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Thankfully, I wake up to an empty bed. I don’t know what I was thinking last night, crying and snuggling into Owen’s chest. I have got to get a grip. But... I slept better than I have in years. Was that because I knew I was safe? Was it because I wasn’t sleeping on a lumpy old mattress? Was it because I couldn’t hear the sounds of drug deals, shootings, and prostitution going on outside my front door? Was it because Owen was here? I’m afraid to answer that question.
I SLOWLY GET OUT OF bed as my back is sore. Rifling through the clothes that are now neatly folded and stacked on the dresser, something Owen must have done for me, I find another sundress. This will have to do, although I’d love to get a bra and some underwear from my apartment today. Going commando feels wrong; especially around Owen.
Taped to the door is a note:
Mallory, I had to run to the office for a couple of hours.
Help yourself to anything in or around the house.
Be comfortable making yourself at home.
Just don’t leave.
I promise I’ll be back soon. If you need anything, call me.
Owen
There’s a phone number at the top of the page. I take the note with me downstairs. I’m starving, so I rummage through his refrigerator and find the makings for pancakes. Perfect. He said to make myself at home. Home means pancakes.
I start mixing the batter when I hear the doorbell ring. Fuck! What do I do? Do I hide? Answer it? What if I’m not supposed to be here? It doesn’t matter what I decide because the next thing I hear are voices.
“Hello. Mallory? It’s me, Olivia. The one that brought you clothes yesterday.”
“And me. Piper. We’re married to Owen’s brothers and live in the other two houses on the block. Are you decent?”
A dog comes running into the kitchen and I I don’t know what to do, so I do nothing. The two women walk into the kitchen.
“There you are. Please don’t be frightened.” The brunette says with her hands up. “I’m Olivia.”
The blond looks at Olivia like she’s kissing a rock. “Don’t be frightened? She’s not a scared bunny.” She turns to me. “I’m Piper. We come in peace.”
“She’s not an alien, either.” Olivia turns to me, “Here.” She hands me a shopping bag. “We’ve obviously messed this introduction all up, already. We brought you some stuff. Some new stuff. Like panties and bras. We went shopping last night for you. I hope they fit.”
“This is Bloo. She’s my diabetic alert dog. She’s very friendly.” Piper says, petting the dog’s head.
I watch the dog go into the living room and lie on the floor with a big sigh. I take the bag and peek inside to find a lot more than ‘some’ stuff. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Nonsense. A girl needs panties.” Piper says as she plops down on a barstool at the kitchen island. “Oh. Pancakes. I love pancakes. Can I have some?”
“Um. Sure.” I turn to Olivia. “How about you? Would you like some?”
“Yes, please.” She sits next to Piper.
“Okay. We don’t know the specifics and if you don’t want to tell us, that’s perfectly fine. But we know you’re in trouble and we want to help any way we can.” Piper says.
“Um. Thanks.”
“Piper, you’re freaking her out.” Olivia gets up and comes around the island to the stove. “Here. Let me make the pancakes and you go try those on.” She points to the shopping bag as she takes the spatula out of my hands.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I want to make up for this comedy of errors we’ve done here. Go. I’ve got this.” Olivia waves me off. I grab the bag and head upstairs.
Ten minutes later, I feel like a new woman. Not only were there panties and bras, all that fit, but there was a toothbrush, hairbrush, hair ties, deodorant, more clothes, and some neutral toned make up. I feel a million times better. I enter the kitchen and find both Olivia and Piper sitting on the couch talking about their kids.
“Hi. Thanks for the stuff. I’ll pay you back.”
“You will not. I won’t hear of it. Let’s eat.” Piper says as she pulls the dishes out of the warming oven.
We all sit down and start eating our pancakes. I have maple syrup all over the plate, just like my mom used to make for me.
“So, let me tell you a bit about us.” Piper starts. “Olivia and I are best friends that fell in love with Gabriel and Matt, which are Owen’s older brothers. We each have two kids. We used to own a medical flight company together, and Olivia here is a flight paramedic and a former firefighter.”
“Piper, you are so direct.” Olivia turns to me. “Don’t mind her. She’s a straight and to the point kind of girl.” She waves in Piper’s direction. “How are you doing? Do you need anything? I saw you wince when you sat down. Are you okay?”
I nod my head, “I’m fine. Thank you for asking. Owen’s been great.”
“I saw the note he left for you. He called Piper and me this morning and asked us to check on you once the kids were at daycare.”
