Chasing a Broken Butterfly

Chapter 28:

After we put the tripods together, we start to set up the cameras. We have four cameras in total. One facing the door at the front entrance, one in the corner of the living room capturing both the sliding door and stairs, one in my mom's room mounted on the wall to give us a wide view of the room, and then one in the upstairs hallway. Now Nathan is setting the screens up on the laptop in my room.

"Ok, so my dad has this program installed in his laptop that allows us to monitor the live feed coming from the cameras. He hardly uses it, but today....I'm glad he has it." Nathan looks over at me and when I meet his eyes, he looks away quickly. I smile at his shyness. "So here," he points to a small portion of the screen where it says Camera 1, "That's the camera in the living room. Camera 2 is the front entrance, camera 3 is the one in your mom's room, and then of course camera 4 is right outside in the hallway," he explains. It's interesting to see all four screens showing different parts of my house right on the laptop and all in black and white.

"And everything that happens will be recorded?" I ask.

"Exactly. So not only will we be seeing things that happen live, we will also have everything recorded and documented as evidence. All we can do is hope that we'll be able to get a clear image of the actual suspect." He positions the laptop at the foot of my bed so that we are both able to get a clear view of it. "Now, we wait," he announces.

I grab my pillow and prop it on my lap as I lean against the wall. I feel oddly at ease being locked up in my room with Nathan despite the surrounding silence and darkness throughout the house. Nathan settles down next to me on my bed and imitates me by putting the pillow on his lap. He has a hard time sitting down cross-legged the way I am because of his long legs. A giggle escapes from my lips and he looks over and grins at me.

"What?" He asks innocently. I shake my head at him, still smiling.

"What time is it?" I mentally slap myself in the head. A normal girl probably would've continued to flirt with him, but not me. I'm a nervous wreck. Then again, most normal girls aren't trying to catch a serial burglar slash potential murderer.

"It's 8:30 now. Time flew by quickly."

My ears hear him say 10:30, so I clarify with him because it cannot be 10:30 already. "Wait, what time is it?"

"8:30," he repeats. I adore the way he remains calm and patient with me. Patience really goes a long way...most people just take it for granted. "I also brought some essentials. Just in case," he pulls out two water bottles, two blueberry Cliff bars, and a box of band-aids.

I grab the box of band-aids and laugh, "If we get shot at with a gun...these won't help."

"There are 46 band aids in here. All we have to do is make sure that only one of us gets shot. I'm pretty sure 46 can cover one bullet hole," he wittily retorts.

"You're insane!" I gape at him mockingly.

"Don't worry, I'll be taking the bullet for you," he smirks, "but if the band aids don't work...please take me to the hospital." He furrows his eyebrows to feign seriousness.

I swat my hand at his arm playfully. "If you really do get shot, it's your fault because you just jinxed it," I shoot back. Nathan raises his eyebrow at me before breaking into a laugh. I'm not sure when or how I got so comfortable with him so quickly, but I'm enjoying it.

I feel my phone vibrate in pocket, bringing me back to reality. It's a text from Mikey.

*Elle, can we talk?*

I look over at Nathan who's decided to eat his Cliff bar and lay on his stomach to get a closer look at the screen. I know I should talk to him, but tonight isn't necessarily the best time.

*I can't tonight, Mikey. Tomorrow?*

I feel guilty sending him that, knowing that I'm here with Nathan. Especially now that I know how he feels. I join Nathan and watch the screen laying down on my stomach the way he is.

"Are you okay?" he asks as he shifts most of his weight on his left elbow to face me.

"Yeah...well, no but..it's just something I'm dealing with Mikey." I shrug my shoulders and smile weakly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he props his head on his hand. No one else besides Mikey has ever had a genuine interest in the little things in my life. It's a different feeling; new but exciting at the same time. I hesitate for a moment, but decide to tell him.

"Well," I start off, "Mikey and I have been best friends for like...forever. Then suddenly this morning he just...he dropped the bomb on me that he has feelings for me and I've never...I've never really thought of any of that. He was always there for me, he's family." I take a deep breath, "And after everything with Lacey, I just couldn't handle any other major life altering decisions, so I ran. Literally." I let out a sigh and turn my eyes upward to meet his.

I can see Nathan trying to analyze what he should say. After a few moments he finally says, "Well, the way I look at it. It definitely would be hard to not fall in love with you." He looks up at me and pauses a moment before continuing, "I think that you just need to go with what feels right. Whatever that might be. Take your time trying to figure it out. There's no rush." He musters a smile and I feel my heart ache for him.

I wonder if it pained him to say that; to even allow the possibility that I actually love Mikey back the same way. If so, what does that say about him? Does Nathan like me?

I smile half-heartedly and nod in agreement. My mind starts boggling over whether I want Mikey that way. I try to picture us together, but I can't. He's everything to me and I don't want to lose him, but I need him in my life as my friend. Sometimes friendship is needed where love can't go. If I try it out with Mikey, I know that I'm risking everything we have right now and I can't do that. Nathan's face pops into view. I adore him. From the little time I got to know him, I've become smitten with him. He makes me feel things that I've never felt before. He represents the change I never knew I needed in my life. My phone buzzes and my heart feels heavy. That's how I know.

*You will soon*

My stomach drops. It's not from Mikey. It's from the same number that threatened me earlier.

"Nathan," I try to get his attention, but he immediately puts his hand on my mouth. I look up at him in confusion until I see that he's straining to hear something. I look at the monitors on the laptop and see nothing unusual. I look back at Nathan for any clues as to what he might've heard. He's standing in front of my door, his head pressed against it to hear the origin of the sound. I feel my heart racing. I absolutely hate it when others can hear things and I cannot. Especially when it involves life or death.

Nathan looks over at me and mouths 'they're here' before turning off the light in my room. I glance back at the laptop and see that the two screens for the cameras in the living room and entryway have went black and white. Nathan grabs his phone out and types out a message for me to read.

*Stay here, I'm going to go down there and check it out*

As soon as I read it, my eyes open wide with fear and I desperately shake my head no. He looks at me and says, "you'll be okay." With that, he gives me a swift kiss on the cheek and opens the door. He grabs a pocket knife from his pocket and disappears into the darkness of the house.

I shut the door quickly and lock it. Anxiety starts building inside of me and the adrenaline coursing through my blood is waking up every nerve in my body. I look back at the screen and still see only two of the cameras working. Nothing is being registered with the two working cameras. I'm feeling restless just sitting here in my room while Nathan is down there risking his life.

'Elle, get your shit together and go down there now!' I yell at myself inside my head.

I need to find something that I can utilize as a weapon. I look around my room for anything sharp or heavy. My eyes rest on my desk. Scissors. I have scissors in the drawer. I hurriedly walk over and grab the scissors out. I walk back to the door and imitate what I saw Nathan doing. I press my ears against the door to try to hear anything worth noting. I hear nothing.

Damn it...

I'm going to have to go through the house relying on sight and touch alone. I put my hand on the knob and take a deep breath.