“He said that to you last night?” Mr. Scott asks, his tone quiet and concerned.
“Chris has never talked to me that way,” Jenna says her tone louder than Mr. Scott’s. “I was worried this would happen with Lauren staying here,” he says bitterly, and I feel my heart speed up. What happened?
“I can’t say for sure that he’s Cal because I’ve never encountered him, but from the way you’ve described him…,” she says, and my heart is now beating a thousand miles a minute.
“If Cal is back, the one good thing is that Lauren is here,” he says timidly. “He won’t leave with her here. I’ll talk to her,” he continues. I tiptoe back to my room and close the door. My thoughts are all over the place. Cal can’t be back. He wouldn’t be back and not come to me. What the hell is going on and what would Mr. Scott have to say to me if he is? I’m not going to talk to him and if Cal is back, why the hell would he go to Jenna’s house?
I feel so many different emotions right now, anxious, overwhelmed angry and… well no, no I won’t let myself be excited. I’m not able to think too long before there’s a knock at the door. I try to fix my demeanor and calm my racing heart. They don’t even know if Cal is here. He knocks again. I know it’s Mr. Scott. I crack the door so that he can barely see in.
“Good morning,” I say faking a yawn.
He nods, a grimace still on his face.
“Good morning,” he replies, and there’s an awkward pause.
“Is everything okay?” I ask him quickly.
“I was hoping I could speak with you,” he says, trying to change his tone from disdainful to pleasant.
His attempt is lousy.
“Now?”
“If that’s not a problem,” he says, a bit of sarcasm in his voice.
“Well, Caylen’s asleep now,” I reply.
“Gwen started breakfast, but had to run upstairs. Can we talk when she’s back down?” he asks, and I let out a little sigh.
I don’t want to talk to Mr. Scott, especially about Cal. I don’t want to talk to him about anything. I don’t even know why he’d want to talk to me. He’s barely said ten words to me since I’ve arrived. I’d feel better if Mrs. Scott was involved but it would be rude if I say no while I’m a guest in their home.
“Is it important?”
“Yes,” he answers immediately, and I nod.
“Sure,” I say shortly.
“Thank you,” he says, leaving my doorway. I know one thing, Jenna better be gone. They’ve lost their minds if they think I’m talking to the both of them about Cal. That’d be like jumping in a shark tank with a bleeding wound. I wait a second before heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth and throw water on my face. Why does he want to talk to me all of a sudden? Why hasn’t he talked to Chris? If he is Cal, I’m sure he doesn’t want—correction, he’s not going to talk to him. But if Cal has emerged, he wouldn’t hide it. He has absolutely no reason to now. I take a deep breath, head out and see Mrs. Scott coming down the stairs.
“Morning, Lauren,” she says cheerfully. She doesn’t have a care in the world right now. No sign of worry or anxiety on her face, unlike Mr. Scott’s.
“Good Morning,” I reply.
“Is Caylen up yet?” she asks, heading towards the room. She gestures to it before going in, a wide smile on her face. She still looks like a kid on Christmas morning when she talks about Caylen.
“I don’t think so. You can look in on her, though.” As she enters the room, I follow her.
“She’s such a little angel,” her excitement is barely contained. “But don’t worry, I’ll let her sleep,” she finishes.
“How are you this morning? Want some coffee or tea?” she asks as we leave the room together.
“No I’m fine,” I say, following her. Once we reach the kitchen, Mr. Scott is nowhere in sight. Judging by her cheerful mood, Mrs. Scott must have no idea what’s going on. “They’re having a children’s reading hour down at the library today—Dr. Seuss, fairy tales, that sort of thing. Would you mind if I took Caylen?” she asks tentatively. It only takes me a second to think about it. Mrs. Scott absolutely adores Caylen and I feel pretty safe leaving the two of them alone together.
“Sure,” I reply with a smile.
“Great! It’ll only be an hour and a half and we’ll come straight back,” she assures me as she checks on something in the oven. It smells amazing Mr. Scott comes back through the kitchen entrance and kisses Mrs. Scott on the cheek.
“Honey,” she replies sweetly. He gives her a smile that makes me remember he’s not a mean bastard to everyone, just me…and Cal, apparently.
“Lauren, could you step outside with me for a moment?” he asks. Mrs. Scott looks at him oddly. This is the first time he’s spoken to me directly since I’ve been here.
“Is everything okay, William?” She asks a little suspiciously.
“Everything’s fine. Lauren’s been here a little while and we haven’t really had a chance to get to know one another. I thought I’d show her around the farm,” he reassures his wife. She glances back at me and I muster up as much of a smile as I can.
“I’ll go get a jacket,” I say, turning to leave the room. I didn’t know he was going to want to talk to me by myself. I assumed he was waiting for Mrs. Scott. I peek over at Caylen, who’s still sleeping, and grab my jacket. As I approach the kitchen, I can hear Mrs. Scott saying something to him. I’m not quite sure what; she stops as soon as I approach.
“Shall we, Lauren?” He opens the door for me. I try to act as if I’m not about to walk into a lion’s den. Depending on how this conversation goes, this may very well be the last day I stay in this house because if he says anything inappropriate or disrespectful to me, I’m letting him have it. I smile at Mrs. Scott before leaving and she gives me a nervous smile.
There’s an awkward tension in the air as Mr. Scott walks behind me. Once we’re off the porch I begin to wonder where we’re going. My eyes quickly skim the lot. No extra cars so that means Jenna is gone. Chris’ car is gone too. That would make sense if he picked up an early class, nothing really out of the ordinary.
“So are you really giving me a tour or do you want to talk to me about Cal?” I ask him. He stops walking and lets out an exasperated sigh.
“Let’s head over here,” he says, pointing to the horse yard before answering my question. We start to walk towards it, the tension mounting with each step. When we reach the gate, he turns towards me and chuckles.
“I take it you heard Jenna and I talking this morning?” he asks and I nod.
“How much did you hear?” he asks
“Enough to know you think Cal is back.”
“I don’t think Cal is back. Jenna does but she’s not entirely sure,” he says, letting out a shallow breath.
“I think if Cal were back, all of you would be gone by now,” he states boldly. I shake my head. I don’t really know what this man thinks of me but it can’t be much if he believes that, knowing about Cal's condition, I’d take off with him if he resurfaced, no questions asked. I roll my eyes.