At Home

Chapter Seven

I freeze as a wave of fear overtakes my body. I try to shake it off and tell myself that it's just another text from Maya that says "love you bitch" or something like that. After what feels like forever, I finally feel like I can move again and slowly grab my phone. I take a deep breath before looking at the screen. I sigh a deep breath of relief when I see that it IS a text from Maya. I swipe to unlock my phone.

Maya: It's your turn to be the coffee bitch tomorrow. I want my caramel coffee!

    I can feel myself giggle a little bit. Fair enough. As I go to text her back, my phone vibrates in my hand. A text notification, with a preview of the message, appears at the top of my screen.

Unknown: It's past your bedtime. I can see the light from your phone screen. GO TO BED.

    I immediately feel myself start shaking. I regret not taking Maya up on her offer to stay over. Hell, I even regret not taking up AJ's at this point. The thought of AJ calms my nerves slightly. What the fuck is that about? Thinking about him should NOT calm me! I contemplate my next move for a moment before backing out of my texts and clicking on phone and then contacts. I scroll down until I see the contact name I never thought I would use again. "4 Eels in a Trenchcoat" AKA AJ. My nerves calm a little more as I think about why that's his contact name. I even laugh a little. I click the name and hold my phone up to wait for the ring. I hear his familiar deep tone on the other line after one ring. "Hello?" I find myself unable to respond. "Car? It's late. Is everything ok?" All I can manage to get out is a quiet, "uhh". "Carter. Gorgeous. What's going on? Are you ok? Talk to me." I take a deep breath before I can finally speak. "I got another text. I think they're watching me right now. I'm...." I pause, unsure if I want to admit the next part... "Scared. I'm scared." I hear what sounds like someone shuffling out of bed on the other end of the phone. "I'm on my way over. I'm gonna stay on the phone with you ok? Act like you hung up and don't say anything else. Pretend to read your book or something. We don't know how much they can actually see." I nod before I say "Ok." I act like I hang up, but hit speakerphone instead, and lock my phone.

    I go back to "reading" my book on kindle. About 10 minutes pass before I hear the front door open and shut. AJ told me it was him but I still jumped at the sound. I hear the call hang up and a few second later, AJ is slowly opening my bedroom door and walking in. He looks at me quickly and then I see his eyes shoot to my window. He walks over and immediately closes the blinds. I don't know why I didn't think of that. You would think that the first thing I would do would be to cover all my windows when I find out I have a stalker. AJ turns back towards me and approaches my bed. I sit up fully when he does and criss cross my legs.

    AJ sits on the edge of my bed, before reaching up and cradling my cheek in his hand. "How are you doing? I'm here now. I'll keep you safe." I stare at his gorgeous hazel eyes, feeling my own eyes start to water. I don't like that my emotions are about to show, so I sniff them back and respond "How did you get into my house. The door was locked. I'm sure of it!" Panic begins to set in because I KNOW the door was locked. There was no way I would be so careless. AJ slowing raises his hand up, pinching a key between his thumb and pointer finger. "Still have a key." He says flatly. I stare at him, relief starting to wash away the panic. He let's out a small laugh before he speaks. "Now that we got that out of the way.." He's still cradling my cheek and begins to rub his thumb back and fourth, "Really Carter, how are you doing?"

    I lean in to his hand with my face. I feel the water in my eyes coming back. "I'm really scared At." I feel a single tear begin to roll down my face. AJ scoots closer on the bed, pulling me forward into a hug. One hand rubs my back in slow circles while his other tugs my head into his chest and holds it there. I feel the tears start to come out more. "It's ok gorgeous. I'm here. I'm right here." He says in his low comforting voice. Comforting? What the hell is going on? AJ's voice is NOT comforting. It's annoying. I reach up and wipe my tears away and pull back from AJ, so I'm sitting up again. I look at him a moment. I never imagined he would ever be in my bedroom again, let alone sitting on my bed. "Uhm," I blink back a few remaining tears. I wipe my eyes and continue, "Thanks for coming. I think I'm ok. They're probably gone now. I don't know why I called you." AJ looks me in the eyes, his expression unreadable. "It's been a while since you called me that." His response catches me off guard. I blink at him a few times before I answer. "What?" Is all I can muster. "At. You haven't called me that since you basically ghosted me." He says, and looks away.    

    Ok, so.... IF we're being honest... I guess I did kind of ghost him. I told Maya that AJ and I had talked about it and mutually decided that we just weren't good together. I didn't realize until now that he must not have told her otherwise. If Maya knew I stood him up and never responded to another text, she would have given me a ton of shit. Guilt weighs heavy in my chest. AJ deserved better than that.

    I reach out my hand and rest on it his arm before my brain even processes the motion. "I'm really sorry about that. That wasn't fair." I say as I give his arm a gentle squeeze. He turns to look at me and I definitely see the sadness in his face. He reaches over and rests his hand atop my hand on his arm. "We don't have to talk about it tonight." He says. He looks in my eyes a moment more before turning away, beginning to stand up. "Stop!" I yelp. He freezes and looks to me, his eyes wide with shock. "Uhm" I swallow, "Can you stay in bed with me tonight? I just..." Another swallow "I think having you close will make me feel safer." The shock in AJ's face stays for a moment before it starts to slowly subside, determination and understanding taking it's place. He walks over to the other side of the bed, removing his jeans and pulling his hoodie off over his head. My eyes roam the sculpted muscles of his arms, and the tattoos covering said muscular arms.

    I don't realize I'm staring at him like a creep until I see a small smirk appear form on his face. I quickly slide down the bed until I'm laying under the blanket and stare at the ceiling. I feel the bed dip beside me, and then I hear AJ's low voice say "Lift your head up." I do as I'm told, and hear him say "Good girl." I feel his arm move under me. He pulls me so I'm curled into his side as he lays on his back. He takes the arm I'm not laying on and positions it across his chest, interlacing our fingers. "Is this ok gorgeous?" He says with a voice that would make girls fall to their knees. I nod my head frantically. He smells like mahogany with a touch of vanilla. It's so soothing that I feel myself melt into him. "Goodnight Car" he almost whispers. "Goodnight At" I whisper back. I feel him place a gentle kiss on my forehead and it sets senses on fire. The fear is gone, and now I'm just wrapped in all that is AJ. This feels like home.