i don't feel safe anymore

Part 10

"Ah! Benjamin! You jerk!" Nadine hissed at the small bird held in her grasp. She was in her room, trying to feed her feathered friend. Bird seeds fell everywhere on her bed. She knew she'd have to clean that up before Sebastian saw, and she would. Eventually.

Every time she'd try to feed Benjamin, he'd instead peck at her flesh, and she'd hiss and mentally throttle him.

Her head jerked when she heard distant whistling. Her heart froze in her chest, and she quickly jumped off her bed in a sudden panic. When she heard the sound again, she sucked a breath. With careful steps, she tiptoed into the hallway. Cautious of the creaking floorboards under the carpet and her bedroom door as she slipped through. She made sure to hold her breath, listening intently on the whistling that sent a chill through her bones. It couldn't be him . . . No!

She peeked around the corner with her heart in her throat. But it was only Sebastian. He was standing in the kitchen, making their lunch like he had been for that past few days since Nadine started staying with him. The moment she saw his back and registered the whistles were his, she sighed a breath of relief and pressed her back against the wall in the corridor.

Her eyes slid shut as she tried to steady her breathing. Her hand pressed to her thudding chest, and slowly, the memories began to flood in.

Nadine inhaled the earthy air. The dewy grass brushed against the back of her slim neck. Her eyes were closed, and she let the crisp morning air surround her as she laid on the woodsy floor. She bathed in the warm sun rays. Birds chirped and sang in their nests overhead, leaves rustled in the wind. The melody of nature was calming and guided her peacefully to relaxation.

But all that was sucked away when she heard him whistling in the distance. When she caught the sound, her brows furrowed, but her eyes stayed screwed shut.

She could hear him, casually strolling closer as he whistled. Nadine hated it when he whistled like that. Especially during his hunts.

The sound of his boots stepping on the ground over her head filled her ears, and she already could feel his cold eyes on her. His presence was demanding. His whistling came to a chilling halt like a cliffhanger.

She peeked through her lashes and found Daniel towering over her, his shotgun in hand and rested against his shoulder with a toothpick pinched between his teeth. Slowly, her eyes peeled open wider. He wore a grey tee with a red flannel thrown over. His long uncut hair was held town by a cap that cast a menacing shadow over his mint eyes.

"It's time," he said flatly. His face was expressionless. His demeanor was distant and frosty. Nadine swallowed. Through grated teeth, he told her, "get up."

A gunshot sounded in the distance as the doorbell rang and Nadine was pulled out of her deep unwanted memories.

With a ragged breath, Nadine peeked around the corner to see Sebastian disappear as he answered the front door. Words exchanged between him and another man with a much deeper, raspier voice. When he came back into the kitchen, a man followed close behind, a giant cardboard box in hand. He had dark eyes and stubble along his jaw like he hadn't shaved in weeks. His hair was limp and dark as black coffee. Her gaze focused on the Sheriff's jacket he wore.

She tucked her body behind the wall so she wouldn't be seen.

"Thanks for doing this again, Sheriff," Sebastian repeated as he wiped his hands with a towel cloth, leaving the stove to simmer while he talked. Sheriff Adam Keller placed the box on the island and gave a kind nod.

"Ah, it's no problem really. I can't even remember the last time I had a bird," he said as he adjusted his belt and glanced down at the box. In a lower voice, he murmured. "I guess it must've been one of Karon's . . ."

Sebastian pressed his lips together and swallowed. He never knew how to act in situations like this. He wasn't good with peoples emotions, especially mournings.

There was a time when the Sheriff was a happy and not-so-uncomfortable person to be around. He'd always go into town with a smile and leave with it even if the day wasn't the greatest because he always had something to look forward to when heading home—his family. He had a wife and a kid at one point. Until one fateful Friday night, when they were taken from him in a car accident due to the negligence of a drunk semi-truck driver.

Now, most people in town had a sad gleam in their eye whenever he was around. And it wasn't anything that he'd done per say. It was the knowledge of his tragic life that left others uncomfortable.

For years, he'd tried to perfect his conversation skills so that he could look into the eyes of a happy person, rather than see constant pity and grief. He already felt enough of that at home—alone.

"I gotta be honest though," Adam began again and cleared his throat with a chuckle. "I never thought you were a bird person."

Sebastian chuckled. "Yeah," he admitted and turned back to the stove. "It's, uh, it's not for me. It's for a friend."

"Oh? Do I know this friend?"

"No . . . She's a distant friend," he lied, coming up with it off the top of his head. "She lives in New York."

"Oh. You're gonna mail this to her?"

". . . Yes."

Adam nodded. "Okay, well, be careful. This cage isn't what it used to be" Sebastian nodded and went back to the homemade soup he was trying. Adam gazed around and later asked, "Where's that little lady of yours?"

Sebastian froze. Was he talking about Nadine? Had he seen her in the woods? When he slowly turned to Adam, he found him gazing around with a coy smile. "You know, city girl? The one you tried to convert to our ways?"

Sebastian gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, um . . . probably back in the city right now, I suppose."

"Oh no," Adam frowned. "Did you two call a quits?"

Sebastian gazed down at the counter as he thought about it. "Yeah . . . I guess you could say that." It was the first time Sebastian had registered it out loud. And it felt . . . Different.

Adam sighed as he gazed out the back windows. "Isn't love crazy," he murmured to himself under his breath. He sighed heavily, before turning back to Sebastian with a smile. "Well, good luck with—all this," he waved at the box on the island top. "Oh, and, I don't know how long bird food lasts so you might wanna get your friend some fresh ones."

"Will do, sheriff." Sebastian nodded and walked Adam to the door. He held it open for him. "Thank you," he said again with a smile.

Adam returned it with a wave as he walked to his sheriff's car. Sebastian waited until he got in and began pulling out of the driveway before he closed the door and went back to the kitchen.