❛𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓 𝐁𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐃, 𝐈'𝐌 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐅𝐄...❜ | 𝐍𝐨.𝟑

Chapter 7- Arriving Home...

Emma's POV:
My eyes drift over the albino pinpointed area of our driveway, newly crafted, but all the more expected. "I told you, Lauren...it's there again..." we lowly crouch down to the ground, just after placing the car into park since arriving home from our particularly long stay in Cornwall with my family, which while I did thoroughly enjoy, had the doubtful thought on my mind about the occurrences back home, which is now proving my justification for it. I knew from the second we left, they'd be back in an instant. My fingers trace over the stick figure engraved into the stone ground, this time two individuals which have been drawn rather than one.

Something else about the figures intrigues me, a factor I find difficult to miss. "And look, these ones are higher up than the others..." I demonstrate by showing her the distance between the first body drawn into our home's landscape, that seems to appear just around the edges of the shadow our rear tires make from our stilled vehicle, another two anatomies curved into the light floor only three feet upwards. Regaining my natural height, instead of throwing my fiancée a look of undoubtable irony, my face shows an expression of worry and inquisition for the reasoning behind their whereabouts.

"You can say it, y'know...you were right, and I was wrong. I'm sorry I doubted you." she slowly rubs circles across the small of my back, which usually tend to calm any nerves I have circulating around my body, but this time it fails to do it's intended job. "You don't have to be...it's just that someone's messing with us, and I don't like the feeling it's giving me in my gut..." I slide my phone out of my pocket and activate the camera feature, snapping several photos of the evidence for future reference. "What happens now?" she asks.

"We check the security cameras, see if anyone saw anything. But this person seems to know their stuff...I don't think we're dealing with stupid teenagers who failed their GCSE's and want to keep themselves busy like usual. The security tapes probably won't show anything, but we might as well give it a shot..." I leave the area with hope for resolving this issue, as well as the undoubtable thrumming feeling it's insistent on purely giving me...

❀❀❀

Me and Lauren begin unpacking Aloura's clothes into her nursery, folding them up and placing them neatly into the chest of drawers stationed in her room whilst she happily babbles in her bouncer. "Mamamamama..." I smile fondly over at our infant daughter, as she casually bops up and down, having the time of her life, when a beautiful maternal realisation washes vastly over me like water...I'd do anything for her.

Anything.

The horrible, terrifying feeling that some twisted soul out there wants to scare my perfectly functioning family for reasons unknown, is a feeling unwelcomed into my steel gut, a feeling that sparks a sense of protectiveness for my loved ones that will never be dulled down, unless the circumstances somehow drastically change...

Lauren notices how I gaze at our little one with such emotionality and such solemnity, easily picking up on my displayed expression of worry. She halts me in my actions of dealing with the laundry, taking my palms to place them on the small of her back and lightly yet securely fitting hers onto either sides of my face, softly stroking the pads of her smooth thumbs across my cheekbones. I sigh in relaxation and happiness, as she knows this all too familiar action rests any ongoing nerves fluttering around my tense body, any worries or cares I currently have being put to a long rest. Lauren knows every way my body works, and I wouldn't have it any other way...

Pressing a delicate and sweet smooch to my nose, she pulls back as I scrunch up my face lovingly with a light giggle, which also seems to extract a small breathing chuckle from her herself. "Don't fret, my love...our little corner of the world will go on uninterrupted...just as we like it." I lean into my lover's touch, her palm caressing me lightly. I could never imagine life without her...

But the same question continues to carousel around my mind constantly, without fail, just as it has done for 5 years now...what did I do to deserve you, Lauren Thorne?

❀❀❀

"This is Uncle Connor, 'Lora..." passing my infant daughter over to my childhood friend, she stares at him with the utmost curiosity, her little head tilted to the side in an adorable, childish way it does when she meets someone unfamiliar to her viridescent eyes. As the seconds go on, she eventually bursts into a mass of tears and sooner makes eager grabby hands toward me, who's sat beside them both. "I don't think she likes me."

Watching the scene unfold, can't help but muster a small yet hefty chuckle to escape my gape, as I'm more than sure his opinion is correct about my daughter. Bringing my child back into my arms, she settles quietly onto my lap, snuggling her face into my chest. "It's hard to believe I haven't met her yet..."

"We've both been busy with work, and we only just got back from Cornwall, so don't sweat it." "How was visiting your family?" I reply, just as I grab a toy to occupy my child with from the side. "It was amazing to see them, don't get me wrong, but the highlight had to be mine and Lauren's date night. It was...extraordinary." whilst I revel in the lovingly memorable memory, I notice Connor's face fall at the sight of me reminiscing.

"What's wrong?" I notice for what seems like a split second, he seems to struggle for an appropriate answer to my more than simple question, and if anything from the two decades we've known each other tell me, it's that his conspired look is one of slight muffled sorrow. I reach over across the sofa, wrapping my hand softly around his forearm, his eyes fluttering toward the friendly touch. "You can tell me anything, Connor."

Seeming to be put at ease by my words, he inhales a deep and unmissable breath, before slowly letting the oxygen float back into the air around him. "Eudora and I broke up." y'know that one damn moment when you realise that one of your bestest friends in the world ended the unrepentant relationship that only you could see was destined for disaster from the very beginning? I've relived that moment too many times to count, and each time I experience it, it only gets more and more sour.

"You're probably over the moon, huh?" I find it increasingly difficult to hide my emotions which are usually displayed on my face, and unfortunately for Connor, that part of my personality is no different to right now. "I can't imagine how hurt you must feel right now, but everything happens for a reason...I'm guessing it's probably not the best idea for me to be flaunting my happy relationship in front of you when you're heartbroken, huh?"

An empty, emotionless chuckle is managed from him despite the cloudy aura in the room. I suddenly become hyper aware of my hand which is still resting on his arm, and it seems as though this realisation hits him just at the same time. Hearing the unmistakable sound of my wife-to-be's footsteps clicking along the hallway's path, I retract the comfort immediately, somehow seeming guilty of initiating the conversation, clearing my throat and thanking my preference of women for dismissing the warm blush on my face.

If this has shown me anything, I guess it's shown me that I never realised how grateful I should be that I've found the love of my life, and I'm able to spend the rest of my life with her...when I'm convinced we don't have a stalker on our hands, that is...

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Thank you for reading.

For some reason, I'm finding it really difficult to finish a chapter for this book recently. Normally I have one or two chapters completed in draft which gives me some peace of mind, but I'm really struggling with this book.

Maybe it's time for a change in my uploading schedule??

See you guys on Friday x