When we stepped into the living room, the evidence was plain as day. The window above the couch had been broken, shattered into a bunch of tiny pieces now covering the floor and the furniture.
“Don’t move.” Hayden ordered as he looked around the room, sweeping it for threats. Gingerly heading toward the couch, he stopped, stooping down to pick something up off the ground.
“What is it?” I took a step forward, careful not to step on anything sharp.
He held up a brick, covered in soot and something red.
TIME’S UP, it read, in what I hoped was paint.
The brick landed with a thud as Hayden shot up to his feet, spinning around and stalking down the hall back to the bedroom. “We’re leaving.”
I followed, a little bit in shock. “What?”
“I said, we’re leaving, Sierra. It’s not safe here.”
“It was probably just a prank. Just some college kids being dumb after Halloween,” I blubbered, not being convincing in the slightest.
“Sierra, someone burned down your trailer, cut your saddle, and put a nail in your tires. I know you said you thought it was an accident, but I’ve never been convinced given everything that’s happened. And now this? That’s not a prank, that’s a pattern. Has anything else happened?”
I bit my lip, wringing my hands together.
“Goddammit, Skip. You have to tell me about these things! Everything. I want to know everything that has happened in the last three months since the fire.”
“I’ve been getting text messages. But I didn’t think they were a big deal. I just thought”—I hesitated, knowing how utterly stupid I must have looked—“I just thought someone was trying to scare me or pull a prank, or I don’t know, had the wrong number.”
Hayden ran his fingers through his hair before bringing his hands back down to flex them, popping his knuckles in the process. “What did they say?”
“What?”
“What did the texts say?”
I could tell his patience was wearing thin, but not necessarily with me. Hayden had always tried to protect me, and while I was grateful, on the other hand, it was only putting him at risk.
“The first ones I got were after the fire, saying how lucky Pancho was and to quit while I was ahead. I-I didn’t know what it meant, and I guess I was in shock from everything that had already happened, so I just brushed it off. Then I got another one. Last night.”
Hayden sucked in a breath. I could feel the anger radiating off him, something I’d never experienced before with him. He was the most level-headed person I knew, but at that moment, it felt like he wanted to burn the world down. Not only that, but like he would burn the world downfor me.
“That one told me to drop out of the NFR.”
Hayden’s mouth gaped, opening and closing like he was trying to figure out the best way to approach this. “Why would you keep these from me? You promised you’d tell me if anything happened. We swore not to keep secrets anymore.”
“I didn’t want to be any more of a burden than I already am.”
He winced, his face contorting into disappointment or sadness, or something of the like. “How many times do I have to tell you before you’ll finally believe it, Sierra? You’re not a burden to me. Youneverhave been.”
“I’m just…”Trying to keep you safe.My brain filled in the gap where my mouth could not.
He stepped closer to me, cupping my face in his hands. “I know what you’re trying to do, but it’s not going to work, Skip. I lost you once, and I’d be damned if I let that happen again. Don’t push me away. Please.”
“Where are we even going to go?” I bit my bottom lip.
“Goldfinch. We’re going to stay with my parents until we can figure this out. My dad’s still a deputy, and there’s a whole department who will protect you.”
Familiar beige walls decorated with family photos greeted me as we stepped into the Watkins family home. The scent of peanut butter cookies wafted through the air, and an immediate sense of comfort enveloped me. Nothing about Hayden’s childhood home had changed, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought I was fourteen again, walking into the house for the first time.
“Mom?” Hayden called out.
Pancho had already barged into the house, because he lacked manners, and was trying to get old Reggie to play with him. His attempts were unsuccessful, and the Corgi continued to lie on the floor despite Pancho’s happy barks.
