shake my head lamely. “No, it was the knife.”
“The knife attacked you?” I hear a sliver of confusion.
I shake my head again. “No, I was hiding and I crawled and the knife got stuck and …” I stop when I realize that I’m babbling like an idiot.
“It’s all clear,” the other policeman says. I look up at him and for the first time since seeing that man, I feel a little safe.
“Is that bad?” The policeman that searched the apartment asks.
I glance down at my hand and realize that I’m dripping blood all over Jan’s carpet. I run to the kitchen and quickly rinse my hand. I can finally see the cut, it’s not that bad. I grab one of the towels and wrap it around my hand to help stop the bleeding. “It’s just a little cut, nothing serious.” I turn back to the two policemen. “Thank you for coming out so quickly. I’m sorry I wasted your time.”
“Rather be safe than sorry,” the older one of the two says. “You take care now.”
He leaves and the younger one smiles at me and says, “Be sure to lock the door and take care of that hand.”
“I will, and thank you again.” As soon as he closes the door I run to lock it. I lean against it feeling all kinds of stupid for overreacting like that. I thought I dealt with it all! I saw on the news that Mr Brody was sentenced and I thought I’d gotten closure.
I was so wrong.
~*~
Chapter Thirty
Seth~
I have to park down the street from Aunt Janice’s café. It’s not that far and I enjoy the walk. My thoughts return to the woman in the apartment. I hope I didn’t scare her too badly. When I open the door to the café, the bell rings. I spot Aunt Janice behind the counter and I wait for her to finish helping the customer.
A young blonde walks by me, carrying a tray. “Sit anywhere, we’ll be with you now.” She doesn’t wait for me to answer and scurries off to serve the customers. I weave my way between the tables and when Aunt Janice’s eyes land on me, I smile.
She hands the customer his change and then smiles at me. “What a surprise! You didn’t tell me you were coming.”
I step around the counter and give her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I wanted to surprise you. I wasn’t sure if you were working.” I give Aunt Janice a sheepish smile as I think about the woman I scared half to death. “I’m afraid I might have scared the woman in your apartment. I didn’t know you had someone living with you.”
Aunt Janice’s eyes widen and then she grabs a cloth and starts to wipe the counter down. “Did she say anything?” she asks, looking a little nervous.
“No, she screamed and ran into her room. All I saw where towels and a blue face.” Aunt Janice’s eyes flit over the customers and I wonder for a moment why she’s so nervous. “You’re not in financial trouble are you?”
Her mouth drops open and for a moment she gapes at me. “Now why on earth would you think such a thing?”
I shrug. “You look nervous and with the woman living with you, I thought maybe you were renting out a room for extra cash. You know you can come to me if you need anything, right?”
She slaps my arm. “Don’t be silly. I’m fine. The girl just needed a place to stay.” She takes hold of my arm and walks me to a table. “So what brings you here on a Saturday morning? I thought you’d still be out with your friends celebrating your graduation.”
I take a seat and wait until Aunt Janice is sitting across from me. “I missed you. Can’t a guy miss his favorite aunt?”
She lets out a bark of laughter. “I’m your only aunt!” A customer approaches the counter. “Let me help her quickly and I’ll bring you some coffee and muffins. I baked them this morning.”
I soak in the cozy feel of the café and relax back in my seat. I’ve never actually looked at this place. Aunt Janice has a nice little café. It has a homey feel to it.
~*~
I’m back at the house but now that I’ve graduated I need to find a place of my own to stay. I don’t want to move away from Aunt Janice. I’m her only family and I’d like to be