Chapter 72: Snuck in
Chapter 72: Snuck in
Thomas moved quietly through the dimly lit hallway, the soft padding of his footsteps barely audible against the worn wooden floor. Every breath was measured, controlled, as he closed the distance to Audrey’s door.
The house was silent, wrapped in a heavy stillness that pressed down on his chest. Outside, the night was thick and unyielding, and somewhere in the distance, the faint murmur of wind tangled with the rustling of leaves.
The door to Audrey’s room stood slightly ajar, a thin line of light bleeding out into the darkness. Thomas pressed his back against the wall, his senses sharp and alert. His heart thudded steadily, a steady beat masking the tension that coiled beneath his ribs. He could hear the faint, uneven rhythm of someone breathing inside, a sound so fragile it threatened to shatter the quiet.
Slowly, he eased the door open, slipping inside with a practiced silence. The room was bathed in a soft amber glow from a small bedside lamp, casting long shadows that danced along the walls. Audrey lay on the bed, the covers drawn up to her chest, her wide eyes locked on him the moment he stepped inside. Fear flickered in her gaze, raw and unguarded.
She opened her mouth to scream, but the sound caught somewhere in her throat. Instead, she swallowed hard and forced her voice to steady. “What are you doing here, Monkey?”
Thomas took a step forward, hands raised slightly to show he meant no harm. His voice was calm, laced with concern. “I had to see you. What happened?”
Audrey didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes darted away, refusing to meet his gaze. Her fingers tightened around the thin sheet, clutching it like a lifeline. “Nothing,” she whispered, but her voice cracked beneath the weight of her silence.
Thomas closed the door gently behind him, shutting out the darkness of the hall. He looked around the room, taking in the framed photographs on the dresser, the small pile of books stacked neatly on the nightstand, the heavy curtains drawn closed against the night. Hospital details everywhere but arranged.
“Nothing yet it’s obvious doctors were here attending to you.”
He moved to the edge of the bed, sitting carefully to avoid startling her. Audrey remained still, her eyes fixed somewhere beyond him, her jaw tight with tension. Neither spoke for a long moment. The silence hung between them like a fragile thread, threatening to snap at any moment.
Thomas could feel her fear, a tangible presence in the room. It pressed against him, made his own breath shallow. He wanted to reach out, to touch her hand, to say something that would break the tension but the words escaped him. Instead, he waited, watching her, trying to understand what she was hiding.
Audrey’s gaze shifted to the window, where the shadows of the night pooled like ink. She seemed to be waiting for something, or someone. Thomas realized she was banking on Tennessee to burst through the door at any second to shatter the fragile calm, to pull her out of whatever nightmare she was trapped in.
He rose slowly and began to pace, the soft scrape of his shoes against the floor loud in the quiet. His mind raced, piecing together fragments of what little he knew. There was something wrong. Something dangerous. But Audrey wouldn’t say what.
Then came the faintest sound of footsteps approaching down the hall. Thomas froze, his muscles tightening. He slipped behind the curtain by the window just as the door creaked open.
The room held its breath.
Thomas barely dared to breathe as the door swung inward. A figure stepped inside, the faint outlines of someone silhouetted in the dim light. Thomas’s pulse quickened. He strained to see, to recognize, but the shadows cloaked the visitor’s face.
The person paused, scanning the room. Eyes settled on Audrey’s still form on the bed. For a moment, Thomas thought the person might speak. Instead, the person merely nodded once, a slow, deliberate gesture. Then turned and left, the door closing softly behind.
Thomas waited several heartbeats before slipping from his hiding place. He closed the curtain, his mind spinning with questions. Who was that? What did they want with Audrey? And why was she so afraid?
Audrey sat up as he moved back toward the bed, her eyes wide with a mixture of relief and something deeper, apprehension, maybe guilt. “Who was that?” Thomas asked gently.
She shook her head, biting her lip. “I don’t know. He or she just… came. I didn’t want to cause trouble.”
Thomas’ jaw clenched. “Audrey, whatever is happening, you don’t have to face it alone. Are you sick? Why haven’t you come to the farm?”
Her eyes met his, shining with unshed tears. “Go, Monkey.”
He reached out, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. “We’ll figure it out. Together. I won’t go.”
But even as he said the words, the weight of the unknown pressed down on him. There were secrets in this house, dark and twisted that threatened to unravel them all.
Thomas settled back onto the edge of the bed, this time closer to Audrey. He watched her breathe, the rise and fall of her chest, the trembling of her hands. The room felt smaller somehow, as if the walls themselves held their secrets tightly.
“What are you thinking about?” Audrey finally whispered. “You better leave.”
“Everything,” Thomas admitted. “And nothing. And I won’t leave. I’m trying to understand why you’re here, still. Why you won’t tell me what happened.”
She looked down, tracing invisible patterns on the blanket. “I’m trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
She hesitated, then said, “From people who don’t want you here.”
Thomas’s eyes narrowed. “Who?”
Audrey swallowed hard, the silence stretching long between them. Finally, she whispered, “Tennessee.”
He nodded slowly, accepting her boundaries but feeling the frustration bubble beneath. “Okay. But you have to promise me you won’t shut me out.”
She met his gaze, her eyes shining with fragile hope. “I promise but leave.”
Thomas looked around. “Not yet.”
They sat in silence, the weight of their unspoken fears filling the room. Outside, the wind began to rise, rattling the windowpanes, a reminder that the night was far from over.
Hours passed, measured only by the slow drip of shadows across the walls. Thomas stayed by Audrey’s side, his presence a quiet anchor in the storm. He didn’t push her for answers; he simply waited, offering what comfort he could.
Audrey finally lay back down, pulling the covers tight. Thomas sat beside her, watching until her breathing evened out and her eyes fluttered closed.
As he rose to leave, a noise from the hallway caught his attention. He paused, listening intently. Footsteps again but lighter this time, hesitant.
He crept to the door, peering out. The corridor was empty, but the feeling of being watched prickled his skin.
Thomas’s hand lingered on the doorknob, torn between staying and protecting Audrey, and the need to uncover answers for Scar Face.