‘I’ll be up in five. Just going to check the doors again.’
In the shower, I scrub my skin with an exfoliating body wash, but I can’t seem to get rid of the dirty feeling that I’ve been violated. Well, my privacy, at least.
I slip between the fresh sheets on Archie’s bed. I didn’t want to go to a hotel, but there’s no way I can sleep in my own room tonight.
Feet approach up the stairs and my imagination goes to town with images of the intruder returning until the rational part of my brain reminds me it’s Archie.
Still, it’s a relief when his head pops round the door, followed by those burly shoulders. ‘Just gonna brush my teeth. You okay?’
‘Yeah,’ I lie with the sound of my own heartbeat jackhammering in my ears.
I take the side of the bed farthest away from the door and burrow under the lavender-scented sheets. Archie returns, slips off his clothes and creeps in beside me, resting his back against the headboard in a sitting position. His weapon rests on the bedside locker.
‘Do you think it was personal?’ I ask, unsure if I really want to know.
Archie’s tongue clicks against the roof of his mouth. ‘He could just be some sick fuck who does this type of thing and somehow ended up in your house. Or it could be Harrison.’
‘Harrison?’ My hand clutches my chest. ‘He literally just apologised.’
Archie cocks his head to the side. ‘Seriously? We’ve already seen he’s unhinged. I told the police to question him first.’
I don’t know what’s worse, the prowler being someone I know, or it being a complete stranger.
As if he can read my mind, Archie says, ‘If it turns out to be a stranger, the pictures of your family they must have seen will have told him who you are. Who your family are. We ought to tell them.’
‘What?’ I bolt up into a sitting position, clutching the cover over my chest. ‘Archie, please. If we tell them, they’ll make me go home. I’m this close to graduating.’ I pinch my thumb and finger in front of his face.
‘We’ll sleep on it. I’m not calling Ryan at this hour of the night, anyway.’ Archie fluffs his pillow behind him but remains in a sitting position, poised and ready for action. Just not the kind of action we originally had in mind.
He holds me in his arms all night long, but it’s the first night since we hooked up that we don’t have sex.
Days passwith no sign of the police catching the intruder. Like a professional, he left no fingerprints. No DNA. Nothing. Harrison was questioned but was adamant he left Libby’s house and went straight home alone afterwards. His driver confirmed it.
Archie’s not convinced.
He upped the security round the house again, installing super-sensitive motion sensors on all the doors and windows. He paces constantly, barely sitting long enough to swallow his food. With a huge amount of tears and begging, I managed to persuade him not to tell Ryan and Sasha. For all we know, it could have been a random break-in. And there’s been nothing since.
Despite all this, and my best efforts at enticing him, Archie still hasn’t touched me since that night. It’s like he’s forbidden himself until the prowler’s caught or something. His rejections stings, but I understand it on some level. As if he wants to right his perceived wrong.
The only positive of his neglect is it frees up time for me to cram for my exams.
Staring into my textbook over my morning coffee, I remind myself this will be a distant memory soon enough. Once we get through the next few weeks, the summer will be our own. I’m thinking a trip around Europe might be the way to celebrate my freedom, finishing up at Huxley Castle where we can break the news we’re an item.
There will be plenty of time to make up for lost time together then.
Archie strolls into the kitchen wearing a pair of bum-sculpting running shorts. ‘Want to go for a gallop?’ He nods at the window where the sky is so blue we could be in Spain instead of Scotland.
‘Sure. I’ve been at this for hours. I could do with a break.’ And some time with my boyfriend, even if I would prefer a different form of exercise.
It takes less than a minute to change into a sports bra and throw on my running tights. I tie my hair in a ponytail, skipping down the steps when the house alarm sounds like a siren but four times louder. My palms cup my ears trying to protect my ear drums. God only knows what the neighbours must think.
Archie’s broad shoulders are tensed and ready for action. Grabbing his gun from the kitchen table, he clicks off the safety catch and motions for me to get back upstairs. He pulls his phone from his pocket and opens up the app to view the cameras.
I hover on the bottom step, adrenaline igniting my fight or flight response in every nerve ending in my body.
‘It’s Ryan and Sasha.’ Archie sounds as surprised as me as he punches in the code to silence the alarm.
‘What?’ I’m torn between excitement at seeing my sister and the worry that she might drag me away from here.
