Chapter 247
Zenon had his arm draped over my shoulder as we watched them get into their car. This had turned into a very long night. Now that they were gone, I had no orientation for what to do next.
"Why don't you stay with me tonight," Zenon said, extending the same invitation I had wanted to give him earlier - before all of this went down.
"Thank you," I answered, curling my arm around his waist.
If there was any chance of me actually sleeping tonight, it would be in his arms.
Zenon smiled down at me and his blue eyes glittered slightly under the hallway's harsh light. Suddenly, the front door swung open. I jumped out of terror and turned to the front door. Someone stepped inside.
"Jake?!" I exclaimed, "What are you doing?!"
My heart was not ready for another shock.
Jake raised his hands in the air, not expecting such a tense reaction. He was in a cozy white sweater, which reminded me of the life outside of this craziness. I'd missed him though.
"You both look like you've seen a ghost," Jake said in his soothing singer's voice, "Relax, it's only me."
"We were relaxed," Zenon said.
"First off, hi Candace. Good to see you again. Dubai looks good on you," Jake said, ignoring his brother, "And secondly, why was the police here?"
"Someone broke in," I said quietly. I could barely vocalize it.
"Through the unlocked front door?" Jake asked and added, "I can't say that's shocking-"
"You can leave," Zenon invited him out the very door he came in.
"Like I said, I'm not surprised," Jake repeated, and his tone changed. "I saw Zenon run to your house, possessed. A few seconds later I heard the crash and then I saw a figure run out of your backyard. So I took a photo."
"You did?!" I exclaimed, my heart souring at the unexpected witness.
He pulled out his phone and unlocked it. Then he pulled up the last photo on his camera roll. We leaned in to inspect it.
"What is this?" Zenon demanded.
"It's pretty grainy, Jake," I said, zooming in on the darkness.
Jake had taken the photo from his living room window, so the lightest thing about the photo was his own reflection in the glass. Grainy was an understatement. We couldn't see anything.
"What are we supposed to do with this?" Zenon confronted his half-brother.
"He's trying to help," I said, giving up on even seeing a shadow.
"How does this help?" Zenon asked, "You know what would've helped Jake? If you fcking ran after him."
I sighed, realizing that the situation between the two brothers had not warmed at all. They were both trying to help, but this was not it.
The three of us walked across the street. It was still too early for the sun to rise, and I was looking forward to some light in this darkness.
The Albert's home was a warm and well decorated place, nothing like the state of the house we had just come from. We took a right turn into the kitchen and Jake flicked on the light switch.
"How about some hot cocoa?" Jake offered, turning the kettle on.
He opened a cupboard full of mugs and picked out a festive red one for me. He chose a Rudolph themed one for himself.
Zenon leant back against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed over his chest. He was staring through the window, at my home.
"I think we even have marshmallows," Jake said, pulling out a bag of mini marshmallows.
I smiled as he poured in the cocoa powder, hot water and finished it off with a handful of marshmallows. I didn't even know how much I needed this until the hot drink touched my tongue and gave me life.
"Zenon, do you want a sip?" I offered him my mug since Jake hadn't made enough for three.
"What were you doing in the living room tonight?" Zenon asked suddenly.
"I was working on a song," Jake answered, a bit confused by the question.
"On your guitar?"
Jake nodded, but before he could respond, Zenon walked out of the kitchen. We followed him into the living room and watched as he walked up to Jake's guitar on the couch.
"Who else was here?' Zenon asked, turning to Jake with a cold look. Why was he so suspicious?
"What do you mean?" Jake replied, and when he realized Zenon was not about to entertain any questions right now, he answered. "No one."
"You light candles for yourself?" Zenon pressed, pointing at a candle burning on the coffee table.
I leaned forward to read the label: gingerbread scent. Festive choice.
"Charlotte lit it before she went out tonight," Jake replied, "She knew I was stressed about this song and said something about creating a calming atmosphere."
"Why are you stressed about the song?" I asked him, "I've sent you so many lyrics."
Zenon pulled out his phone and called his sister. He was obviously not going to let anything slide by tonight. I knew he was worried for me, but I really didn't think his family was responsible for this.
No way.
"We should sleep at my place," I said as I washed my empty mug in the kitchen sink, "As much as I hate to go back, we shouldn't leave the house empty. There may be valuable clues the intruder left there. This marks the first time their plan was foiled and they left in haste."
Why do I sound like I'm in Sherlock Holmes?
The delicious hot chocolate warmed my stomach and gave me some courage to return home.
"No," Jake said, downing the rest of his drink, "Let me sleep there. You shouldn't have to go through that again. It's safe and warm in this house."
"How do you know it's not warm over there?" Zenon asked.