Allison’s chat is gone, as if he’d wiped it from existence, but I open her contact and tap on it, my heart speeding with each ring.
“I thought you didn’t have your phone?” she answers.
“I didn’t. When I got home, it was on my stove.”
“Oh… How did it get there?”
“I don’t know. Koen had it, Ali. I swear.”
“He’s locked up, though. Could he have connections who dropped it off, maybe?”
“I guess. The fucking AirTag is here.”
“He found it?” she squeaks.
“He drew a winking smiley face on it.”
Her drunken laugh blasts through the phone. “I don’t know if I hate this dude or love him.”
Same.
I keep that thought to myself.
“I need to change the locks on the house tomorrow.”
“I’ve got a guy. I’ll send him first thing in the morning.”
“Okay. Thank you. And thank you for being understanding earlier. I know that my life has become a shitstorm, and it’s a lot, but I’m thankful I still have you and that you’re not judging me, even when I wholeheartedly should be judged right now.”
“Girl. Stop. I love you. Nothing you could do could make me judge or hate you.”
“I love you, too. Thank you for everything.”
“Goodnight, G.”
“Goodnight.”
I hang up, sighing as I check the locks on all the doors and windows. I don’t like the thought that Koen gave someone the key to my place, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.
Picking up my e-reader, I power it on to check its battery life, only to find it’s fully charged. However, the bookshelf has completely changed.
“What the hell?”
All new titles have been loaded into my library:A Stalker’s Obsession, In Love with a Shadow, Voyeur, A Love Affair with Darkness…The list goes on.
I smirk, unable to help myself, before powering it off and tossing it back onto the stove.
I shut the house down, shower, and then get into bed. There’s no lingering scent of Koen here, something I’ve gotten used to over the last couple of weeks. Bear gets on the bed and cuddles near my feet, but even then, I find it hard to sleep.
I toss and turn for a while before throwing the covers back and trudging to the kitchen for my e-reader.
Clicking on one of the ridiculous titles he loaded up for me, I roll onto my side and read.
If I can’t deal with the absolute nightmare my life has become, I’ll escape into another world for a little bit.
24
Koen
