Chapter 10

"Everything is alright. Your safe Avery." Cedric whispered as he unwrapped his tight fingers from my wrist.

I pulled the metal cross against my rib cage, holding it tightly as I looked up at him. My heart hasn't come to the conclusion that I am safe, as Cedric just said. Instead, it's still slamming against my breast, making it hard for me to suck in a good breath.

"Nobody is in here. You're safe." He repeated, bringing his hands towards me and tugging the metal cross from my palms. Wasn't easy. My fingers were clinched tight. I didn't want to let it go. "Avery. You. Are. Safe." He growled.

I watched as his eyes darkened the word safe, and something inside my belly settled. I unwrapped my fingers from the cross and let him take it from me.

"Let's go sit in the living room, and you can tell me and my partner here what happened." Cedric suggested while checking out the bathroom when I step aside.

My legs are shaking, like I'm walking on jello. I swear I'm much better in a scary situation than in my phone. I don't panic. I get the information that I need. I always do.

"O-okay," I stuttered out, having trouble forming a coherent word.

Someone was inside my house. But who? I don't even know anyone from this town. Just those from the 911 center and the police station. As we make our way towards my living room, I try to remember everything about my first day here.

Did I piss someone off?

No, I don't feel that I did.

I was nice to everyone. Well, not nice. I guess to be nice, you have to talk to people, but I smiled. That does count as nice. I smiled at everyone that I had seen, maybe even over smiled at times. I just wanted people to like me and not be weary of a new townie moving in.

"What made you call 911?" The man who I now know is Cedric's partner. He's a little shorter than Cedric. Cedric is about around 6'7 and this man is about 6'3. He has dirty blonde wavy hair that looks to be past due for a haircut. His bangs keep trying to cover his eyes.

That's got to be a hindrance when you're chasing someone.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Your name. You started asking me questions without even introducing yourself." I informed him.

Honest to God? Like, who does that? Cops are supposed to announce themselves. It is unclear to me why this man didn't. Maybe because Cedric called me by my first name, he thinks he could skip introducing himself?

"Lucas Smith" He growled, sending Cedric an annoyed look. "Could you answer the question? The police department doesn't like it when people waste our time."

Did I just hear him correctly?

"Waste your time?" I whispered.

"Yes"

Apparently, I did hear him correctly.

"Waste your time?" I hissed, temper flaring.

"Look Mrs.-" The new asshole started, but I waved my right hand up and shut him up.

How dare he even say I was wasting his time? Someone was inside my home. I know what I heard. I heard a loud bang, not like the gunshot I heard while I was on the phone with Rosie. No. It sounded like someone knocked something over, and right after that, I heard the floor creak.

Therefore, I jumped up from the couch and stared at Officer Smith hard, hands on my hips. I spit" Miss!"

"Look Miss-"

"No. You look. Someone was in here. Something loud woke me up. Something knocked over? I don't know, but it was loud enough to wake me up. I heard the floor creaking. Someone was here!" I shouted.

I'm not crazy.

"There wasn't any sign that someone used force to enter your home. The back and front doors were locked. We had to break the lock on your back door to get inside. No one was inside when we entered." Cedric said, his tone growing cold as his eyes narrowed on me.

"Someone was here." I hissed.

"We understand Miss Avery. New town. You're a young woman. You got scared. Totally understandable-" Officer looked started to say, but the annoyed screech that left me through mouth made him quit talking.

"That's not what happened." I whispered.

That's not what happened at all.

"You mentioned something loud woke you up. Maybe you were having a nightmare?" Officer Smith suggested.

"No."

"Again Miss. Avery, it's completely understandable why you got scared and dialed 911." He stated.

It's understandable that I got scared and called 911? Of course, it is. Someone was inside my home, I wanted to scream, but I bit down on my tongue, stopping myself from making this messed up situation any worse.

"Get out." I whispered.

They were not going to help me. They think I either got scared because I'm new to town or made this up for God knows what reasons.

"What?" Cedric asked, surprised, looking down at me with a frown on his lips.

"Get. Out." I repeated.

"Ma'am-" started Officer Lucas, but I was done with this conversation.

"Please leave."

"Avery-" Cedric started, but I cut him off too.

"Please get out." I said again.

"Listen to me."

"No. Get out." I hissed and waved towards the front door. "I'm not crazy. I didn't have a damn nightmare. Someone was inside my home, and neither of you believed me. Leave me alone. "

"It's not that we don't believe you. It's that we consider all the factors, and the facts show no shattered windows, no damaged locks, and nobody besides you was inside this home when we entered it." Cedric said gently, reaching a hand out towards mind, but I take a quick step back. "We came through the back door silently, thinking we would catch the perp in the act, but nobody was here."

"So you said, but I know what I heard. It doesn't matter. Get out. I'd like to go back to sleep" I lied.

I was not going to going to be able to fall back asleep tonight, I was too scared. They may not believe me, but I know what I heard. I heard the same shit so many times over the years, over the phone. I know. I know someone was inside my house tonight, even if the cops do not believe me.

"If you would calm down for a minute, we could-" Cedric again started, but I was way past this conversation.

"I'm done talking. Get. Out." I snarled and strolled towards my front door. It was, as they said, not broken. It didn't matter, though. I know what I heard. I unlocked it and swung it open. "Good night, Officers."

"Avery-"

"Cedric. Get. Out." I repeated and waved my hands out the door.

"Fine." He sighed. He walked around my couch to my front door. His partner Lucas stepped out of the house without a word, but Cedric hung back. I stopped just inside my door frame so that I couldn't close it.

I could. I could close it on his face, and that would give me tremendous pleasure right now.

"If you wanted to see me again, you only had to come back to the police station." He grinned.

"What?" I whispered, shocked.

"Or you could have gotten into your car and drove over the speed limit. I would have given you another ticket, but that would be one way to go about it." He said as that grin got bigger.

I never noticed before, but he got a dimple in the middle of his left cheek.

Again, I whispered, "What?"

He couldn't think that I called 911, faked a home invasion just to see him again? Honestly? He can't be that damn cocky.

He didn't say anything. He just stared down at me. He was much taller than I was, I had to strain my neck to narrow my eyes back on him. I'm around 4'11, and compared to his over 6' frame, I feel like an ant.

"I did not fabricate this!" I hissed.

How dare he?

I can't stand him. Why in the holy hell would I ever mock a damn home invasion just to see his stupid asshole face again?

"Have a good night, Avery." Cedric smirked before walking out the door.

I watched him walk away, noticed he was a little thick in the trunk and got annoyed at myself for even looking at his ass and slammed my house door so loud, because wanted him to hear it. I hope he did.

I sighed and locked my door. I walked away, and then I turned around and double-checked to make sure that it was indeed locked before heading into my kitchen.

I won't be sleeping much tonight, so I might as well fix me a cup of milk and fix myself a slice of my grandma's famous Coffee-Toffee Crunch Cake.

Food always helps.

Food is love.

That's what my grandma always said, anyway. Food will help make you feel better. I remember once, I had just fallen off my new bike that I had gotten for Christmas. Banged up my knees pretty bad. They were bleeding. I was just around five years old at the time, so I thought that was the biggest pain I'd have ever known.

She cleaned up my knees, grabbed my hand, and led me into the kitchen. She picked me up, sat me on a barstool and pushed the rest of Santa's cookies in front of me, and ordered me to eat one.

She said food feels the soul.