Midnight Rose (completed)

Chapter 8

The weekend arrived without another word from Wes or Elijah. My shift at the bistro didn't start for a few hours, and my homework was finished, so I curled up to the window with a book and tried to forget for just a few hours that my world had been turned upside down and to distract my thoughts from Wes—his smell, his touch, his voice. It was all-consuming and being away from him made me restless.

I read the same paragraph half a dozen times before I finally gave up, tossing the book on my bed. Another storm was rolling in, the threatening clouds foreshadowing a big one. We had more rain in the last few weeks than we had all last year.

I liked the rain. The pitter-patter of it on my window lulled me to sleep, and the whirring of the wind ignited something exciting and primal deep within me. Today, though, the darkness charging toward Sandpoint scared me, because I now knew that shadows bred hidden dangers. Ones with onyx eyes and devilish grins.  

As I descended the stairs, I heard my dad whispering in his office. When I peeked in, he was on the phone and he looked agitated, rubbing his face hard. Before he could see me eavesdropping, I tiptoed around the corner to the front door.

"Abigail, are you ready for work?" my mom called from her knitting chair.

"Yep, but I think Dad is busy, so I can just walk." The thought gave me a mild panic attack.

"I'm ready," my dad announced as he closed his office door.

The dark circles under his eyes were new, and the scruff on his face was growing thicker. I couldn't remember my dad ever looking so disheveled.

Driving to the bistro, I studied him in my peripheral. His laid-back demeanor was replaced with a tapping foot and tense silence.

"Dad, is something bothering you?" I tried my best to keep my eyes on the road.

The tapping ceased.

"No, Peanut. Everything's fine." The exhaustion settling into the creases in his forehead said otherwise.

I had been so wrapped up in my own life that I had failed to see that things were not fine in the Rose household. There must have been other signs of distress that I missed. I rifled through the last couple of weeks. The only things that stood out were my dad not traveling anymore and the odd moment with him and Mr. Hunter when we had dinner at the bistro. 

"You know, I'm not a little girl anymore. I can handle it if things are bad, you know, with you and Mom." I knew I was prying, and I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to know, but I was worried.

"Your mom and I are better than ever. I'm just working long hours to make up for the loss of clients with the new situation. I promise things are good." He smiled.

Not only was there something wrong, but it was worse than I could have imagined. My dad was an expert liar, and I meant that in a good way. He was the king of elaborate surprises, keeping secrets for weeks and making up cover stories. My mom and I were never the wiser. Today I could see right through him, but I didn't press the issue. I didn't have to. I could tell it was bad, and knowing that the only stability I had left in my life was slipping out from under me was terrifying.

                                        ***

Mr. Hunter was a quiet man. He hadn't said much to me since he hired me, but I got the impression he kept me in his line of sight at all times. It should have crept me out, but it felt more like he was watching out for me. It didn't make much sense until the other night, but I was slowly starting to piece things together. Maybe he was afraid for me. That whatever was happening to Wes could possibly hurt me. But then, why move back here?