Page 106 of Broken Skulls

I wander around, looking for a place to plant the flowers that Jacob promised we would get tomorrow. What we really need is a greenhouse. My grandma had one, and I loved it. When I stayed with her a few weeks each summer, I would spend all day there. She did, too. She would sit with her plants and read out loud to them. Those were the happiest times of my life.

God, I haven’t read a book in ages. I plop down on the grass in front of the house. Jacob has a whole bookshelf full of books. I wonder how long it’s been since he read one. When I was cleaning, I found them covered in dust.

Maybe Jacob would build me a greenhouse. With a place to sit and read.

It would fit perfect right here beside the house.

Am I dreaming?

I chuckle lightly to myself.

“Even if he builds you one, you still need to plant flowers outside for the bees.”

“That’s true.”

It strikes me how much the conversations I have with myself have changed. I laugh again, falling back onto the grass to stare at the clouds.

I’m feeling a little better. Coming outside was a good idea. I’ve got to get used to Jacob leaving. I mean, he had a life before me. Besides, this is nice. I can find things to do on my own. Everything is okay. I take a deep breath, pushing the uneasy feeling in my gut away.

Something bangs across the junkyard, making me sit up abruptly.

“What was that?” I whisper out loud.

Slowly, I stand as a sudden feeling of being watched creeps up my spine. My gaze moves across the yard. The next crash sends me running to the porch. I pause there, my heart beating out of my chest.

The unease I’ve felt since this morning grows and grows. Slowly, I back into the house, keeping my head on a swivel. Once inside, I lock the door and then rush to each window, locking them. I stare at the little phone on the kitchen counter that Jacob bought me. I could call him. He said he saved everyone’s number in it if I ever wanted to call anyone from the club.

My gaze goes back to the window. Maybe I’m making a big deal out of nothing. It was probably a raccoon or a stray cat. Jacob is always feeding them.

“You’re just being paranoid.”

“I’m sure you’re right. I mean, yeah, it’s been a crazy last few months. I’m probably suffering from a little PTSD. I’m being ridiculous. It’s daylight. No one is in the junkyard but me.”

I move to the bathroom and lock the door, holding the phone in my hands.

And that’s how I spend my next few hours.

I’m zoned out when I hear a loud knock on the front door.

My heart starts racing, but I manage to unlock the bathroom. I tiptoe down the hall, slowly peeking around the corner. Instantly, relief floods my system. It’s Jacob. He must have forgotten his keys.

I hurry to the kitchen, dropping the phone on the kitchen counter before opening the door. His hands are full of takeout food.

“I hope you like pizza. I forgot to ask what you wanted before I left.”

My gaze roams over the yard before I close the door behind me. “I love pizza.”

He sets the boxes on the table. “Brody just sent me a text. Him and Lexie are on the way.”

“See everything is fine.”

He starts setting the food out on the table.

“That’s a lot of pizza,” I tell him.

“Well, I wasn’t sure if you were a plain cheese, a pepperoni, a pineapple bacon, or an everything-type girl. So, I got a medium of each. Oh, and breadsticks, both cheese and plain.”

It makes me laugh. “We’ll never eat all of this.”

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