Redeeming the Darkness

Chapter Seventeen - Ivy

This window was going to be the death of me.

Since I'd figured out Zane's pattern, sleeping when he left to go wherever it was he went proved to be impossible. I'd sit in the living room and wait for him to come home the next morning. If he noticed me, he never said anything, but I had no doubt that he knew my whereabouts. Even with whatever he had going on, I didn't see him giving up control. Zane always had knowledge of all his surroundings.

I never thought I'd say it, but watching the sunrise began to grate on my nerves.

The sun had just started to come up behind the houses across the street when a maroon car I'd never seen pulled into the driveway. My heart stopped, wondering if someone was coming to tell me my husband had died sometime in the night.

"Sandro!" I yelled as I rushed to the door. I must have scared him while he took a drink of his coffee because the sound of glass shattering filled the house. "Sorry!"

I flung the door open and was greeted by a young man with his fist raised, about to knock. He looked shocked and confused for a moment before recognition hit him.

The same couldn't be said for me, though. I didn't recognize him at all. He stood well over a head taller than me and his dark brown eyes made him seem friendly. His shaggy light brown hair was long enough to hang over his ears and his smile gave him a boyish charm. He looked too happy to be delivering bad news.

"You must be Ivy," he smiled and stuck out his hand. "My name is Thomas Fields, but you can call me Tommy. I'm an old friend of Zane's and I've been meaning to stop by for quite some time now. I figured today was the day."

I looked over my shoulder at Sandro and gave him a questioning look. He looked right back at me like I was an idiot.

Right. I was the wife, I should know this stuff.

"Would you like to come in for some coffee?" I asked, ignoring the warning in my stomach. Sandro was here if I needed him or the gun that was covered by his shirt.

Tommy grinned. "Absolutely, thank you!"

I moved, allowing him to come inside, and I walked to the kitchen. Sandro's face was composed, but I could feel the judgment coming off him. He didn't realize it, but he knew just about as much about Zane as I did, and we both knew he wouldn't like me letting a man into the house.

"I heard about Zane getting married, even saw a few pictures of you two on your honeymoon in a magazine."

"Yeah, I wasn't even aware some of them were being taken at the time," I admitted. "It's the weirdest thing to me."

"So, you aren't famous or anything?" he asked. He pulled out a chair at the island and sat down, making himself at home. Maybe he'd been here before.

"That depends on who you ask. I was super famous back home because I burned off our gym teacher's eyebrows, but in the real world I'm a nobody."

"Not anymore." I handed Tommy a cup filled with coffee and smiled.

"I guess you're right." Sandro caught my eye with a wave. I looked at him and waited for something, but he just stared at me. Weirdo. "So, I don't mean to be rude, but is there a reason for your visit?"

"Honestly, not really. I haven't heard from Zane in a few years and heard he lived around here. I visited his mom and she told me where I could find his place."

So he hadn't been here before.

"He's usually back by now, but I guess something must have held him up. I'm sure he'll be here any minute, but I can call him if you'd like."