could come by the house with some over-the-counter cold medicine? I called my girls, but they’re both tied up at work. I tried to call Huck as well, but he didn’t pick up.” He did sound raspy and like he had a bit of a cold.
I looked at the time on my phone. Huck would be in class for at least another forty-five minutes, so he probably turned his phone off. I was free for the rest of the afternoon. I had planned on meeting up with Vernon to go over a study schedule he set up for me, but that wasn’t urgent. Not when the old man really did sound kind of rough and winded. I was concerned about him.
“Sure. Tell me what you want me to grab, and I’ll bring it by right away. Are you sure you don’t need me to take you to the doctor? You sound terrible.” But he was stubborn, and I bet he was the kind who waited until he was on death’s doorstep before seeking medical attention.
He wheezed out a generic name of a common cold medicine and assured me he would be fine. I told him I would be as quick as possible, and he mumbled, “Be safe.”
It was a very odd exchange.
I frowned as I shot a message to Vernon and let him know I would have to reschedule our study session. Mr. Peters often told me to take care of myself and jokingly ordered me to keep Huck and the other boys in line. But this was the first time he told me to be safe on the short trip to his place.
I pondered the subtext as I wandered the aisles of the closest drugstore to campus. I’d lived so much of life being suspicious of everyone and second-guessing everything, it was second nature to think there was more to the old man’s words than he intended. I didn’t want to be the girl who jumped at her own shadow anymore, but old habits die hard. Sadly, I couldn’t talk myself out of grabbing a canister of pepper spray when I checked out. I already had one, but I’d taken it off my keychain a few days ago in an attempt to claim some sense of normalcy. Huck scolded me and reminded me that Sawyer wasn’t the only person I would ever encounter in my life who had bad intentions, but I was convinced I could handle what any normal bad guy might throw my way after everything I’d been through.
Maybe I was arrogant and should’ve listened to him. After all, Huck hadn’t been wrong about much.
As soon as I got out of the Uber in front of Mr. Peters’s house, I sent another text to Vernon. I told him if he didn’t hear from me in the next ten minutes, something was wrong, and I was in trouble. I got a flurry of messages back demanding to know what was going on and why I sent such a cryptic text, but I was already at the front door and didn’t answer. Of course, Vernon immediately called when I didn’t respond, but I just let it go to voicemail as Mr. Peters pulled the door open.
He looked incredibly frail and very green around the gills. His hands were shaking as he pushed the storm door open, and he was blinking rapidly. He didn’t just look ill; he looked like he was about to keel over at any minute. I reached out to catch him as he practically crumbled into my arms as soon as I stepped over the threshold into his normally immaculate home. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a couple of pictures of his kids and grandkids were askew on the wall. I also noticed the lampshade on his antique table was tilted, like someone bumped into it and didn’t bother to right it.
My phone started ringing again, and I knew without looking at it that it would be Huck blowing it up. Before seeing the look of terror on my landlord’s face, I would’ve been annoyed that the boys were overreacting. Now, I was glad they were so overprotective of me. I handed Mr. Peters my phone and tried to gently move him onto the old house’s porch. He looked like he’d been through the wringer already, and I wanted him as far away as possible from whatever threat was inside. I didn’t know what was going on, but I was sure the