The Certainty of Violet & Luke (The Coincidence #5)(26)
Author: Jessica Sorensen

In the dark house.

Only I’m not alone.

A stranger is here with me.

‘Wake up.’

This time I know I heard something for sure and I reach for Luke and feel his warmth beside me. ‘Luke, wake up.’ I give him a hard shake, my eyes frantically scanning the room. But there’s no one there. ‘I think I hear someone … out in the living room.’

It takes him a second to come out of his sleep, still dreary eyed as he flips on the lamp and looks at the clock. ‘It’s two in the morning … what’s going on?’

‘I hear someone in the living room,’ I hiss, sitting up and straining to hear the noise as I grip tightly onto the blanket.

This can’t be happening.

Not again.

No.

No one is here.

Thud … thud … thud …

A second later, Luke is out of bed and on his feet, chucking me the phone. ‘Get ready to call the police.’

I grab his arm as he cracks the bedroom door open. ‘Don’t go out there.’ I dig my nails into his flesh, clutching onto him like a terrified child.

‘I need to go check and see if someone’s in the house.’ He slips his arm from mine and walks out of the room in his boxers with no weapon, nothing to protect him.

Panic flares through me like a wildfire and images of that night blaze through my mind.

Darkness.

The Voices.

The noises.

The singing.

The blood.

The fear.

Jumping from the bed, I grip onto the phone and rush after him into the hallway, not wanting to let him out of my sight. Letting him out of my sight means that I may never see him again.

‘Violet, get back in the room,’ Luke hisses, putting his arm out and shoving me back.

I shake my head, my entire body trembling as I hear voices and see lights flashing from outside. The night when my parents died there were fireworks being lit off and I thought the gunshots where firecrackers. It’s happening now.

It’s happening again.

‘Are those fireworks?’ My voice doesn’t even sound like my own, lost in a traumatizing memory I’ve been thrown back into.

Luke shakes his head. ‘No … it’s the police I think … Violet, go back to the room. Please,’ he begs.

I shake my head again, hugging the phone to my chest. Rattled, rattled, rattled – my insides are rattled and I can’t think straight. It’s so dark. It’s so loud. I’m so scared. ‘I can’t … I can’t leave you … I don’t want to be alone.’

I can’t see his face, but I feel his fingers lace through mine and hold on tight as he peeks around the corner into the living room. ‘I promise I’ll be right back,’ he says then his fingers slip away from mine.

I start to cry.

Bawl like a little baby as I collapse to the floor.

I’m not going to see him again.

It’s the most painful thought I’ve ever had, aching in my bones, muscles, veins, heart – everything. I never want this to happen – can’t live without him. The fear consumes me, feels like it’s burying me alive. I need to get it out of me. Need to go somewhere – do something. I’ve never felt this much pain before and I can’t even begin to think about what it means, because I know that going there will kill me right now.

No, God, no. This can’t be happening.

Moments later, the living room light flips on and I’m no longer in the dark. It makes it easier to breath, but my heart is still slamming violently against my chest until finally Luke returns to me.

He appears frazzled and unnerved. ‘I want you to stay inside.’

Hot tears stream down my eyes and all I want to do is grab him and hug him. ‘Where are you going?’

He pretends to be calm, but I can see right through him – he’s worried. ‘The sliding glass door was open and the police are outside with their siren on. Someone’s at the door. I need to step outside and talk with him.’ He crouches down eyelevel with me. ‘Violet, listen to me. I’m not going anywhere.’ He cups my cheek. ‘I promise.’

I nod my head up and down, stunned by what’s happening inside me. Something’s different, something’s changing and it both scares the living daylights out of me and excites me in the most fearful way ever.

I let Luke steer me back to the room and into bed. I sit on the edge as he pulls a shirt on then disappears out of the room again. I watch the clock tick. Listen to the wind outside. Watch the blue and red lights flash outside. It feels like an eternity passes by before finally Luke returns to our bedroom.

‘What was it?’ I ask, the phone still in my hand.

He takes the phone from me, sets it aside on the nightstand, then climbs in bed beside me. His arms encircle me then he pulls me close and lies us down on the mattress.

Safe.

I feel so safe.

‘Someone came into the house … the police saw him … turned on their lights.’ His muscles go taut, his embrace so tight I feel like I’m being pressed into him. ‘They think it scared whoever it was off. They’re searching around but can’t find them.’

I swallow the lump in my throat. ‘It was him.’ I’m afraid, yet I ‘m not. Because this time I’m not alone.

I’m not alone?

‘Violet, it wasn’t …’ He trails off because he knows I’m right. It was Preston. Preston was inside my house. And I don’t think it was the first time.

Chapter 15

Luke

Everything had been going so well. I’d gotten her to agree to go to the gym, get out of the house, hoping that maybe she could discover another way to release her pain and anger. But then a very terrified Violet wakes me from my sleep.

As soon as I saw that damn sliding door open, I knew someone had been in our apartment. We haven’t been that careful about locking it, since we’re on the second floor, but apparently we should have been. I’m getting a fucking alarm system – I can’t take it anymore. This helpless feeling that I’m going to wake up and find Violet hurt by that fucking piece of shit.

The fact that he scared the shit out of her was enough to make me want to beat the shit out of him. If he would have still been in the apartment when I walked out there, I’d have lost it. I could tell she was thinking of that night her parents were murdered, could see the fear in her green eyes. She thought something was going to happen to me and that she’d never see me again. It fucking hurts, seeing that in her eyes, makes me want to do anything to take the pain and fear away from her. But again, all I feel is helpless.