Haunted in the Night

Chapter Fourteen- Part One

Chapter Fourteen.
Claire hadn’t been sure on when but she had fallen asleep during the movie, she guessed all he exhaustion had finally taken its toll, especially after all the garden work they had done, but for some reason it had been the best sleep she had since she arrived into town.
She knew why, it was because of Chad, she felt safe in his arms, and that was exactly where she still remained when she woken.
She slowly lifted her head to look at him, he had also fallen asleep, he was still sitting up but his head was back against the top of the couch, his breathing steady and even.
Slowly she tried to unwrap herself from his arm around her shoulder, but he only tightened his grip and pulled her closer, this time wrapping his other arm around her shoulders too.
“Just five more minutes” he mumbled, and she managed to look at his face to see a cheeky smile on his face and she giggled.
“No now, or you won’t get dessert” she teased and his smile grew wider as his eyes opened and he peeked down at her.
“What is my dessert? I want to know if it is worth it or not” he chuckled as he let go of her and she sat up straight, bending her neck from side to side, it was a bit tense from laying awkwardly.
“I don’t know, do you have any ice cream?” she asked him and he gave her this look, a really, you really asked that kind of look.
“Of course and not only do I have ice cream, I have the best ice cream” he claimed as he stood up and walked out into the kitchen, slowly she got to her feet and followed.
“So we really watched that movie huh” she chuckled as she stood at the bench while he rummaged through the freezer.
“It’s all good, we can watch it again another time” he said as he looked up at her for a moment, winked at her then continued searching for the ice cream.
“Here it is, cookies and cream ice cream” he said holding it high up in the air like it was something to show off.
“Yum” Claire replied and he grabbed out two bowls from the cupboard, the ice cream scoop from a draw and began serving them up a bowl each.
“Here you are” he said as he handed her a bowl and a spoon, then when he had his and put the rest of the ice cream away they went out the front porch to sit on the swing chair and eat it.
“I can’t believe how long we slept” she remarked when she noticed how the sun had almost set.
“I’m glad honestly that you got some sleep, you look much better now then you did earlier, less darkness around your eyes” he told her and she smiled shyly at him.
“I think doing all that yard work took it’s toll” she remarked and he nodded as they began eating.
Even though it was cool outside they didn’t mind, Chad ended up wrapping a blanket around both of their shoulders and they continued to eat their ice cream.
“Mmm that was so good” Claire commented when they had finished and he took their bowls back inside quickly before returning and rewrapped himself up in the blanket they were sharing.
“Thank you again for all your help today” he said to her and she smiled and nodded at him happily.
“You are most welcome, thank you for lending me these clothes” she replied and he looked her up and down.
“You actually look really nice in my clothes” he flirted which caused a deep blush to crawl up her cheeks.
“It could be like this every night you know” he said and she looked at him confused for a moment.
“If you stay, I could make every night as happy as this one” he explained and she took a deep breath before nodding slightly, she didn’t know what to say to that.
“Come here” he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him, warming her with his body.
“It’s okay to be nervous and unsure, I understand I’m asking a lot from you but I’m also offering you a lot in return” he whispered in his ear before burying his head into the crook of her neck, his warm breath sending tingles down her back.
“I want to stay, especially here with you but.... all the memories and the heartache, especially if and when we solve this case, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay here after what we may find” she tried explaining to him.
“Shush don’t think about that right now, I just want you to be happy” he spoke quietly in her ear before placing a soft kiss on her neck, his lips warm and firm, it made a small gasp escape from her.
“I want to thank you for running the shop by the way” she said as she remembered how she wanted to tell him that, she had forgotten earlier.
“It’s okay, I love the place, you know that” he replied as he leaned back slightly to look into her eyes.
“We could run it together you know, if you stay” he said and she looked down nervously.
He was talking so seriously, and so committedly already, their feelings had grown for each other so much in just a few days and she wasn’t sure about whether she would be able to leave him when the case is solved, the way she was feeling at this minute if she did leave him, leave here it would only hurt more being so far away from him.
“You have a lovely house by the way” she quickly said to change the subject, she didn’t know how else to reply to what he had said, it was the only thing that came to her mind.
“Thanks, it took me years to get it this way, it had been a wreck when I bought it, that’s why it had been so cheap” he replied and she looked at him confused, from what she saw now it was a lovely place, she couldn’t imagine it being anything less.
“The last people who lived here trashed it, walls were falling down, also some of the roof, windows were boarded up, the grass was completely gone, it was just dirt, and this poor porch, it had been disgusting, a lot of boards were missing or just broken, some even eaten away by white ants, it was a disaster” he explained to her and her eyes widened in shock.
“Why would they do that?” she asked unbelievably, it was such a beautiful house and they had ruined it.
