Never Far Away (The Never #2)(88)
“Hello, Ma’am. I’m John, the hired security guard.” He reached out to shake her hand.
“Yes, nice to meet you. I’m Ella. I own this store.”
“Nice to meet you too. I trust you had a good fourth?”
“Actually, John, I could have used you at the beach,” she said as she sent him a faint smile.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Ma’am. But you’re here now so I assume everyone is safe?”
“That’s what I’m hoping for,” she said trying to stay positive but feeling drained already by the presence of another person. Perhaps she should have just stayed in bed at her parent’s house. Ella’s eyes raised to the door when she heard, yet again, someone at the door. Sarah stared at Ella through the glass with a smile as she put her key in the lock and let herself in.
“Ella, I didn’t know you’d be in today! I’m so glad to see you. I had such a good time last night at your cookout.”
Ella smiled at Sarah’s bright and cheery disposition; nothing ever got her upset or made her angry. She was perpetually happy all the time.
“I’m so glad you had a good time. I just drove up this morning, hoping to get back to work and back to normal,” Ella said, hoping that would dismiss the topic. No one but Matt and Tilly knew what had happened with Kyle the night before, and she didn’t want anyone else to.
Ella and Sarah worked in companionable silence. Every once in a while Ella would catch Sarah giving her a pitiful look, but Ella knew she was just worried about her and tried to let it go. By midday Ella felt claustrophobic in her own store. With Sarah giving her concerned looks and John sweeping his eyes around the store constantly, Ella was sad to think that she couldn’t be at the store anymore until everything was cleared up with Kyle. There was no way to forget what had happened when John the man-giant roamed around the store reminding her that nothing was safe anymore. Ella was about to leave when she heard her phone ring in her pocket. She saw the number of her real estate agent and answered as she walked into the backroom.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Sinclair, this is Rachel from Salem City Real Estate. I wanted to call you and let you know that the repairs to the rental house are complete and the landlord agreed to let you move in immediately. The house is ready for you whenever you want it.”
Relief washed over her as she thought she had a place to go to just disappear.
“That’s fantastic. Can I get the keys today?”
“Absolutely, I have them in my hand right now.”
“Great. Can I stop by the office in a few hours to pick them up?”
“Yes, I will be in the office any time after noon.”
“Thanks so much.” Ella hung up, grabbed her purse, and informed Sarah that she would be leaving for the day.
“Ok, well, I hope you have a good rest of your day, Ella.” Sarah was looking at her like she had so much more she wanted to say, but gave her a small smile instead. Ella returned the smile and gave a small wave too, not wanting to give her an opportunity to say anything more. She made it to her car and let out a frustrated breath as she rested her forehead against the steering wheel.
She tried not to think about the fact that everywhere she went caused her to panic. That everything in that store reminded her of Kyle and what she was starting to believe he did to her. She tried to pretend that none of it bothered her and that was more exhausting than she could have imagined. She sat up, pulled her phone out again, and dialed Porter’s number. It rang a few times and she was afraid he wasn’t going to answer. The thought that he could be angry enough with her to not pick up his phone made tears well in her eyes and that uncomfortable sting appear in the back of her throat. Finally, he answered.
“Ella,” he said as a greeting. She couldn’t determine if he sounded scared, frustrated, irritated, or perhaps a mixture of all three.
“Porter.”
“Where are you?” He asked softly, sadness now the most prevalent emotion in his voice.
“Portland, sitting outside of Poppy.”
He was silent for a moment but she could tell what he was thinking. He was upset that she was at the store when they all knew it wasn’t safe for her.
“The real estate agent called and said that the keys for the house in Salem were waiting for me, so I’m going to go there for the night and try to relax.”
“Can I meet you there?” He asked her after a long pause.
“Porter, you know I’d love to be with you, but until Kyle is caught we need to be apart.” He was quiet again.
“There isn’t even any furniture there, Ella. Please, Baby, come home.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat of her car. She took in a deep breath, trying to control her emotions.
“I have an air mattress. I’ll bring it with me.”
“No. Ella, I know what you’re thinking. You cannot go back to your apartment.”
“I’m just going to run in and get a few things. It’ll be ok. It’s the middle of the morning.”
“God damnit, Ella! Are you trying to get yourself killed? You run away from me, you leave me pretending it’s for my safety, and you're spending all your f*cking time taunting that f*cking bastard by going all the places he knows where to find you? What was the point of all of this?” She heard a loud thud from his end of the phone and then the sound of metal crashing down. The sound was deafening on her end of the phone and she could only imagine the noise on his.