Page 84 of Sticks and Stones (Shadow Valley U)
My heart beats erratically, and I’m no longer concerned about the blanket covering me. Stone brushes my hair off my shoulder, and I know he can see how fast my chest is heaving. The longer I sit on the phone, the more anxious I become.
“Your file is missing.”
My file.
My thick, depressing fucking file.
“The whole place was trashed and…”
There’s more?
“Calm down,” Stone says, not caring that Mary-Lou can hear him.
It’s hard to focus on his hand rubbing up and down my spine.My file.Does it have an updated address? I chastise myself. Someone has already broken in here once. They know where I am. What do they want with my file?
“And what, Mary? Are you okay?”
“I’m in the hospital.”
I pop forward and try to move off the bed. Stone catches me by the waist, all while holding the phone steady. He keeps me pinned in his lap and buries his face into my neck.
“What happened?” I shut my eyes like it’s going to help.This is my fault.“Did they say who they were?”
There’s a faint beeping in the background, and all I can picture is a beaten and bleeding Mary-Lou on a hospital bed.It’s all my fault.Trouble follows meeverywhere.
“I caught them in there. I have an alarm. Once I confronted them and asked why they were tearing apart my filing cabinets, they said your name. I tried to fend them off, but…”
But you can’t bring a knife to a gun fight.
“I didn’t get the chance to stop them, and after they left and the police showed up, it was confirmed that the only thing missing was—”
“My file.” A tear falls down my cheek, but Stone is quick to sweep it away. I suck in my emotions, a sob knocking inside my chest. “I…I am so sorry.”
“It isn’t your fault, sweetie.”
“No, it isn’t.” Stone spins us around and places me on the bed.
He moves to find my clothes and dresses me as I stay still, listening to Mary-Lou’s labored breathing.
“It’s part of my job. This isn’t the first time someone has broken in and stolen files or confronted me. It is the first time it’s beenthisphysical, but…” Her voice shakes. “Wren, I’m worried about you. Are you okay? What’s going on? Is it your dad—”
“Wren is safe.” Stone takes the phone off speaker and places it up to his ear.
My legs are trembling, and my teeth sink into my bottom lip. Blood fills my mouth, and I’m in a daze. I’m not sure how much time has passed, but at one point, I watch Stone stalk over to our bedroom door. He shouts for Evan. They talk through the door. I can’t make out what they’re saying through the ringing in my ears.
I remain unmoving, even after Stone bends down in front of me again.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.” His blue eyes are difficult to pull away from.
I try but fail. “I’m scared.”
A sob escapes my throat, and Stone stumbles backward. His face falls, and he looks like I’ve just cut him.
My face is pushed into his chest with force.
“I would kill anyone if they tried touching you, Wren. You have nothing to be afraid of.”
I try to get away, but his arm tightens against me, and he refuses to let me curl in the other direction.