Page 88 of Keep You Close

I just wanted her in the bed with me at night, her long hair tickling over my chest, her breath warm on my skin, her leg cocked over my waist.

I wondered if, one day, I could ask her if she could give up the night shifts.

But it didn’t seem like that was an option yet.

So I busied myself with tasks around the house when she was gone.

I’d been buying a lot of shit lately. And the boxes were piling up in the living room. Most of them required at least a little bit of building.

So after AJ left for her shift, I opened up a lamp, put it together, found the box with warm bulbs, stuck it in, then placed it where I heard AJ say it would look nice.

Once that was done, I opened several boxes of Christmas ornaments and lights, stacking them up in the corner next to the naked tree I’d opened and assembled earlier that day.

We were going to decorate the next day. Followed by some cookie baking. Then maybe some riding around and looking at Christmas lights.

We had a tentative date to do the outside decorations the next day. With AJ going up on the ladder, and me on the ground, making sure she didn’t fall. She was anxious about it. But when I’d asked if she wanted me to have one of my brothers over to do the ladder work, she’d been firm about wanting to try it herself.

And, hey, I had to respect that.

Besides, she had nothing to worry about if I was standing under her.

I’d sent AJ the picture of the moose I’d put together, then set down my phone to go and put on a pot of coffee, knowing that I likely wasn’t going to sleep when she wasn’t home.

It wasn’t until I came back with my cup of coffee, sitting down on the couch, that I reached for my phone again.

And there were two missed texts from AJ.

I figured they were just gushing about the moose.

When I saw the words that made my fucking heart stop.

HELP

911

I was on my feet and running before I could even fully wrap my head around the text.

I dropped the keys in my rush to get out of the door, cursing myself as I stooped to grab them, then running as fast as the blasted boot would allow me along the front path, and toward the driveway.

I didn’t dare call AJ for clarification. If she was hiding, it would give away her location.

I still reached for my phone as I jumped in the car and turned over the engine, cursing the frost on the windows as I listened to the ring of my phone that I set to speaker as I put the heat on full blast.

“Hey, man, what’s—“ Kingston started.

“AJ’s in trouble,” I cut him off.

“What ar—“

“I can’t explain. But she’s at the daycare for her overnight shift, and she sent me a Help and 911 texts. I’m trying to pull out now,” I said, wondering if the small semicircle of clear glass would be enough to see.

Fuck it.

It would have to do.

I threw it into reverse and peeled out of my driveway.

“She’s got an ex. He wants to hurt her,” I added.

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