Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78603 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78603 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
The jangling of the front door.
My heart jumps. I locked that door—didn’t I?
“Sorry, we’re closed!” I call out automatically, stepping out from behind the prep area.
The figure in the doorway is tall, and for a split second my stomach seizes with fear—someone’s broken in before, it wouldn’t be the first time. Then the silhouette steps forward into the faint glow of the light. My breath catches.
“Earl?” I say, surprised. He’s clutching a baseball cap in his hand, his expression oddly tense. Earl’s always been a loyal customer. He’s older than me by a couple of years, thinning hair, kind smile. Usually harmless. He was here the night the brick was thrown through the window.
“Hey there, Aubree,” he says, voice shaky. “Sorry to come by so late, I just… wanted to talk.”
I exhale, forcing a smile despite the confusion roiling in my gut. “Well, we’re closed, but for you, I can make an exception. Everything okay?”
He doesn’t move from where he stands, just stares with an intensity that’s putting me on edge. “I had to see you,” he mutters, stepping closer. “You haven’t been returning my calls.”
Calls? I blink, shaking my head. “Earl, I don’t… think I got any calls from you. I’m sorry. Things have been crazy.”
His grip tightens on the cap, knuckles bleaching white. “I used to come in every day, you know. You were always so sweet. I asked you out once, remember?”
A faint memory tugs at me—Earl joking, something about “we should get coffee sometime.” I brushed it off. A polite “maybe sometime,” accompanied by a laugh, because he was a friendly regular, not someone I’d date. “That was… oh, Earl, I’m sorry if I led you on or anything. I just…”
His eyes narrow. “You turned me down,” he corrects, taking another step. The overhead light in the kitchen catches on his face, casting harsh shadows that make him look older, angrier. “You laughed. And you told me you’d never date a customer.”
I swallow hard, dread coiling in my stomach. “Earl, I don’t remember that exactly, but if I offended you—”
He barks out a low, humorless laugh. “Offended me? No, not offended. Just heartbroken. I loved you, Aubree. More than you even realized. And you turned me down like I was nothing.”
My mind whirls, struggling to keep up. “Earl… we never— I mean, I barely know you.” My pulse quickens as something cold settles into my veins. This is not the Earl I thought I knew.
He stiffens, a strange mania in his eyes. “That’s your fault,” he hisses. “I tried to show you I could take care of you. But you wouldn’t see it. You pushed me aside.”
My breath catches. “Earl,” I say slowly, raising my hands to try to keep him calm. “I— I’m sorry if you felt that way. But you can’t just—”
“You didn’t just break my heart,” he says, voice trembling with anger. “You humiliated me. All those times I came in, tried to talk to you, and you brushed me off. That’s when I decided to show you that you needed me. That you’d have nowhere else to turn.”
My blood runs cold. “What do you mean?”
He shifts closer, looming over me, and I realize how tall he actually is compared to my average height. “All those letters, the brick through your window, the phone calls. That was me. Trying to scare you so you’d run to me for comfort.” He tightens his jaw, eyes blazing with a twisted sense of hurt. “You never did, though. You had that meddling mother who hired security. And that scumbag stepfather tried to meddle too, but that wasn’t me. I just wanted you to need me, Aubree.”
A fresh wave of horror slams into me. So Charles hired people to track me, but Earl was also threatening me on his own? Is that why it felt so relentless, from so many directions? I step back, heart hammering. “You… you broke into my shop?”
His laugh is brittle. “It was easy. Your security system was all messed up after that fiasco with Charles. Figured I’d take another opportunity to scare you. And still, you didn’t call me. You called him.” He spits the last word, like referencing Boone is a bitter taste on his tongue.
My chest tightens, adrenaline surging. I need to get out, get away. But he’s blocking the door, and my phone is in the back. “Earl, this isn’t right,” I say, trying to keep my voice calm, though my legs are shaking. “You’re just upset. Let’s… let’s talk to someone, get you help—”
He snaps. Before I can register the movement, he lunges, gripping my wrist in a crushing hold. I gasp, trying to yank free, but his grip is like iron. “No more help,” he snarls, spittle flying from his lips. “We’re doing this my way.”
“Earl, stop!” I twist, attempting to land a kick, but he anticipates it, sidestepping and jerking my arm painfully behind my back. A cry escapes my throat, sharp and terrified.