I yawned and stretched. Something was different about the room I was in then I recalled everything that had happened yesterday. I laid back with a sigh. Why did this have to happen to me? I threw the covers off and climbed out of the bed. Trudging into the living room, I ran into Rook.

           “Sorry. I was just going to use that bathroom.” He said and walked around me.

           I watched him walk away and shook my head. I went to the living room. There was a wrinkled up blanket on the couch and a few pieces of clothing scattered across the living room. Boys are slobs. I sighed again and went to the kitchen following the smell of coffee. I grabbed a cup out of the cabinet and filled it with coffee. I sipped it and was relieved to feel the familiar heat from the coffee make its way down my throat.

           I leaned against the counter and looked out into Rooks back yard. It was a decent size with a large pine in the center. There was a bird feeder hanging from one of the branched. Under the window was a flower bed with dirt and grass and dried up dead plants. They were most likely flowers at one point. A butterfly flew past my vision. I smiled as I watched it soar through his yard and out of my sight.

           I heard Rook clear his throat behind me I turned around and he was walking into the room. He had combed his hair and changed his hair. He looked amazing. I smiled, forgetting that I needed to keep my emotions hidden around him and dropped my smile when I remembered. “Good morning, Joanne.”

           “Good morning, Rook.” I responded. He walked past me to the cabinet and grabbed a coffee cup. He filled it up with coffee and leaned against the counter to look at me.

“How’d you sleep?” He asked me.

“I slept pretty well. You have a comfortable bed.” I replied with a small smile. “How did you sleep?”

“Well it was decent sleeping on the couch, but when the sun came up it all but blinded me.” He replied with a shake of his head.

I suppressed a giggle. It wasn’t right to laugh at other people’s pain. “I’m sorry. If you stay at my house tonight, you won’t have to deal with that. The sun rises on the other side of the house.”

He nodded in agreement. “We should get going. Someone has to open your store.”

We both went to his front door and he opened it for me. I smiled at him and walked out. He shut and locked the door and headed toward the car. There were pine needles and small branches scattered all over his car. He swiped the ones that were on the windshield off and unlocked the car. I opened the passenger door and climbed in. Rook started the engine and started driving down his rocky driveway.  I looked around and finally spotted the store where I had bought the bird house. My car was parked in the parking lot.

“My car is right there.” I said, pointing to my green camaro. There were only a few cars left in the parking lot. Rook parked next to my car and turned off the ignition. I opened my door and walked to the driver’s side door of my car. The Sun was now in sight as I climbed into my car. I grabbed my sunglasses, shut my door and sighed.

I really needed to get out of there. I was starting to get a panic attack. I sighed and put the key into the ignition. The car purred to life and I backed up and drove to my store. Rook was at the door waiting and I unlocked the door and we both went in. He walked around, organizing and dusting and I went behind the counter. Turning on the computer I noticed something was different about it. I couldn’t put my finger on it but I knew something was wrong. I slid off my chair and ran over to rook behind a clothes rack as the computer exploded into little tiny pieces. I squeaked in fright and clung to him.

“What was that?” I asked Rook.

“That was a bomb. It detonated when you turned on your computer.” He replied, completely calm but I could see the shock in his eyes. “Are you alright?”

I nodded. “Are you?” I asked him, my ears still ringing.

He nodded. We both got up and walked over to assess the damage. The wall that the computer was facing was black from the explosion and there were pieces of computer everywhere. The chair I had been sitting in was history. The fabric from the back of it was torn in all different directions and stuffing was everywhere. I shivered. That could have been me!

I pulled rook to me and stuffed my face into his shirt. I sobbed and tears began to drench his shirt as I lost all self-control and let all my emotions out. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “It’s all right. I’ll get you a new chair and computer.”

I laughed softly into his shirt. He was so kind and always tried to make the best of everything. Even if he has a serial killer stalking him and killing all of the people he gets close to. I looked up at him. As he looked out the window, I could see the pain, anger, and frustration on his face. But maybe even a bit of love? I shook my head. No, we barely know each other.

I watched him for a few more minutes then I walked to my desk. I examined the mess. I sighed. This may be a bit harder than I thought. This killer really knew how to scare people. I closed my eyes to calm my mind. When I opened my eyes I noticed something. There was a note on the desk. I hesitated but then grabbed the note.

“This is a warning. Leave or be killed.”

I bit my lip. I was given a choice. Life or love. But, I didn’t love him, did I? How could I? We don’t know each other that well. Love at first sight doesn’t exist, does it? I felt Rook come up behind me. I crumpled the note up in my hand.