Brothers at War [#Wattys2017]

two (ii)

It wasn't until the following morning when I was awoken by the sound of banging in my bedroom. I bolted up from my spot, noting that Callie was now cuddling one of the pillows into her chest and the duvet was thrown haphazardly over her body, but the thing which struck me was that it half past three in the morning and someone was going through my luggage.

If they thought that they were going to find something good in there, then they were going to be disappointed when all they found were my clothes and toiletries, and the toys which I had packed for Callie. There was nothing of value in there, since I sold most of the things Matt gave to me when I found out I was pregnant with Callie, and neither was there anything which constituted a threat.

"Can I help you?" My morning voice had to be the least sexy thing in the world, so it was a good job that I wasn't waking up next a man, otherwise I would have scared them off by now.

"Ah. Miss Peterson. Correct?"

"Yes. Now, why at half three in the morning, are you going through my case?"

"It is my job, Miss Peterson. I am Alexander Porter and I am the Head of Security here for Mr Matthew Barnes." He continued to search through my case as though I wasn't awake and I wasn't in the room, and if Matthew thought that this was acceptable at this time of the morning, then he was in for a shock. Especially when Matthew knew just how much I hated it when people invaded my privacy and touched my things.

And, if I was going to kill Matt, then I wouldn't do it in his own house. I know how tight his security is, even without my luggage being searched for dangerous weapons, so I would plan it better than hoping for the best. I would, if I was going to do anything, do it in the open and I would murder him in a place where there were lots of people, just because the blame can never solely be on one person.

But, even with Alexander's meticulous search of, not only my belongings, but also Callie's, it still took him another forty-five minutes before he deemed that I was not a threat to Matt's life. With a brisk nod of the head, and a lame attempt at an apology, Alexander left the room and I was left with nothing other than a snoring child and my unwanted thoughts.

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It was half seven in the morning when I finally accepted defeat and realized that I wouldn't be getting back to sleep. When I pulled myself from the warmth of the bed, Callie was quick to move into the middle, still hugging her pillow to her chest, though she was now barely visible beneath the covers she had thrown over herself as she moved around.

I could have woken her, forced her to start the day at the same time I did, but I didn't want to deal with her tantrums later when she complained that she was tired. Part of her routine at home was to have her lunch at half one and then she would have a nap at two, before I woke her up at half three, and we would spend an hour watching TV together; usually before Evva came around and I went to work for the evening.