I decide to change the subject since I don’t know these women and I don’t particularly want to be the center of attention. “So, you were a firefighter? That must have been exciting. Why’d you quit?” I can tell instantly that I touched on a nerve because Olivia looks at Piper and then out the back sliding glass doors. “You don’t have to tell me. It’s okay.” I quickly add.
“Her partner attacked her and then she killed the bastard.” Piper says, as if she’s reading the newspaper.
“Piper!”
“What? It’s true, and it’s not a secret.” Piper defends herself to Olivia.
Olivia turns to me. “I’m sorry. She can be so rude sometimes.” She turns back to Piper. “You can’t just announce stuff like that. You could cause a trigger for some people. Geesh, girl.”
“No. It’s okay. Are you okay?” I place my hand on Olivia’s arm.
“Oh, she’s fine now. It was a hell of a few years for all of us, though. Olivia kills the bastard, Gabriel gets shot, I get diabetes, our plane almost goes down, I get stabbed by a serial killer that I was dating, and our best friend was murdered. So, Mallory... whatever you’ve got going on... we’ve got your back.”
“Oh. My. God. Piper Nicole Hughes!” Olivia yells.
“Don’t go using your ‘mom’ voice on me, sweetie. Tell me I’m wrong.” Piper dares Olivia with her eyebrows raised.
“Did all of that really happen?” I ask as the staring contest between Olivia and Piper moves into the second and then the third minute.
Olivia turns to me. “Yes. Unfortunately, it all happened, plus Piper’s not wrong. It’s been a hell of a few years for all five of us.”
I look at Piper. “You dated a serial killer?”
“Yep. And then he stabbed me. Good times.” She seems okay... but I can’t tell. Is she joking? “But in my defense, he was a surgeon at Mercy General and I had no idea he was a serial killer.”
That’s when it hits me. She’s talking about the Nursery Rhyme Killer. I remember hearing about that a couple of years ago.
Piper points to me, “See Olivia? She’s heard of it. Yep, I’m that girl and our friend was the one that died.”
“I’m so sorry. How are you okay with what happened?”
“Lots and lots of therapy. And Matt. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here right now.” Piper says with a straight face. “Let me tell you, these Hughes men... they mean it when they say they want to help. It’s in their DNA. They want nothing more than to save the world. And god love them, they try every day. If Owen tells you something, then you can take it to the bank.” Piper waves at Olivia and herself, “We can vouch for him... for what it’s worth to you.”
Olivia smiles at me. “She’s right. They’re superheros. Just don’t tell them we said that. It’ll go straight to their heads and we’ll never hear the end of it.”
I laugh, and it feels good. “Thanks, ladies. I appreciate it.”
“Mallory?” Owen calls from the front door as Bella comes running into the kitchen, but skids to a stop when she comes nose to nose with Bloo. They both put their butts in the air and their chests on the floor and then take off running through the house.
“In here.” Piper calls back to him.
“Hi ladies. Thanks for checking on her.” Owen looks amazing and my new panties are going to be ruined if I keep staring at him in his white button down dress shirt that’s tucked into his black jeans. The cowboy boots do it for me. I have to look away.
Olivia and Piper get up and put the plates in the sink. “I’ll get that.” I call after them.
“Okay. Well, Mallory, if you need anything or just want to chat, we’re almost always home. Just bang on the door.” Olivia offers as the two women collect their purses.
“Thank you again for the stuff.”
“See ya.” Piper kisses Owen on the cheek.
“Bye.” Olivia does the same.
Both Owen and I watch them walk out of the kitchen. We hear the door close and now we’re alone.
“Hi.” I say shyly.
“Hi. How are you feeling? Have you taken any more ibuprofen?” Owen asks as he heads to the cabinet where he pulled the medication from last night, although this time the bottle is the regular stuff. No sleeping agent.
I shake my head, “No. I was about to make breakfast when the ladies showed up, and we’ve been talking ever since.”
He nods and then hands me two pills. “Take these. Those sores will hurt like a bitch if you don’t.”
I take the pills and swallow them down. “So, now what?”
Owen hesitates for a few seconds, like he’s going to say something, but doesn’t. Instead, he takes a seat next to me at the table. “Now, we go to my condo and look for the safe deposit key and try to figure out what bank its for. Are you up for that? If not, we can do it tomorrow.”
“No. I want to do it now. The sooner the better. It’s time to get Patrick behind bars.” I hear the strength that my mother gave me in my voice. She told me never let someone take that which I wasn’t willing to give.
Patrick took too much from me, and now he’s going to regret it.