my protector

•4•

"Just go back upstairs," Zion says. I can tell he is starting to get worried now. Zion doesn't take any of this shit lightly and he is always protecting me from everything.

"What is it, Caleb?"

He sighs and walks over to me. He hands me the envelope and I open it. Inside is a necklace and a piece of paper.

The paper reads:

Caitlyn. You thought you could hide from me? You thought wrong and you did bad. I'm not going to play your little games. I hope this necklace is a reminder that I don't play around. She will rest in peace, I guess. Have a great day, darling. I'll talk to you later.

-Black X

The tears start to steam down my face as I look down at the necklace. This is Mrs Crawford's necklace. She wore it every single day. She would always have it on and she never took it off.

I look up at Caleb with blurry vision, "This was Mrs Crawford's. D-did he k-kill her?"

"I don't know, love," he says. "We are going to figure it out though."

"I have to go over there," I say. I start to walk to the garage door, but Zion grabs my arm.

"You aren't leaving, Caitlyn. He just dropped this off. He could easily still be around here."

"Or she could be dead," I say.

"Hey, stop," he says. "You can call her husband and see if she's at home."

I nod my head and I walk back upstairs to Zion's room. I grab my phone and I sit down on the edge of the bed. I call Mr Crawford and it rings a few times.

"Hello?"

"Hi. It's Caitlyn." Zion walks into the room and shuts the door. He sits down next to me and smiles lightly.

"Oh, yes. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," I say. "How are you and Mrs Crawford?"

"We have been really good," he says. "Jane just started her new job today at the town hospital."

"That's great news," I say. "Is she home yet? Does she like it?"

"Yes, she is home now. She said she liked it a lot. It was very tiring though."

"I bet. New jobs are always crazy tiring. At least she likes it though."

"That's what I thought," he says. "Well it was nice talking to you, but I need to get the kids to bed. Was there something else you needed?"

I smile as tears start to roll down my cheeks again, "No. I just wanted to see how everyone was doing. I'm glad everything is going good. I miss you guys."

"We miss you too," he says. "I'll see you soon, hopefully? Bye Caitlyn."

"Goodbye," I say quietly.

Tears start streaming down my face because she is okay. The 'Black X" lied. She's not dead and she is okay. I have no clue in hell how he got her necklace but he did. She has probably been in the house.

"What did he say?"

I look up at Caleb and for some reason I decide to be bold and not say anything to him. I grab his face and I smash my lips onto his. He immediately kisses me back and my hands fly to his hair.

We stay like that for a bit longer until he pulls away with the biggest smile on his face. "I'm sorry," I say. "I'm just."

He cuts me off, "Don't apologize unless you regret it."