“I had fun today, but I’m feeling a little tired. I’m headed to my room for a bit. I’ll see you at dinner, kay?”
I moved pass Hunter after taking his hands from my waist which, was harder than I expected. It wasn’t hard because he wouldn’t let go, I just didn’t want to. He offered me a comfort that I had never known, not even when I was with Keith. This was different. I was scared to admit that existed.
Going upstairs I hoped that the storm would hold off until after dinner. It had become a sort of routine for us to have dinner together. Though sometimes Damian joined us. I found our nightly dinners a refugee. We didn’t speak much, but we worked well in the kitchen together. It was nice to be around him without feeling all the expectations being mates added. I am not sure why in the kitchen things felt natural with him.
I went downstairs an hour later to start dinner. Coming down the stairs I noticed the storm was fairly quiet. I lucked out. If it was only rain, I could handle that. But when I entered the kitchen, the lights were off and no one was around. Oh well, I’d wait until he showed up.
Thirty minutes and two bowls of cereal later, I left and headed back to my room. I was disappointed by Hunter’s absence for the rest of the night.
****
The thunder shook the house. Fear diffused through my blood. I saw lightening through the huge window and I whimpered. I hid under my blankets, but the thunder was everywhere. It was a constant reminder the storm was out there.
I snuck out of my hidey hole and grabbed the phone Keith had given me before I left. I told myself that I was going to call Keith. I told myself that I just needed to hear his voice and have him talk me down from my fear. It would be enough.
I took a deep breath.
I dialed the utterly familiar phone number.
“What? What’s matter, Lettie?” Griffin sounded like he was trying to get his wits together. I looked at the clock and realized that it was 2AM. I cringed. I shouldn’t have called him. I shouldn’t have done this impulsively. It was the first time we had talked since I left.
“Sorry…um, it’s nothing. I’ll, uh, I’ll talk to you soon…” I started to hang up the phone when I heard Griffin call out my name.
“What’s up, Lettie?”
I bit my lip.
“Thunderstorm,” I whispered.
“You near a window?”
“Yes,” I said looking out said window.
“Kay, here is what I need you to do. Grab your comforter, and run as fast as you can to the closet.”
He sounded much more awake now and I did as he asked. Once inside the closet I closed it and wrapped the blanket around myself.
“You there?”
“Yeah,” I whisper feeling like the world was suddenly smaller.
“Kay, I am going to talk to you until you fall asleep. Alright. What do you want me to talk about?”
I smiled, a yawn followed, and I curled up.
“I don’t know, tell me about your day. How are Liam and Nick doing?”
“I don’t know how I’ll manage without you, Lettie. Liam is acting really annoying. Plus he doesn’t cuddle as well as you do.”
Griffin kept going on like that. A few times, I let out a sleepy little laugh. His voice was soothing, and it sent me right to sleep. But before I disappeared into slumber, I thought I heard the floor outside of the closet creek.
Chapter 15 — One Huge Step Back for Hunter
The door to my room slammed open.
I jolted awake, confused. Where was I? I rolled over.
What in the…hangers?
I rubbed my hand over my eyes, pushing them back into my throbbing skull. It eased for a moment. I sat up, fumbling for the doorknob. It twisted before I could get a grip. An imposing silhouette filled the doorway.
I had been laying on my back with my head just a foot from the door. It wasn’t an overly large closet and I had fit in pretty snugly. I was looking up at Hunter, and I turned so I was sitting up.
“Hunter?”
“Give me your phone,” he said.
“Huh?”
“The phone, Colette.”
I looked up at him still half asleep. I was too confused to argue with him. I handed him my phone, shaking my head, trying to wake up fast as I watched him. He crushed the device in his hands and snarled at it like it was a vicious