I found out who she was meeting that night you saw her."

"Who?" I ask.

"Jeremy."

Goosebumps arose on my skin. Jeremy Clifford. The man that I'm petrified of.

"Maybe we can find Jeremy and make him tell us what happened that night." I whisper.

He shakes his head. "We can't approach him like that. We need to be careful."

I nod in agreement. "Let's go to your room." he says, holding his hand out.

I reluctantly take it as we walk to my room. He notices the picture on the ground and he picks it up. He inspects the picture with furrowed brows. "Was this the night you were acting strange?"

"Yes." I whisper. "Before you came, I felt like someone was watching me. I noticed a flashing light out of the corner of my eye but I didn't think anything of it."

"Fuck." he mutters.

"Anoushka. I'll sort this out for you. As long as I'm here, No one will hurt you."

I nod my head before biting on my bottom lip. I needed Wren. I was so fucking terrified, I needed someone to stay with me.

"I'm scared Creighton." I finally admit, my voice barely above a whisper.

His eyes soften. "I'll stay with you tonight." he demands, leaving me no place to argue.

I didn't refuse. I wanted someone to stay, anyone. Even if it was Creighton. Even if I despised him, I felt safe with him. Like nothing was going to hurt me if he was with me.

"Thank you," I mumble quietly before walking to my room and he follows behind.

"No pilates tonight?" he asks, as we enter my room. He looks around curiously. I don't think anyone has ever been inside my room before.

I give him a tight-lipped smile. "As much as I love Pilates, doing them every day is impossible."

He smiles back before dropping on the chair in the corner of my room. I sit on my bed. I frown as I stare at him. "Go to sleep, angel. I'll be here all night."

I chew on my bottom lip. "Are you sleeping there?"

"Yeah." he replies.

I can't let him sleep on a chair. That would be so uncomfortable for him and if I dragged him to my bedroom to stay with me because I'm scared the least I can do is let him sleep comfortably.

I pat the bed beside me. "Why don't you sleep here?" I ask.

His head whips around to face me and his eyes widen. "Sleep with you." he blurts, a red hue settling on his cheeks.

I wanted to laugh. I bite my lip to suppress my smile. Creighton Reid was flustered at the idea of sleeping in my bed.

"You're blushing." I tease. "It's cute."

He narrows his eyes at me. "I've been called a lot of things and cute is not one of them." he says, standing up and walking to my bed.

He sits in front of me. "I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable angel."

I shake my head. "Creighton, I don't feel uncomfortable with you." I simply say.

"Are you sure?" he asks, arching a brow.

"Yeah." I breathe out.

I was about to share a bed with Creighton. Oh God.

I lift my duvet cover as I lay in my bed. Creighton shuffles around and eventually lays down, facing me.

"Thank you." I finally whisper.

"No one's going to hurt you Anoushka." he declares, but he didn't sound convinced. It was as if he knew something that I didn't.

"I don't talk to anyone." I simply say. "What do they want with me?" I ask, my voice trembling.

"I'll find out. For now, you need to be safe. You have to be with someone at all times. Either me or Wren."

I nod in understanding.

"When Wren gets back, she'll start sleeping with me," I say. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

His eyes glitter with an emotion that I couldn't detect.

"Who said I was uncomfortable?" he asks, surprising me.

I raise a brow. "So you're saying you wouldn't mind sleeping with me?"

He shrugs. "I told you I would keep you safe. If that's what I have to do then I will."

I grin before closing my eyes. "Good night Creighton." I whisper.

I could have sworn I felt his lips brush my forehead but I fell asleep before I could confirm it.