That’s all?
Fox
Yes.
Ghost
I don’t know if you are lying to yourself or just me.
Fox
Does it matter?
Ghost
Send me the photo. Let’s start there.
I send the photo I snapped of her without her knowledge and send a prayer that the Ghost doesn’t trigger a manhunt for Cleo. They are the best, so I don’t know why I’m worried. Perhaps it’s the guilt of prying into her past when I said I wouldn’t. But Gran’s words resonated with me. In order to get Cleo to stay, I have to slay her demons. She isn’t going to tell me of her own accord, so I’ll make moves in the background and she will only know once I’ve made it safe for her. Sure, she might be pissed at me initially, but once she realizes I’ve done it to give her a future where she’s free to decide her next moves without the fear of being found, she’ll forgive me.
Hopefully.
The package has arrived.It’s bigger than I thought, and as I place it on her bed, I contemplate if I should open the box. Lay them out like a bouquet? No, that’s weird. No need to make it weird. I’ll just leave it on her bed.
Instead, I drop a note on the top.
Cleo,
The helping hand you need and for you to feel as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside.
I blink,and before I can second guess myself, I change into my running gear and take off. I loop around the side of the property border and check the fencing I put up hasn’t been disturbed. It hasn’t, but there are two new cigarette butts in the exact same spot. Maybe I’m being paranoid and it’s just someone out for a walk who needs a cigarette break and likes this particular spot. The spot where the bushes had a massive hole in them. Yeah, I’m not being paranoid. I just have to figure out what they are here for—or rather, who.
The rest of the property border looks okay, but I make plans for tightening up security. Some covert cameras won’t go amiss. Perhaps they will reveal who is skulking around us. Silent trip alarms could work, although I wasn’t lying when I said we get big wildlife, and I don’t want to freak Cleo out over every armadillo that crosses into the yard. Maybe I can just hook it up to my phone. The other thing I need to do is teach her how to use that weapon before she hurts someone she doesn’t mean to—or misses someone she does.
Halfway through my run, my phone buzzes against the strap on my arm. I stop and pluck it free.
Cleo
What in the ever-loving fuck have you bought me?
I smirk.
Fox
A helping hand. Maybe it will help you loosen up a little?
Cleo
PERSONAL BOUNDARIES.
Fox
I’m not sitting on your bed waiting for you with them. I’m proud of my restraint and boundaries.
Cleo
Oh my God. What is…
The three dots appear then disappear.
