Walking in, I clock how much they’ve done in just three weeks. Fully decorated, furnished with dark wood, red silks, gold accents here and there. Not really my taste. I prefer green.Darker.Earthier. That’ll change. Eventually.
For now? Fuck it.
Upstairs, I hit the bedroom. Quick shower. One glass of whisky in hand.
I’m ready to relax.
The screens in the main living room flicker to life, and there she is. Autumn.
I’m not a pervert; I told Kaden not to put a camera in her bathroom.
No one knows about them but us.
I keep telling myself it’s for her safety. That’s how it started, but now that the fire’s been ruled an accident? The lie’s harder to swallow.
Truth is… I watch her because I need to understand why a twenty-four-year-old photographer with her fairy lights and rain playlists makes me feel this fucking feral.
This obsessive.
She’s curled up on her couch, a blanket draped over her legs, scrolling through her phone while sipping something from a mug.
She was right about what she said; she isn’t the kind of girl I’d usually want, and yet she is.
That innocence, the blush that climbs her throat when she looks at me. The way she snaps when she’s upset, trying to stand her ground. Every part of her drives me insane.
She jolts upright suddenly, eyes wide as she stares at her screen. Then she runs to the windows.
I lean closer to the monitor.
Is she… locking them?
She darts to the door next. I switch cameras; she’s checking every bolt, then drags a chair and wedges it under the handle.
What the hell?
Is she in danger?
I scan the external feeds; nothing unusual. People walking their dogs, cars pulling into driveways.
Then she slides down to the floor beside the couch, rocking back and forth like she’s trying to stay calm.
Something’s wrong.
I grab my phone and type,
“What are you doing, trouble?”
She jumps when the message arrives. Her shoulders tremble. When she sees it’s me, her fingers start moving fast.
Autumn:“Nothing, just reading.”
Reading, huh?
More like fighting a panic attack.
She’s staring at her phone now; her hands are shaking so badly the phone almost falls.
I text again.
