Karma

Chapter 16

Time ticked on, and it was November already. Dylan was looking forward to a few days off when Thanksgiving came around. Dylan would've gone home to Philadelphia, but she just felt too exhausted to go. Grace and Boyd, Brendons parents invited her to go to their home in Las Vegas. An hour on a plane seemed doable. So she accepted the invite.
Brendon was in Germany right now. The band had a few places and dates to do there. Dylan was planning a surprise for Brendon at Christmas.
Dylan boarded the plane for Las Vegas and sat in her seat. It was a window seat. As she got comfortable, somebody sat in the vacant seat next to her. Dylan didn't want to talk to anybody, so she put her headphones on and took her book out. Fall Out Boy played in her ears, and she curled up with Emily Henry's Book Lovers. She fastened her seatbelt as they prepared for takeoff. As the plane went into the air, Dylan actually looked to see who occupied the neighbouring seat. It was a lady. In her fifties. She smiled at Dylan, and Dylan half smiled back, and then her attention returned to her book. The flight went pretty quickly, and they were preparing to get off the plane before Dylan knew it.
Thanksgiving was lovely. Dylan had a fabulous time with Brendons' family. Kyla, one of Brendons sisters, and her family were also there. It was the first time meeting. Dylan loved spending time with the kids. They played all sorts of games together. Brendon called on Thanksgiving. They were on the phone for about an hour. Dylans heart ached for her boyfriend. She knew that he was feeling the strain of them being apart. Dylan just wished that she could hold Brendon. She told him this. He groaned and said
"Right back at you." Grace called out that dinner was ready. They hung up, and Dylan went downstairs to eat.

Brendon sighed as he hung up with Dylan. He placed the phone on charge and laid down in the bed on the bus. He tucked his hand behind his head and tried to get some sleep.

Dylan returned back to Los Angeles the following day. She got in and knew that something felt off straightaway. Dropping her bag near the front door, Dylan walked around the house. As she entered the living room, Dylan stopped in her tracks. The furniture had been completely rearranged. Before Dylan called the police, she checked all the other rooms in the house, including hers and Brendons' bedroom. She couldn't see anything else out of place. She dialled 911.
The police arrived, and Dylan told them what she had found. They didn't take her seriously at first. When Dylan said that there may be footage of whoever did it, then they seemed interested because half the work was done for them. Dylan tried to call Brendon, but there was no answer. Realising the time and the time difference, Dylan figured that he was on stage.
A detective arrived and introduced herself.
"Miss Parker, I am Detective Chloe Decker." They shook hands.
"Hello, Detective Decker, please call me Dylan." Chloe shook her head as if to say ok.
Decker asked Dylan questions, and she answered them all as best as she could. A uniformed officer was looking through the footage from the past 48 hours.
Dylan went to use the downstairs bathroom, and her phone rang.
Dylan picked the phone up, and it was a private number. She wrinkled her brow, wondering who it could be.
"Hello?" There was silence. "Hello? Who's there?" Still silence. The line disconnected. Dylan sighed with frustration. This situation was getting creepier and creepier. Plus, she was having to deal with it all on her own. Dylan didn't want to tell Brendon what had been happening because there was nothing he could do, and she knew that he would worry. This, in turn, would make his anxiety spiral.
Somebody knocked on the door. Dylan answered, and it was Annabel.
"Hi." She said, taking in Dylans appearance. 'You ok?" And Dylan shook her head.
"What's wrong?" Annabel asked as they went into the kitchen. Dylan told her what she had discovered when she returned home.
"What the fuck?" Annabel was speechless.
"I know. I don't feel safe here Bel." Dylan said, shaking her head. Annabel hugged Dylan, and Detective Decker came through to the kitchen.
"Once forensics has finished, we will take all this footage back to the police station and go through it. See if there is anything useful. Having a quick look through, nothing was picked up." Dylan looked at Decker open-mouthed, with surprise.
"O-ok." Dylan managed to get out. She ran her fingers through her wavy copper hair. At this moment all she wanted was Brendon. To have his arms around her, making her feel safe.