I stared at the words, my heart pounding.
He was back.
Unknown Number.
You think I'll let you be happy while I have nothing?
Another message, seconds later.
Unknown Number.
That firefighter of yours. He thinks he can protect you. He can't.
My blood ran cold.
This wasn't about me anymore. Evan wasn't threatening me. He was threatening Cal.
I thought about blocking the number, but what good would that do? He'd just get another one. He always did. And at least this way, I knew what he was thinking. What he was planning.
Unknown Number
You should have stayed with me.
Another message, he simply wouldn’t stop.
Unknown Number
None of this would be happening if you'd just stayed.
I put the phone down. Picked Gabrielle up from her bassinet and held her close, breathing in her baby smell, trying to slow my racing heart.
Cal didn't know. He had no idea that Evan was watching him, fixating on him, seeing him as the obstacle between Evan and what he wanted.
I should warn him. Should call him, text him, I had to do something.
But that would mean talking to him. And I didn't know if I was ready for that. Then, I thought about the next option.
I picked up my phone and called the sheriff. He answered on the third ring.
"Sheriff, it's Lucy." I didn't bother with pleasantries. "Evan's texting me again. But this time he's threatening Cal Bennett."
I read him the messages, my voice steadier than I felt. He asked questions. I answered. He said he'd send a deputy to the station to warn Cal, increase patrols in the area, and flag Evan's name in the system.
"You did the right thing calling," he said before hanging up. "We'll keep an eye on him."
I sat there after, phone still in my hand, feeling like I'd done something and nothing at the same time. The sheriff would warn Cal. He'd know to be careful. He'd be on alert.
But Evan was still out there. Still watching. Still planning whatever he was planning.
And a restraining order hadn't stopped him before. And if he found out about Gabrielle, my world would be over.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
Gabrielle was in the bassinet beside the bed, her breathing soft and even. The house was quiet, Joanna had long been ;sleep down the hall. But my mind wouldn't stop.
Joanna's words echoed in my head.You've been so afraid of losing people that you've stopped letting yourself have them.
Was that what I was doing? Pushing Cal away before the universe could take him from me the way it had taken everyone else?
