I did lock it, didn’t I?
I jump again and nearly gasp out loud when a knock sounds on my door. I don’t say anything. I daren’t say anything. My heart jumps into my throat when I see the door handle push down.
Please say I locked the door. Please say I locked the door.
I breathe out a sigh of relief when I see that whoever is behind the door is meeting with resistance when they try to push. I wait again, wondering what this person will do next. It seems like an eternity of silence, but when I hear the sound of footsteps retreating from my door, I breathe out a sigh of relief.
Not wanting to be here anymore, I shakily pull my phone away from my chest, scramble towards my bathroom door, and very carefully and quietly close it behind me. I dial Drake’s number, and I’m surprised when he answers after only a couple of rings.
“Evelyn, is that you?”
“I’m scared,” I whisper into the phone.
“Where are you?” His soft voice turns angry and urgent.
“I’m in my bathroom, and I don’t want to come out. Some scary men are here, and I think one of them tried to get into my bedroom.” My voice sounds shaky, and I have this overwhelming urge to cry.
“Okay. Don’t move. Keep your bedroom door locked and stay in your bathroom. Lock that too. I’m coming to get you.”
“How long will you be? I’m scared.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to you, sweetheart. I promise you. Okay?”
“Okay,” I say, my voice breaking.
“You’re safe with me. I swear it. Just hang in there. I’ll be ten minutes at the most.” At first, I don’t say anything. I feel the lump forming in my throat, and for a moment, I can’t speak. “Tell me you understand, Evelyn.”
“I do,” I manage. “Please hurry.”
“I’ll be there before you know it.”
He hangs up, and I shakily check my watch. It’s ten-thirty-seven now. He said ten minutes.
I pace the bathroom floor, waiting for every second and then every minute to pass by. Every sound makes me feel like someone’s in my room, and it takes everything in me not to scream out. My home should feel safe, but I feel anything but right now. My heart is racing, my body’s shaking, and my mind is filling itself with ideas of the bogeyman, knives, evil faces, and picked locks.
I check my watch again and see that only four minutes have gone by. The bathroom starts to close in on me, and the urge to run is great. I do as I’m told, though, and stay put in my bathroom.
It’s another four minutes that go by before I hear the sound of voices outside my bathroom door. “What have I told you about bringing in that scum?” He’s here! Thank God.
“He’s my client. I just like to entertain my clients.”
“Not when your thirteen-year-old daughter is in the fucking house.”
I breathe out a sigh of relief and hear when a quiet knock sounds. “Evelyn, it’s me. Open up.”
With a monstrous feeling of relief, I open my door and crash-land into the waiting arms of Drake. “Thank you,” I say, finally letting some tears fall.
I feel his arms squeeze me tightly before kissing my head. “You don’t have to thank me, sweetheart.”
I look up to him and see his smiling face. “I don’t want to be here,” I whisper.
“You can’t take her away. You have no right,” my father snaps.
Too quickly, the hold Drake had on me is gone, and my father is pushed up against the wall by the scruff of his neck. “Don’t ever question me. And don’t you ever answer back to me like that again. Do you hear me? I’m taking Evelyn with me. She’s staying at my house, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do to stop me.”
My father’s eyes widen in fear. “But Isaac will see her. I know that’s not what you want.”
With a frustrated growl, Drake digs into his pocket and pulls out a wad of notes. “This is for keeping Evelyn away from him. I’m taking her now, and I want you and your wife to make sure they don’t come out of that dining room. Capisce?”
Once my father’s nod registers, Drake turns to me. “Do you have a jacket?” I nod my head. “Go and get it now. Be quick, Evelyn.” I don’t hesitate. Within an instant, I’m in my wardrobe, and Drake is right behind me. I feel him reach over me and pull my hooded jacket on. I don’t normally wear it as it’s miles too big for me, but, for the moment at least, Drake seems to want me to wear it.
One arm after the other, Drake helps me into my jacket, zips me up, and gently raises the hood up, over my head. “I want you to promise me something.” I nod. “Whatever happens, don’t look up. Do you hear me?” I nod again, and Drake rewards me with a big smile. “Good. Now, come with me.” He takes me under his arm and turns to my father. “I would suggest you go downstairs and make sure your guests don’t leave your dining room. Do you hear me?”