Chapter
Phoebe
The concern Pacino had at the bakery shook something inside of me. He barely knows me, and he’s only here because Scotty and Sarah are dating.
But he genuinely wants to help. He wants to find out why someone seems to be following me. Risking others to stalk me.
I don’t know what I could have done to warrant someone wanting to harm me. Especially to this extent.
I know I’m annoying. Most people say they can only handle me in small doses, and that’s fine. That’s not a good reason to case out my bakery, as Tucker puts it.
The situation tonight didn’t scare me for me. Sarah started freaking out, and there were a group of kids in the lobby. That’s who I was scared for.
Come for me. I’m fine with that. I’ve been through some of the worst things in the world, and I’m still here. I rebuilt myself before, and I can do it again.
The comment about monsters to Tucker wasn’t intentional. I didn’t mean to say it to him. It just kind of slipped out when I tried to explain why I wasn’t scared for myself.
Of course he’d ask if I was sure the monsters weren’t the ones doing this to me. And I can tell he doesn’t quite believe me when I say they’re dead. They are.
Doesn’t mean they don’t still haunt me every night.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Tucker asks as we step into the house.
Nodding, I let out a long breath. “I’m fine. Thank you. How was your day?”
“Are you serious right now?”
He takes off his boots, and I set mine beside his in the entryway. Everything has its place, and I almost laugh. No man has ever been this anal retentive before. Not that I’ve ever seen, anyway.
“I’m always serious when I ask about someone’s day.”
For the first time, I see the slightest smirk. Kind of.
At least it’s something.
“My day was uneventful. Until I got Scotty’s call. How was yours?”
Stretching, I roll my shoulders. “I had an order of four dozen cupcakes that Scotty caused to land frosting side down as Sarah brought them out to the customer.”
His mouth drops. “You’re shitting me.”
I’ve never been particularly fond of that phrase. “Um… no?”
“He paid for them, right?”
Waving my hand in the air, I shake my head. “Accidents happen. Luckily, I had extra cupcakes in the back for an order for tomorrow we were able to use. I just had to bake more.”
“He’s paying for them, Yellow Crayon.”
The nickname he’s given me makes me feel all tingly inside. It’s as affectionate as I suspect he gets. “It’s okay, Tucker. Really.”
“How did he get in the way, anyway?”
Scrunching my nose, I begin making dinner as he sits at the kitchen island. It’s become our routine. I come home from work, he follows me, and I make us dinner. Then he helps me clean up.
It’s almost domestic.
“I found out that Scotty and Sarah have a spot in the back they use to… get together. He didn’t realize I was there, and he walked back to meet her, pushing the door into her as she walked out to the lobby, cupcakes in her arms.”
