Boss Daddy: A Secret Baby Romance by Black, L. (good books for high schoolers .TXT) 📕

got to the room at the end of the hall, what I assumed was her bedroom.

I swung the door open, hard. If he was in there, I wanted as much of the element of surprise as I could have. I held the wooden leg of the chair above my head, ready to strike, but the room was empty. Trashed, but empty. More messages were spray-painted on the walls. These were cruder, viler. The living room had been more “why me” with messages like “how could you do this to me?” and “I hope you’re happy.” The ones in the bedroom just filled me with disgust. How a person could say things like that about someone they supposedly loved.

But that was just it. He didn’t love her. He thought he owned her. This wasn’t about winning back the affections of a person. This was about acquiring something that he believed was stolen from him. A piece of property.

I checked the rest of the house, clearing each room with the preparation that he could be there. Her bed was messed up, and I could just see him lying in it. He had been. How long before we got there I didn’t know, but he had been there. Waiting.

When I got outside, Hannah flung the door of the car open and ran to me. I held her as she sobbed. She wanted to go inside and see it, but I held her tight, shaking my head.

“You don’t want to do that right now.”

“Why not?”

“You just don’t,” I said, then thinking of a reason that might not scare her so much, I added, “Remember, the police might need to dust for fingerprints. The less contaminated they can have it, the better.”

That seemed to work, and she nodded, then curled it into my chest. The sobbing had stopped, but now she just looked vacant. There was immeasurable sadness and fear in her expression, but all I could do was hold her and kiss the top of her head.

The cops arrived shortly thereafter, and I gave them a statement as to what I saw when I went in. I remembered each surface I touched so I could tell them where to expect my prints. The other officer was a veteran too, and he nodded grimly as Hannah explained the story. He took some notes before going inside with two other officers. The other two carried their phones out as cameras and had bags to collect evidence in.

“I need to go sit down,” Hannah said.

“Come on,” I said, guiding her back to my truck. I opened the door for her, and she sat in the passenger’s seat, staring blankly ahead at the house.

“He was there when I came home, wasn’t he?” she asked. Her voice was monotone, and the tears seemed to have dried on her face.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I think so.” I reached behind the driver’s seat and pulled the cooler out. I had some water bottles in there from my trip to Portland. I pulled one out for her and broke the seal on top. “Here, drink this. It will help with the shock.”

She took the bottle from me without looking and took a big sip. I turned in my seat to watch the door of the house and wait for the officers to come out. After a while, she had leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. I didn’t think she had dozed off, but she was trying to remain calm. The officer made his way out and came to her side of the truck, and I rolled the window down. Hannah turned her head and opened her eyes.

“Ma’am,” the officer said. “I would suggest, if possible, sleeping somewhere else for the night. We have a few resources if you need. We will likely be processing the house for quite some time anyway. But if you wanted to go in and get a few things, now would be a good time.”

“I can do it,” I said. “If that’s alright with you.”

She nodded slowly and turned to me. “It would be. But I can do it. You can come with me, though.”

She sounded distant and distraught, like she was on the edge of completely breaking down but was holding herself up. I got out of the truck and went inside with her. For a long time, she stared at the messages on the walls without blinking. Then, she sighed heavily and went into her room, grabbing a duffel bag and stuffing it with clothes.

“I already have most of my toiletries at your place,” she said as she brushed by me into the bathroom. “I just need a few things.”

Despite the terrible situation, a part of me was happy to hear how casually she decided she was coming home with me. It wasn’t even a question.

After she had what she felt like she needed, she removed the key from her keychain and handed it to the officers. She apparently had a backup in her car, which was locked. The officer made sure she opened her car and verified it was still there. Then, we headed back to my place. We got inside, and I brought her bag to the bedroom.

“Thank you for letting me stay here again,” she said. “I’ll find a new place soon.”

“You could just live here,” I said automatically and went stock-still.

I turned to look at Hannah, expecting her to react poorly to it. I was shocked it slipped out of my mouth. Instead, she smiled. It was a genuine smile, even if there was a lot of stress and hurt etched on her face.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea right now,” she said. “It’s just a little soon, you know?”

“I understand, seriously,” I said. “The idea just kind of slipped out.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “Part of me wants to. I just think that maybe it’s a little early for that.”

I nodded and kissed her head. “As long as you feel safe and secure. I have