Chasing a Broken Butterfly

Chapter 22:

My phone buzzes and I see a text from Mikey.

Don't forget to tell them. You promised!

I roll my eyes. He won't let this go until he knows that I've told them. I type: 'it's barely 6 PM' and add a sarcastic emoji before hitting the send button. He knows they won't arrive until 7.

I finish towel drying my hair and pull it up into a ponytail. A long, hot shower was exactly what I needed to calm my nerves for tonight. I spent most of the day with Mikey trying to distract myself. But even then, I found my mind wandering back to the silhouette at the bottom of the stairs, Lacey in the recycling bin, and open windows and doors. A part of me is hoping that nothing will happen tonight, because I don't think I can handle another scare. But then the other part of me is hoping something will happen so that the culprit can be caught and this whole thing can just end. I'm almost more annoyed now than scared. I suppose because I feel like if it were a serious threat, I would've already been harmed.

Consistent doorbell rings interrupt my thoughts, so I run downstairs to answer it.

It's Nathan.

"Nathan!" The surprise is clear in my voice.

"Hey. Um, you didn't answer my text from earlier today, so I uh...thought I'd stop by," he pauses a moment to run his hand against the back of his neck. "I thought maybe you just didn't get it." Nathan glances up at me through his eyelashes and shoves his hands in his pockets.

I feel my eyes open wide in disbelief. Crap! I totally forgot!

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Nathan. I've just honestly been so caught up in other things. I seriously didn't mean to not reply. I..." Nathan puts his index finger on my lips to stop me from rambling on.

"It's fine," he shrugs, "I just thought I'd stop by. Is that okay?" He takes his finger off my lips so I can speak, but I really wish he would've left it there. His touch ignites something in me.

"Yeah. Yeah, come in. You must be freezing, it's like winter out there" I open the door wide enough to let him through.

The memory of Mikey pointing out how Nathan might be behind it all flashes through my mind. I shut the door quickly and take a deep breath before turning around.

I just need to make sure it isn't him. Cut him out of the picture for potential suspects. "So...is there anything you needed specifically?" I ask. Way to be subtle, you moron. I mentally slap myself.

"No," he turns to look at me with confusion in his eyes. "Do I need a reason to just want to come see you?"

He catches me off guard with his answer, so I'm not sure how to respond. "Um, no. Not at all, I just..." I'm searching frantically for the right words to say, "I just thought you might've needed something."

Totally lame cover-up my subconscious sneers at me.

He looks at me long and hard before turning around to face the living room. I guess he decided against further commenting on my horrible reply. I mean, he just admitted he wanted to see me. Me! And I just blew off his flattery.

"Nice place you've got here," Nathan looks over his shoulders and flashes me the most adorable smile I've ever seen. There's nothing much in the living room except for a brown, leather love-seat and matching recliner. The round coffee table has a little bit of personality with an old white as the base color and lilac in the details. Other than that, theres not much to look at, so I know he's just being nice. And for some reason I cannot fathom, that makes me like him more. I can't accept the possibility that he might be involved in this whole thing.