Chapter 14 \u2013 In Bed Together\u00a0<\/p>\n
SERA\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
The airport was chilly due to the sudden weather change. I stood by the baggage claim, my small suitcase at my feet, watching families hug and couples kiss hello. Everyone seemed to have someone waiting for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone except me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I checked my phone again. Two missed calls from Johnson, asking if I\u2019d landed safely. Nothing from Darius.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My stomach twisted as I scrolled through my messages. The last text from Darius was from three hours ago: I\u2019ll be there to pick you up. Terminal B, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d confirmed it. Sent him my flight number. Even told him what I was wearing so he could spot me in the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the crowd was getting thinner now. Families were leaving with their luggage. The janitor was already mopping the floor near the empty carousel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pulled out my phone and called Darius. It rang once, twice, then went straight to voicemail. His voice sounded distant and professional: \u201cYou\u2019ve reached Darius Blackwood. Please leave a message.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The beep made my chest tight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s me,\u201d I said, my voice smaller than I wanted it to be. \u201cI\u2019ve been waiting for two hours. I\u2019m\u2026 I\u2019m going to take a taxi home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hung up and shoved the phone back in my purse. My hands were shaking, and I couldn\u2019t tell if it was from anger or hurt or just being tired.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The taxi ride home cost sixty dollars. I watched the meter climb higher as we sat in traffic, each red light feeling like another slap in the face. The driver kept glancing at me in the rearview mirror, probably wondering why I looked like I was about to cry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything okay back there?\u201d he asked when we stopped at a particularly long light.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wiped my eyes quickly. \u201cYeah. Just tired.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But tired wasn\u2019t the right word. Abandoned was closer. Left behind. Again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
About thirty minutes later, I arrived.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The house looked exactly the same from the outside. Same perfectly manicured lawn, same luxurious cars in the driveway. But there was a third car there now \u2013 a silver sedan I didn\u2019t recognize.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart started beating faster as I paid the driver and grabbed my suitcase.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But something felt different as I walked up the front steps. Wrong somehow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I used my key to let myself in, my hands shaking slightly. \u201cHello? Luna? Darius?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Blackwood!\u201d The nanny, Lucy, appeared from the living room looking flustered. Her cheeks were pink and she kept wringing her hands. \u201cI didn\u2019t know you were coming home today,\u201d She didn\u2019t look pleased to see me, her eyes darted around nervously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
+23 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Luna?\u201d I dropped my suitcase and looked around. The house was too quiet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s in the playroom. She\u2019s been asking for you all week.\u201d Lucy\u2019s smile looked forced, stretched too tight across her pretty features. \u201cShe\u2019ll be so excited to see you.\u201d She added almost breathlessly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I started toward the stairs, but Lucy stepped sideways, blocking my path. The movement was subtle, but it made my stomach drop. My entire frame tensed as my eyes narrowed on her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, maybe you should\u2026 maybe you should call for Mr. Blackwood first? He\u2019s upstairs, but he might be\u2026 busy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Busy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even though he was busy, Darius and I weren\u2019t enemies. He\u2019s let me into his room and study many times even when he was working\u00a0<\/p>\n
And besides, I was curious to see why exactly he\u2019d left me at the airport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of busy?\u201d My voice came out smaller than I wanted it to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah\u2019s face went pale. She looked toward the stairs, then back at me, her mouth opening and closing like she couldn\u2019t find words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was the strangest part. Lucy was a nice girl, but she and I weren\u2019t close enough to be having such a conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s never spoken for my husband or anyone else in this household before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something was definitely off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My mind was straying and I prayed it wasn\u2019t what I hoped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart was pounding so hard and fast I could hear it in my ears as I walked past Lucy to the staircase.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No, God, please, it couldn\u2019t be what I thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not on the day I returned to meet my husband and daughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not in the house where I spend countless days and nights with my family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Please.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each step felt like I was walking through thick mud. My hand gripped the banister so tight my knuckles went white. I stumbled slightly for a second, but I didn\u2019t stop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Blackwood?\u201d Lucy called up the stairs, her voice high and nervous. \u201cYour wife is home!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In only a few seconds, I reached the top of the stairs and turned directly toward Darius\u2019s bedroom. The door was slightly open, and I could see movement inside. My mouth went dry as I pushed it wider.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Darius was in his bed fast asleep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he wasn\u2019t alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Souls Remember What Matters \u2014 Corey Gibson 14 Chapter 14 \u2013 In Bed Together\u00a0 SERA\u00a0 +25 Bonus\u00a0 The airport was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-day-i-signed-the-papers-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23460\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}