Page 116 of Creep

I took in a deep breath and got out as well, taking in the scenery. There was no one and nothing around.

From a distance, I thought I heard some birds chirping, but that was all.

I jumped when Leo approached my side, my bags in his hand. “Let’s go.”

I watched him walk to the front of the cabin, my eyes focused on his back, before I rushed to catch up.

The tour of the cabin was brief, and I barely listened.

It was one story and was wider than it was tall. It came fully furnished, with all the electricity and plumbing working. It was also fully stocked with enough food to last me the entire week.

On the surface, it was nice. It would have been better had I come here on vacation, not trying to hide from the man I lo?—

I shook away the thought before it had time to form.

“Okay,” Leo said, turning toward me. I blinked up at him. “I have to go back to work. Do you need anything?”

I mutely shook my head. “I’ll come by soon, okay? We’ll catch this sick fucker, and you won’t have to stay here for long. I promise.”

“Right.”

“I’ll try to come by as much as I can. But you can call me if you need anything, okay?”

I briefly glanced down at my phone in my hand. I wasn’t completely isolated. I could call Leo.

Or for a taxi to come pick me up. Or 911.

That made me feel a little better. “Okay.”

He wrapped his arms around me, pressing a kiss on my forehead, and walked out, leaving me alone in the cabin. For a brief moment, I wondered if he was going back to Victoria. I hadn’t heard from my ex-best friend since our blowup at the coffee shop. I didn’t know if she told Leo that I knew, but I didn’t mention it, and neither did he, so perhaps Victoria hadn’t said anything.

And I probably had more pressing things to worry about than the love life of my father’s friend.

I walked over to the couch and sat down, taking in my surroundings.

I was alone in a cabin that only Leo knew about, trying to hide away from Mael.

I was solely dependent on Leo for everything, from my basic needs for survival to myliteralsurvival, and I was supposed to be scared of Mael.

So then, why did it feel like those two things were supposed to be in reverse?

I shook my head. Since when did I doubt Leo?

He was my surrogate uncle. Someone I had known my entire life, and never had he hurt me in any way. Yet, there was this uncomfortable feeling that had settled deep in my gut since that morning when I called Leo for help and ran away from Mael, and I couldn’t explain why that was.

I let out a small sigh and got up to prep for dinner.

It was the only thing I could do now.

* * *

It was late at night,and I was feeling unsettled.

I should be in bed, trying to sleep away the restlessness, but sleeping meant dreaming of Mael, and I didn’t think I could be strong enough to not let that affect me or break me in some way.

I paced up and down the cabin with the TV on, the volume set just low enough to create some white noise in the background. I hadn’t paid attention to what was on, and something about sitting down and trying to watch other people act out their problems while I had a real problem of my own just didn’t feel right.

I shut it off, along with the lights inside, encasing the entire room in darkness, save for the moonlight shining through the small skylight above me. The cabin had two small night-lights: one in the corner that gave me enough light to see where I was going without bumping into the furniture and one in the small kitchen not too far from where I stood, casting off a slight orange glow.

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