Page 39 of Lost on Ice
“What makes you think that, ma’am?”
“My room is wrecked, and they left a message for me in my closet!”
In an irritatingly calm voice, the dispatcher asks, “Is the individual still in the apartment with you?”
“No, but I don’t know if they’re still nearby or not. What do I do? I have two small children with me. Do I leave? Do I stay? I’m freaking out!”
“I understand, ma’am. I need you to take a breath and calm down. If no one else is in the apartment with you, I’d advise you to stay put until the police arrive.”
“Okay…okay, thank you.” It doesn’t calm my fear, but I’m going to latch onto any advice and reassurance I can get right now since I know I’m not thinking all that straight.
The dispatcher asks if I would like to stay on the call, but with her assuring the cops are on their way, I hang up so I can call Sophie and Carter.
“Hey, Abbie,” Sophie answers, sounding concerned as if she can sense something is wrong without me saying a word. “Everything okay?”
“Not even slightly,” I tell her, then stop myself—I need to be cool and collected. I need to force myself to push aside the worst of my panic so I don’t cause my pregnant best friend to stress and freak out herself. “The kids are okay; nothing has happened to Chase, but I have to tell you that someone broke into my apartment. I’ve called the police. The person who broke in isn’t here anymore, but I wanted to let you know and as much as I hate to ruin your evening, you should probably come home and get Chase.”
“Oh, my God!” Sophie exclaims. “Okay, we’ll be back ASAP. There might be traffic, but if you need someone to get both kids, we can call Vivianne.”
“No, that’s okay,” I quickly reply. “The kids are still asleep and don’t know anything is wrong. I don’t want to wake up Dad and Vivianne and make them worry. The cops are on their way and I was advised to stay put, so we’ll be okay.”
“Are you sure? I can call your Dad for you - you know he’ll be right over.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” I insist. “They’ll find out about this soon enough. No need to make them worry when there’s not much they can do right now anyway.”
“Okay, okay… don’t worry, Abbie. We’ll be there soon. You don’t have to deal with this alone.”
That makes me smile and want to cry all at once. “Thanks, Sophie.”
I hang up with her and start pacing the living room floor as I wait for the cops. The kids are still asleep, cuddled together, and the last thing I want to do is scare either of them.
My mind is a riot. This has to be the same stalker that followed me here. They have upped the ante and moved past disturbing messages and have actually invaded my personal space. They’ve come into my home where my daughter is. What can I do?
I have to dosomething.
I’m overwhelmed with a mixture of rage and fear and guilt. And worse, I can’t stop shaking.
How could I have been so naive to think this was over? To not take proper precautions to protect us? I haven’t even installed a security system in the apartment yet! I was stupid and lulled into a false sense of safety, and I’ve put Lilah at risk as a result. Fuck! I’ve put Chase at risk, too. If I was Sophie, I would never forgive me for this.
Is there any way this wasn’t my stalker? I don’t know who else would possibly want to do something like this to me, and the message doesn’t make sense otherwise. Did I think I could replace them? What provoked that? Shit, did they see me with Jake in the parking lot at the clinic today?
Why else would they accuse me of trying to replace them?
My thoughts are interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. I wince, knowing that’s definitely going to wake the kids up.
Still, I check to see who it is before opening the door and coming face-to-face with two uniformed officers.
“Miss Wixx?” One of the cops, a tall man with black hair and kind eyes, meets my gaze and speaks calmly.
“Yes, that’s me. Come in, please.” I move aside and try to control my hands from trembling as I close the door behind them.
“Mommy?” Lilah calls out in a sleepy, shaky voice.
“Just a second, baby,” I reply as I lead the cops into the apartment.
We go to the living room where both kids are awake, just like I feared. They’re still sleepy and on the verge of tears from being woken up just after falling asleep.
“Miss, can you show us where you believe the point of entry is?” the officer asks.