“I guess they just didn’t care, and when it came time that they wanted to move away I bought it from them, dirt cheap too, it was all I could really afford at the time anyway, they tried to charge me more than it was worth, way more but Helena had been with me and she gave them what for, then they sold it to me as quickly as they could and bolted” he smiled at the memory.
“And you fixed it all up” Claire remarked and he smiled down at her.
“Yep, every nail, every floor board, you name it, took ages for me to get it how I wanted, a lot of money too, but I managed to get there and as you can see I’m still adding things to it” he said motioning towards the rose bushes and the empty pots under the window sills.
“You have done an amazing job” she commented and his smile widened.
“You have helped” he replied which made her feel good too.
“I’m glad” was what she replied this time.
“It’s getting late, I should probably take you home” he told her.
“Yes, I wouldn’t want Bob to worry” she replied as they stood up and went inside, once she found her handbag she quickly pulled out her phone and saw a couple of missed calls from Bob.
“I’ll just quickly message him telling him I’m on my way back now” she told Chad who was standing there waiting for her.
Once she done that they made their way out to Chad’s truck but something didn’t feel right.
It had gotten quite dark now and the tree leaves rustled in the wind, but that wasn’t all she could hear.
Claire could have sworn she heard twigs snap under someone’s weight and breathing, heavy breathing but when she looked around at the trees that surrounded them she couldn’t see anything, or anyone, it was too dark to see.
“Claire are you alright?” Chad asked her once he noticed she had stopped by the front of the car and showed no sign of getting in, she was just looking around, with a nervous expression.
“You don’t hear that?” she asked but as soon as she did there was some more rustling, like someone had brushed up against a bush, like they had been in a rush to get away.
“Yeah I heard that” Chad replied as his body tensed and he quickly rushed over to her, putting his arm around her waist protectively as he looked towards where the noise had come from.
They waited for a moment, watching the spot where the noise had come from but nothing happened, nothing emerged, and slowly Claire’s heart rate slowed back to normal.
“It couldn’t have been Sam, who do you think it was?” she asked nervously, her voice wavering slightly.
“It could have just been an animal, a deer maybe” he suggested but she knew he didn’t really believe in what he was saying.
“Let’s get you home” he said as he let go of her and walked to the drivers side, climbing in.
Claire also rushed over to the passenger side and climbed in, hitting the lock as soon as the door closed behind her and she looked back to where the sound had come from.
“Do you think the kidnapper could be watching me? This isn’t the first time I’ve felt someone watching me” she remarked and he looked at her concerned while he started up the engine.
“Originally when I found out Sam had been stalking me I just assumed every time I felt like that it was him, but what if someone else is watching me too? Or even watching you?” the fear in Claire’s voice was evident and Chad looked at her concerned.
“Well the kidnapper has taken a lot of people who are close to you, and me, but why everybody else then? If they just want us?” he asked but she shook her head, not knowing the answer for his questions, or even her own.
“I’m getting you home, and then we can tell Bob that someone else might be watching us” he said as he pulled out and started driving towards her cabin.
The whole drive there nervousness shook through Claire, she kept looking around at the bunches of trees they were driving past, sick with worry that suddenly something was going to come out of them and snatch them out of the vehicle.
She knew she was being irrational but she couldn’t help it, not after everything that they had been through, Chad however noticed her discomfort and he reached over with one hand, his other still on the steering wheel and cupped her hand in his, squeezing it slightly to attempt to provide her comfort.
It did help, her hands had been cold and she had been fiddling with them nervously, but in his hand it spread warmth through hers and helped concentrate on something other than fiddling.
Sadly though it couldn’t stop her eyes from scanning the trees for anything that might be lurking there.
She felt more relief when they pulled up in front of her cabin, Bob’s police cruiser was already here and he opened the front door of the cabin and stood there waiting for her.
“Bob we've got something to tell you" Claire stated once her and Chad had gotten out of the truck and made their way over to Bob.
“What is it? First come inside out of this chill, the fire is already warming up the place nicely" he replied as he ushered them in and they all sat down at the table.
“We’re still being watched, someone was in the trees at Chad’s today, we heard them" Claire explained instantly, as soon as Bob had sat down and he looked up at them in concern.
“I thought you were being stalked by Sam" he said curiously, trying to consider who else might want to stalk her or Chad.
“He was, but there is someone else too, it happened on the night that Chad took me to get takeaway, we were at the park and it felt like we were being watched, and also the footprints outside my window that night, they came back as woman’s shoes, who’s to say that isn’t someone else who’s stalking me" Claire explained and Bob nodded his head while he took it all in.
“I see, you do have a point, I’m glad you came straight here to tell me" Bob answered but the look in his eyes showed that he was still considering it all but however was coming up blank.
“Do you know of any women who would want to stalk you or me? I can’t think of any" Chad asked her and she shook her head instantly.
“I have no idea" she sighed frustrated, she considered every woman she had ever met in her life, even in the city, as well as before she had left when her parents had been taken, nothing, no one stood out or came to mind.