Secret Desires

✧ 26: Something Unusual

David

✧ December 25th

        When she lets go of my elbow, her fingers curl in. I don't miss the slight shake to them before her hand is in a fist. At first, I think I'm about to be struck. And maybe it's deserved. But the strike never comes. Sarah takes a deep breath before she looks me over. I feel like a bug under a microscope. Her tired eyes rest on my face as she sighs again. I don't know if speaking first is the best idea. So I say nothing as I wait for her to talk first.

        "I- " Her words are interrupted by her phone going off. She pulls it free from her pocket and answers the call without looking. Her eyes are wide as she listens to the person on the other side. I can't hear them so I go off of Sarah's face. Her eyes close for a moment as she exhales a breath she was probably holding.

        "Is everything alright?" I whisper. Sarah glances at me and nods in relief.

        "Yes, Mrs. Baker. We're still out of town. We're actually on our way back home but we won't be there until tomorrow. Is everything alright?" She walks back toward the other end of the hall so I follow. When she starts pacing I lean against a wall and wait. My eyes are on their hotel room door. Blair is alone right now and all I want to do is go to her. My feet urge to move forward but I force myself to stay where I am. I've already crossed enough lines today.

        I'm fighting back those familiar feelings of guilt when it comes to Blair. It's taken me time to understand that what I'm feeling isn't wrong. Being with Blair isn't a crime even in the literal sense. But even telling myself that much feels like justifying a wrong. Those two sides are still battling inside of me. One side believes that this is okay. That being with her won't be a problem and that it doesn't affect anyone in the long run. The other side is constantly telling me that I'm a fool if I think this won't end badly and to stop what I'm doing. That this won't work out and this affects everyone. The only thing I am certain of is that I love her.

        "Yes," Sarah says. I hear the change in her tone and shift my gaze back to her. "I'm still here... Uh... Can you- " She swallows and pulls her phone away to press a button on the screen. The call is on speaker now. Her eyes are on me as she says, "Can you repeat what you said?" I push off the wall to stand in front of her, my attention on the phone.

        "I was saying that we just got home from a night out and went to check our cameras. They have motion detection and the one facing our backyard picked up something in yours. Someone was walking around back there wearing a black hoodie. The hood was up so we can't see the face. We only know that he's tall." My teeth grind together as I look up at Sarah. Our eyes meet and one name is spoken between us both. The name leaving our mouths is almost a curse.

        "Nolan." It's a quiet breath that Mrs. Baker doesn't hear.

        "Are you able to send me that recording?" She was trying to keep the worry out of her voice but I could hear the waver. Her hands shook as they held the phone between us. I wanted to hold them still and try to comfort her, but I think I would only make things worse between us.

        "Of course. I'll do that now, but... I was looking back at some other recordings to see if this was the first time that person was here and... Well... It's not."

        "What do you mean?" Her hands are shaking harder now, and I just want to take the phone from her. She should be sitting.

        "This person has been here more than a few times in the last two weeks. I called you right away because I'm not sure what the situation is, but there might be more recordings. I would feel more comfortable if you saw them for yourself. You might find something unusual that we might not."

        "I- " She swallows hard again, a hand going to her mouth as if she's going to be sick. "I would appreciate whatever you send me. Um... Thank you." She takes a deep breath as she tries to calm herself. I am fighting the urge to help her. I don't know where we stand right now. There's a temporary truce it feels like, but I don't know how far that goes.

        "How about I just send you my login information? That way you can see as much as you need to for yourself. I trust you, sweetheart. My front camera is on the account too, so make sure to check that one as well. There might be something there." We both jump when my phone starts ringing. I whisper an apology as I back away from Sarah. I pull my phone out and see that it's my dad calling.

        "Hey, I gave mom her phone back but it died. She went to go charge it."

        "Dammit... I wanted to tell your mom." His words are said through uneven pants as if he were just running. I glance over my shoulder to check on Sarah. She's ending her call, thanking Mrs. Baker for her help.

        "Tell her what?" I can hear the hesitation to tell me and it gives me an uneasy feeling.

        "The stables are on fire."

        "What? Wait, what-"

        "The fire department and police are here getting it under control."

        "What the hell happened? How did a fire start in the stables? Are you guys okay? Are the horses okay?" I'm raising my voice as that uneasy feeling spreads throughout my body.

        "We're fine. We were sleeping when Jolene started barking. Me and Drew got as many horses out as we could, but we lost two. And we don't know where the other two dogs are... No tellin' where- What?... Yeah, yeah. Hold on, I'm on the phone with David... Yeah, here." There's a shuffling noise and for a few seconds, I can hear more than one person shouting in the background. There are other sounds that I can't quite make out. But I can hear the sirens and the familiar yelp of Jolene. It's the sound she makes when she's sitting at the back door, waiting for someone to let her out.

        "Dad?"

        "David? It's me." It's a female that speaks into the phone. There's no relief in recognizing my partner's voice. "It's Rhodes."