Page 10 of Catch My Fall

He leans closer. “If I were to contact your friend, how could I get hold of him?”

A spark of hope ignites in my heart. “I know his number.”

Ollie smiles, pulling out his phone from his pocket and I read out the number.

“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”

My eyes well with more tears as I reach for his hand. “Thank you.”

I jerk back at the sound of the door opening as I man I’ve encountered a number of times enters and my stomach rolls with dread.

He points to Ollie. “You, out. Now.”

Ollie tosses me and apologetic smile before reluctantly leaving the room, taking the empty tray and his jacket with him.

Once the door closes, the guy stalks closer, towering over me. He reaching down for the zipper of his pants and smirks.

Here we go again…

4

I’m sat on the sofa in Gage’s living room, holding the same beer I’ve been nursing for over an hour. I’ve spent more time in the main house these past couple of weeks than in the time I’ve been working for Gage.

I want to be here in case there’s any news or if they need my help. Somehow I feel closer to her here. I met her for the very first time in this house when she literally crashed into my life, head-butting me in the chest and since then, my heart has beat only for her.

I shouldn’t want her, and for over a year I’ve convinced myself that I’m okay with the thought that she’ll never be mine, but not anymore. Not since that kiss at her birthday party months ago. In all my years, I have never experienced a kiss like that and I knew in that moment there was no going back. No amount of distance I put between us will ever be big enough, because I always find my way back to her.

I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t notice when Reese, Rafe’s girlfriend, takes a seat next to me, flicking her flaming red hair from her face as she draws her knees up under herself.

“You’re thinking about her, aren’t you?” she asks with an empty smile.

“Is it that obvious?” Am I that easy to read?

Her lips twist. “I think about her a lot too, not in the same way, obviously.”

“And that’s supposed to mean…?”

She cocks her head. “Come on Alec, you think we’re all so blind that we don’t see it. You’re in love with her.”

She must see a flash of panic in my eyes at her question, because she lays her hand on top of mine. “It’s okay, I won’t tell. But I always noticed how you’d look at her, how your eyes would always find her, even in a crowded room. Always so protective.”

“Didn’t do a very good job though, did I?”

“You can’t blame yourself for what happened, Alec. You couldn’t have known that man would take her and—” I know exactly where her mind went because her chin starts to wobble. “I miss her so much. You know, sometimes I go into her room, her things are just as she left them… and I… I just cry.” Her voice cracks as she buries her face in her hands.

“Reese, hey. Look at me.” I pull her hands away and her eyes lift to mine. “I swear to you, I’m going to do everything I can to find her. Even if I have to go to the depths of hell to find her, I’ll bring her home.”

A tear slips down her face as a sad smile touches her mouth. “She’s not going to be the same is she?”

I shake my head slowly. “No. But she’s strong, she’ll overcome what happened to her with time and we’ll all be there for her to help her through it.”

A sniffle catches both of our attention and we spin around to find Ivy, Rafe’s five year-old daughter standing in the doorway, tears pouring from her eyes.

“Ivy?” Reese jumps up from the sofa and rushes to her, lifting her into her arms and bringing her back to the sofa to sit on her lap. “Sweetheart, what happened?” Reese asks, brushing the little girl’s raven hair from her face.

“I was playing a game on Daddy’s phone”—Sniff—“and a message popped up so I clicked it and there was a picture of Auntie Sierra.”

“What?” Reese and I say in unison, our eyes meeting in a shared look of terror.

---