Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 348(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
But that wasn’t the last time that they watched me.
If I checked the mail, washed my car, went on a walk, or even left to go to work in the morning, they were there watching.
Hell, the most excited they’d been was when my stepfather showed up last week demanding that I give him a place to stay for the week until he could find a place to rent on his own. When I’d said no, he’d gotten forceful and demanded that I allow it. When I hadn’t, he’d started to yell.
That’s when I noticed that the Hubers were practically on the edge of their seats watching.
It never ceased to creep me out.
The phone started to ring again, and I managed to crack one eyelid open.
It was still dark outside, that I could tell. But other than that, I had no gauge on what time it was.
I groaned and rolled over, sitting up.
As I did, I heard something fall to the floor, and frowned when I looked toward the door.
“What was that?” I asked quietly as I stood and started to shuffle into the kitchen.
Just as I got to the living room, I tripped over a blanket that I could’ve sworn was in the hall closet with my extra bath towels and linens.
Leaving it where it was, I headed toward the wall phone that hung in my kitchen.
It’d come with the house and was likely older than I was.
When it stopped ringing, I contemplated standing there and waiting for it to ring again, but a wave of nausea and dizziness assailed me.
“Shit,” I said as I lurched toward the couch.
The only thing that saved me from going down was the fact that I was only steps away from the sofa where I could all but fall over the back of the couch.
“Shit,” I groaned as my head bounced onto the cushion. “Owwww.”
The ringing started again, but I was way too far from it, and there was no way I was getting back up.
I lay there as it rang several more times before stopping.
I closed my eyes, wondering how I was going to get up in the morning to go to work, and came up empty.
I don’t know how long I waited there, wishing the nausea away, but it was evidently long enough for someone to pull into my driveway and pound on the door.
“I can’t get up!” I called out.
The pounding stopped and a man’s voice called out, “Birdee?”
“I’m here. I’m awake. But if I get up, I’m going to throw up and pass out. And I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
There was some maneuvering at my door, then it was swinging open as if it hadn’t been locked.
I was too close to throwing up to complain.
I was also too far gone to wonder who it was that had just entered my house.
The man’s first words confirmed my suspicions, though.
“You okay?” Creed asked.
Creed freakin’ Daughterty.
Literally, again, it could’ve been anyone who took me out today. And it had to be him. The one man who could really make me sit up and pay attention.
When I’d first encountered Creed, it’d been at my lowest of lows.
We’d just figured out that my mother was a trash human being. I’d been forced to move out of the pool house at Mable’s place—though she hadn’t necessarily been kicking me out as much as she’d wanted her father—my stepfather—and my mother—her stepmother—out of her home.
If I’d known that it wasn’t Tom’s, I would’ve totally gotten the hell out of that house a long time ago. But I’d been in school for so damn long, trying to get my doctorate in animal science, that I’d been pretty lazy and uninspired to move out and go my own way.
At first, I’d started animal science on a whim.
My stepfather had been a dog breeder when we met him.
I’d been infatuated with the strong animals.
From there, I’d fallen in love with animals of all kinds, and eventually, into the biology of many species.
As a way to escape my poor home life, I’d thrown myself into research and eventually my degree.
My mother showing her true colors had happened at just the right time, seeing as I’d finally graduated with my doctorate.
It’d given me the kick I needed to get the hell out of there and start my own life.
I’d fallen into a job, too, with the state.
It definitely wasn’t what I’d always envisioned—being a snake milker. But it was a fairly interesting job that would hold me over until the one that I really wanted happened to pop up.
Since I wasn’t willing to relocate or do anything via technology, my job openings were limited.
I wanted something here, within a couple of hours of my hometown.
I didn’t know why I had such a desire to stay, but every time I thought about leaving, panic would start to tighten my chest.