Page 151 of Like A Moth To A Flame

“Amelia?!”

“Hey,” she bit, narrowing her eyes at me. “You aren’t the only one who’s been to Pound Town, ya know! I’m three days late… and keep it to yourself, would ya? Carl doesn’t know and the boys are coming.”

It was the longest, quietest car ride ever on the way home. Sitting in the back seat, I kept eyeing Amelia, and she purposefully ignored me, looking out the window as the trees and fields rushed by the window.

Amelia had never seemed to me like the mommy type. What if she got a positive right along with me?

We would be due close to the same time. Could she handle being a mother? On that same note, could I?

Or worse, what if she got a positive, and I didn’t? I was ready for this—hell; I craved this. I know I would be happy for her, but I alsoknew, realistically, I’d be feeling some jealousy, but could I keep it contained?

My heart thudded painfully in my chest as we pulled into my driveway, speeding up and slowing down with every pothole we hit. I’d have to buy some gravel to fill those in. I couldn’t imagine being nine months pregnant and driving down this damn driveway. I caught myself shaking away the thought. I couldn’t be thinking like that, not when there was still such a chance that it could be negative.

Sliding to a careful stop at the end of the driveway, Tommy flipped the key off and caught my eyes in the rearview mirror. There was something in his eyes that I couldn’t quite place, and then he pulled his brown hues away, flicking instead to the front door. He saw it before I did. Once again, there was a note pinned to the door.

My stomach dropped into my pelvis as he kicked the door open, hurrying out rather than stopping to open the door for me as he usually did. He had the upper hand, the convertible only had two doors, and so I had to wait for Carl to pile out and lift the seat for me to follow, giving him plenty of time to tear the note off the door and do what he pleased with it.

I waited impatiently as Carl stepped out of the car and then found the lever on the seat, all the while squinted through the tinted windows in an attempt to see what was happening. I saw Tommy stomp up the porch steps, but by the time he made it to the door, he had stepped behind the shape of Carl’s body and out of my line of sight.

Amelia reached out, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet, and by the time I caught sight of him again, Tommy was standingon the porch, looking out over the too-tall grass of the front lawn, his eyes narrowed and his brown eyes sweeping back and forth as if searching. Amelia gave me a knowing look as I stepped away from her and made my way up the steps.

“What was that?” I asked, coming to stand beside him, tipping my head back to catch sight of his eyes as he pulled his gaze away from the lawn and looked instead at me, something twitching at the corners of his lips.

“You don’t need to worry about it,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the keying. Quietly, he fed the key into the lock and threw the door open, one hand coming up to loosen his tie as he stepped over the threshold.

I stomped after him, listening to Amelia giggle as she and Carl came up behind us. Tommy sidestepped me, tromping past me and into the hallway, but he couldn’t shake me that easily.

“What did the note say?” I asked, following after him as he moved to the back door, testing the lock, his hand falling to the knob to twist it, once, twice, first one way and then the other, but it stayed put—locked.

“I’ll take care of it,” he grumbled, moving to step past me, but I moved into his path, my arms crossed and hip cocked to one side.

I knew him too well. He wouldn’t push me out of the way to get around me, and so he was trapped, exactly where I wanted him.

“Don’t play this game right now, Little Moth,” he growled, his eyes narrowed, darkening as he looked down at me, and any other time he would have scared me off. Now, I was determined. I wanted answers.

“I’m not playing a game,” I warned him. “I saw that note. Now I wanna know what it said.”

“I need you to trust me,” he said, but despite his words, he reached into the breast pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a crumpled slip of paper.

“I do trust you,” I said simply, snatching the paper from his fingers and shaking it open.

“Iwilltake care of this,” he said, sighing, but I was barely listening. “I’m not gonna let him hurt you.”

I see you, Butterfly. You’re a very deep sleeper, but you always have been.

Do you think he can protect you? How many days a week does he pull 24-hour shifts?

I swallowed hard, my fingers shaking as I handed the note back to him. Damn it, he had been right. I shouldn’t have pushed it. I really should not have read that.

Now I was afraid to be home alone.

“I’m gonna talk to Dale,” Tommy grumbled, gently nudging past me and toward the front door. “Carl, stay with the girls.”

“Will do,” Carl nodded as he stepped past him and out the door.

“Ness?” Amelia’s voice called to me from somewhere over my head, and I looked up, listening as I heard the distinctive sound of Tommy’s truck door slamming closed and the engine roaring to life.

“Yeah?”

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