Page 61 of The Dark Obsession

I follow Rafael into the house, sure I saw Adriel wink at Rafael as we left. I brim with uncertainty with Rafael’s constantly changing warmth to me.

“Come,” he says.

I follow him up the staircase. I hurry down the hallway and into his office, my heart thrumming like a hummingbird’s pulse.

He is rummaging in one of his draws when I enter his office a few seconds behind him.

“What are you looking for?” I ask, staring at the low chandelier.

“Some paperwork. It’s something I’d like to check.” Rafael’s head is hidden in a drawer.

I wander around and stand facing the wall covered in engravings, my fingers mere centimetres away. The same electricity I felt the first time charges through my fingers.

“Rosa …” He pulls me delicately from the wall and sighs.

I pout and walk to the sofa and sit.

“I have the paper now.” He rolls his eyes at me.

I can feel my childish pout on my lips. I cross my arms and look away.

He proffers a hand and pulls me up. “You’re relentless.” He laughs and pokes my rib.

“What’s the paper?” I say as I leave the room/

“Nothing of importance.” Rafael answers and follows me out of the house, shouting a loud goodbye to Adriel as we leave.

We get in the car, the clouds are moving fast through the sky. The wind busters as we traverse the empty country road. The dark clouds are full to the brim with thunder as we arrive outside my home.

Rafael opens my door for me and takes my hand as we approach the front door.

I fumble nervously with the keys, my heart thudding for no apparent reason.

“It’s okay. I’m here,” Rafael says, probably feeling the tremor in my hand. He scans with narrow eyes, his shoulders tensed at my unusual reaction.

My skin prickles as a sense of foreboding hits me. I feel the urge to look behind me, my brain screaming someone’s there. The wind whips my hair around my face, and I open the door, almost falling over the threshold.

Rafael’s arm wraps around my waist to steady me. He closes the door behind him, takes my key, and locks it.

“Father! Dad?”

Rafael pulls out his phone. “Oh, your father messaged me. He and Ben will be thirty minutes. They’re just getting some food. What was wrong with you out there?” His frown lines are deeper than ever.

I shudder and head to the kitchen. I reach for the radio; the background noise always helps. It’s the one thing I rely on when I’m home alone, the endless chatter from the radio station in town. I lean against a countertop. “I felt like someone was there, Rafael,” I say in almost a whisper, “watching us, like how I felt that night.”

“Why didn’t you say?”

I gulp nervously.

Rafael’s face is uncharacteristically dangerous. He charges through the house and out the front door, slamming it shut as he leaves.

I watch him through the peephole, my throat burning with bile that fills my mouth. The gathering clouds cause the day to be as dark as the night. I can barely see Rafael as he passes the huge tree in my front garden, which is swaying in the strengthening wind.

Rafael turns to face the side of the house.

I can’t see well through the peephole.

His body shifts fast, his stance dangerous as he starts running. The rain, which was barely a flutter before, now downpours.

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