Waking up between Caden and Oliver was like a dream, a dream I never want to wake up from. Finding each of them with an arm around me felt like I was finally home, safe and warm. If they didn’t have their arms wrapped tightly around me, I would have probably floated away. It’s adorable the way Caden sleeps. Shaggy blonde hair dangled just over his eyes, which I pushed away with my hand. His mouth hung ajar, tugged to the side of his lips, so that he breathed through his mouth, and I placed a kiss on my fingers and put them to his. Meanwhile, I felt Oliver nuzzled in my hair, his warm breath flowing across the back of my head. Even with his mouth closed, hums escaped from his lips, a sweet song I could fall asleep to always.
Even though last night was full of heartbreaking revelations, I can’t help but think about it with fondness. It was the first time all three of us spent the night together, and it felt so right. Everything felt so right.
• • •
I don’t have a lot of plans for today. Caden and Oliver said they were going to call me later to plan another date. Since our first one, we haven’t had a proper date, and even then, it started out as a business meeting. I told them nothing lavish this time; I wanted to spend a simple, no frill evening with them.
Around mid-afternoon, I hear the doorbell. I wonder who that could be. Oliver and Caden haven’t called, and I’m not expecting Chloe. There’s no one else who would call on me, but no point thinking about it. I can simply answer the door and find out who’s there. I check the peephole and see someone I don’t quite recognize completely. He does look familiar, but a name doesn’t come to mind. I open the door but not too widely just to be safe.
“Hello,” the pacifying voice coos. The gentleman standing before me looks to be older, judging by the salt and peppery pattern sprinkled throughout his slicked back hair. In his clean white tailored-fit suit I can tell he’s a tall man with a muscular build. What’s most striking is the pair of piercing blue eyes scanning me up and down.
He puts on a warm smile and says, “Hi, Scarlet. I was a friend of your grandmother’s and was hoping I could come in and talk to you.” He seems nice enough, and I haven’t spoken to many people about Grandma Rachel. I don’t remember him from the funeral, but then again, I didn’t pay much attention. I move aside so that he can step in.
“That should be fine. Come in.” I take him into the kitchen, and we stand around the island. “How did you know my grandmother?”
“Well, I knew your whole family. And I think you know my sons, Caden and Oliver?” My heart stops and sinks to the floor. His sons… Is he…
“Are you Winston Blakesley?” What is he doing here? Now I know why I recognized him. “What are you doing here? Why did you come to my house?” The blood in my veins begins pounding as I think about the wary things Oliver and Caden have told me about their father.
“I came because I wanted you to know who I was. And I was worried someone might try to attack you, so if you ever need anything, you can always come find me.”
That’s his excuse. I can’t believe he thinks I would fall for something as ludicrous as that.
“What are you talking about? I don’t believe you.”
“What do you mean you don’t believe me? I’m only trying to protect you from the people who would try to hurt you. You have to trust me, Scarlet.” He starts to skulk towards me, and I start backing up further into the kitchen.
“Thank you for your concern, Mr. Blakesley. If you think it’s that serious, then I’ll call the police myself, and hopefully can send someone to keep me safe.”
And at that moment, a large rock comes crashing through the window. I scream and shield my ears and face as it blows right passed me, shattered glass scattering everywhere.
“See? Someone out there is trying to hurt you. Thank god I’m here to prevent that,” he seems to be feigning a genuine smile but somehow it’s trickling with trickery.
Ignoring him, I spin around to catch who threw the rock, but all I see is a black car with tinted windows. It’s rolling its window up, and as soon as it reaches the top, the car drives away.
When I turn back around, Winston has gotten even closer to me, almost pinning me in the corner. My eyes may have grown twice their size, but I sew my lips shut to stifle a scream. I look around the room and locate my phone, “I’m sorry, Mr. Blakesley, but I need to report this incident. If you will please excuse me, I think you should leave.
A grin spreads across his face, “I’ll stay here with you. I saw the whole thing, so I can be an eye witness for the report.” He sounds so genuine; it’s kind of frightening. A part of me wants to believe he isn’t a bad person. At the same time, he’s also on the brink of overpowering me, and there’s nothing around me I can grab to protect myself.
“No, that’s okay. You don’t have to. I don’t want to inconvenience you. It’s really no big deal. I can take care of this by myself.” I manage to push passed him, but once I grab my phone, he swipes it from my hand.
“Before you do that… You need to hear my side.” He keeps my phone in between his hands.
In order to appease him, and buy myself more time to delay anything he’s planning, I’ll give him a chance to explain, “What do you want to tell me?”
“I found out that you think I had something to do with your grandmother’s death. Until a few days ago, I thought her death was an accident, but apparently that’s not the truth?” His directness catches me off-guard.
“Umm… yeah. Something that might be less than kosher, but I don’t really know.” Heat starts to brew underneath my skin, the hot core in my stomach.
“But I heard that the blame is coming around to me for this ‘less than kosher’ death. If it was anyone, it would be Caden and Oliver. My sons aren’t who they seem to be. They come off as innocent and savory, but there’s more to the story.” Caden and Oliver. The thought had crossed my mind before, but they are his sons. How could he so callously throw them under the bus?
“Why are you telling me this? They’re your sons.”
“They might be my children, but I can’t stand idly by while they go around taking advantage of people and hurting them. You need to know that they would visit your grandmother regularly. Like I said, they aren’t as innocent as they appear.” The calm demeanor he came with is starting to break down and change. The friendly sparkle in his eyes has disappeared, taken over by black sinister smoky eyes, and over the course of our conversation, he’s gotten closer and closer to me. I’ve tried to back away without drawing too much attention to it, but he kept inching towards me.
“I’m sorry, but I really think you should leave and let me call the police now…”
He’s inches away from me, almost like he’s going to grab for me, and I jump. “You don’t understand, Scarlet! Just wait. If you sell them the house, they’ll drop me just as quickly. I’m telling you, you’ll see. The boys aren’t worth it!”
“I want you to leave. You need to get off my property.” I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’ve told him to get out, but he won’t go. I force a gulp down as my hands start forming sweat in the center of my palms. My eyes dart back and forth around the room, looking for something, anything that will help me. What do I do?