Page 16 of Light

"I'll be right over."

He hangs up the phone before I can tell him there's no need to rush. I guess he doesn't have any other customers today.

I pace back and forth right under the camera for a few seconds before I hear Tyler coughing in the back yard. Quickly, I make my way over to him.

"Hey, you okay?" I bend slightly, so I'm eye to eye with him and rub the side of his head. I do my best not to hover or be too over protective but it's hard to let him just be a kid when he can suffer a serious medical emergency at any moment.

"Mom..." Tyler complains and moves his head so I'm not rubbing his hair anymore. "I'm fine."

"Okay," I stand and place my hands on my hips, "You ready to go back inside?"

"Can't we stay out a little longer? I'll just sit."

All the anger flies out of my sails. Those big brown eyes are going to be the end of me one day. I can't deny him.

"Sure, Ty. We can just sit out here." I drop on the ground next to him criss cross applesauce and we just sit there looking up at the sky. I want to ask him if he's alright but I'm trusting that he'll tell me if he needs me. It's hard to just let all the worry go.

I'm not sure how long we are sitting there but my mind is dragged back to the present the second I hear the sound of a motorcycle rumbling down the street. Light is here.

Instead of all that anger I felt a second ago, my face breaks into a quick smile. I wipe the expression off my face. This isn't a social call. I brought him here so I can give him a piece of my mind.

"Give me a few seconds okay, I've got to go talk to the electrician." I pat Tyler's shoulder and push myself up from the ground.

Forcing the fury back into my body I storm over in the direction of the front door where Light is already making his way up the path.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He seems like he's out of breath, like he rushed to get here.

"What's wrong? Let me show you." I gesture with my finger that he should follow me and he does without question.

I stop by the electrical box and cross my arms over my chest waiting for him to fess up to what he's done.

He simply stares at me for a few seconds, "What?"

"Are you really going to stand there and act like you don't know what I'm talking about?" I squint my eyes at him and he shrugs his shoulders slowly as if he really is at a loss.

With a huff, I point to the camera that's over his shoulder.

He turns and sighs when he sees it before he looks back at me. "That's there for your own good."

The entire world goes red in my vision. He doesn't even try to deny it. "My own good. Are you crazy? I didn't give you permission to put that up there. What gives you the right to invade my privacy?" I hiss.

"This has nothing to do with your privacy and you know it." He's just as angry as I am. The only difference is I'm not sure why he is.

"No, I don't know it. Tell me what you're so sure I should know."

"You should know that those fucking wires weren't chewed through by an animal, you should know that whoever did it in the first place has continued to make appearances here, you should know that you're not fucking safe!" He snaps at me.

I'm speechless.

I thought I was doing a better job at hiding the fact that I'm being stalked and terrorized.

I open my mouth, ready to argue again, but nothing comes out.

Light takes a deep breath, scrubbing a hand over his face like he’s barely holding onto his patience. "Look, I didn’t do it to be a creep. I did it because if you won’t admit you’re being targeted, someone has to do something to keep you and that little boy of yours safe."

I cross my arms tighter over my chest. I hate that a part of me feels a little... grateful.

"Maybe," I mumble, refusing to look him directly in the eyes, "maybe it was a little bit of a good idea."

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