Unbreakable (26 page)

“It’s Lucas Hansen,” I tell him and he
starts to type on his keyboard.

“Is this him?” Joe asks turning the screen
around and showing me the picture of Luke’s drivers’ license on the
screen.

“Yes, that’s him.” I feel even worse now as
I see Luke’s cute picture on his license. It must have been when he
turned sixteen. He still has a very boyish look to his face. My
phone starts ringing again and it’s Luke. I think I should answer
it, but decide against it not wanting to do this in front of
Joe.

“It looks like he has an account here, so we
should be fine. So you are adding him to your account?” Joe says
and I can tell he wants to ask me about him but doesn’t.

“Yes, he will need a debit card in his name
also.

“I just need your signature here,” he says
handing me a form.

“We we will mail out a debit card for him in
a few days. Do you need checks also with his name on them?” Joe
inquiries.

“Yes please.” I am very anxious now to get
out of here and back home before the calvary arrives. “Are we
done?” I ask him getting up.

“Yes. Miss Lilly, are you all right?” Joe
asks, concern on his face at my franticness to get out of here.

“Yes, I just remembered something I need to
do,” I tell him and say goodbye then hurry out of the bank to my
car.

When I get to my car, I set my purse on the
hood while I search in it for my keys. Finally finding them, I look
up and see a white envelope under the windshield wiper. All it says
is Lilly. A chill goes up my spine as I recognize the handwriting
from the note that was found by Georgia’s Stone. The same unsteady
squiggly writing. I look up and around to see if anyone is watching
me. There’s a woman walking her dog across the street, a couple of
older men are talking outside the courthouse, and a young couple
walking into the small café next to the bank.

My hands suddenly shaking, I grab the note
off the windshield and hurry in my car. Not opening it, I rush to
start the car and back out. Speeding through town all I can think
of is getting home. I’m startled when my phone starts ringing again
and I fumble in my purse for it. It’s Luke and I answer it this
time.

“I’m almost home.” Is the first thing I say
trying to sound normal.

“What’s wrong, what happened?” Luke is
anxious on the other end even though I am trying to speak calmly.
He can hear the fear in my voice.

“I’m almost there.” I hang up the phone so I
can concentrate on the road since I am going twenty miles over the
speed limit. I finally reach my lane and as I pull up I see Luke,
Jacob, Max, and Jeffrey all waiting for me. All of them look
furious, except for Max who is standing behind them looking
professional.

I pull into the garage and breathe a sigh of
relief to be safely home with them, even though they are
furious.

“What the hell Lilly?” Luke shouts when he
opens my door, but I don’t care. I get out of the car and wrap my
arms around his waist hugging him tight. I am feeling safe and I
have my face buried in his chest.

“Lilly, did something happen?” Jacob’s anger
turns to concern.

“You are shaking like a leaf,” Luke says
wrapping his arms around me. “Let’s go inside,” he says trying to
guide me toward the door that leads into the house.

“My purse; there’s a note,” I tell them not
letting go of Luke. “It was on my car when I left the bank.” Jacob
stoops down reaching across the driver seat to grab my purse.
Opening it, he pulls out the envelope and sees the writing. He
winces and holds it up for Luke to see. His grip on me gets
tighter.

“Max, get the garage door. You and Sam do a
perimeter check,” Jacob orders and he obeys without a word. “Come
on let’s go in,” Jacob steps in front of us as he opens the door
that leads into the house. The envelope and my purse still in
hand.

Sitting on the couch in the family room,
Jacob asks Miss Finnegan to get me some water when she comes in
with a look of worry on her face. She does what he says. I am
sitting between Luke and Jacob on the couch when she returns
setting a glass of water in front of me on the coffee table.

“Baby calm down, you’re safe now,” Luke says
rubbing my back because I can’t stop trembling.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left.” I look
at him and I can see he is no longer mad just very concerned.

Jacob puts on some rubber gloves before he
opens the envelope. Unfolding the piece of paper inside, he reads
it to himself. I see his jaw tense and his temple throb. Jacob
reads the note aloud and then shows it to us.

“The first time our eyes
met. I knew you felt it too. Don’t fight it. You know you belong
with me.”

“Did you see anyone?” Jacob asks throwing
the note on the coffee table in anger. “This is why you don’t leave
on your own,” he says getting up and walking around the couch
punching his hand with the other.

“I think she’s learned her lesson,” Miss
Finnegan interjects coming to my defense knowing that I am scared
out of my mind.

“Have you?” Jacob walks back around the
couch and sits on the coffee table in front of me, his eyes bore
right into me.

“Yes,” I mutter not looking him in the eye.
I’m filled with shame and can’t stand to see the disappointment in
his face. Luke places his hand on my knee and gives it a
squeeze.

“Lilly, you scared us and then you wouldn’t
answer your phone,” Luke grates. Even though he is trying to be
calm, I know he is still very angry.

“I’m sorry,” I repeat and look up at Jacob
and then to Luke. “It won’t happen again, I swear,” I tell them and
I know I mean it. I take the note off the table and read it
again.

“The first time our eyes met?” I read it
aloud baffled. “Does this mean I know him? Does it mean it’s
Simon?” I look up at Jacob for answers.

“It’s not Simon,” Jacob says getting up and
walking over to the bay window staring outside.

“They were able to find two witnesses that
were at the Schooner last night who remembers him being there at
the same time while the stalker was here,” Luke explains to me when
I look at him with confusion to Jacobs’s reaction.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” I ask
apprehensively. They both still seem so upset.

“No, it’s not Lilly,” Jacob barks and it
makes me uneasy to see him so tense. “Now we have no idea who it
could be.” He turns from the window and flops in the chair across
from us.

“But I must know him. It says the first time
our eyes met,” I read the first part of the note again. Luke leans
up placing his elbows on his knees and looks to Jacob to
explain.

“You have the worst kind of stalker there
is, someone you don’t know,” Jacob says softly as he starts to
explain. “You probably have seen him at the store, the bank, or
somewhere most likely public. You showed him kindness, something he
would not be used to.” Jacob gets up and moves back to the coffee
table in front of me. “It could have been something as innocent as
a smile, some jester or something that was normal for you, but
stood out for him.”

Jacob continues his tone still soft. His
knowledge of this sort of thing is more apparent now. “And from
that random act of kindness, he felt there was a bond. He then
would have started following you and all along a fantasy has been
playing out in his mind. A fantasy of you and him together, a
fantasy so real that he would have started believing it was true.”
Jacob stops when he sees me shiver.

“Shall I continue?” He directs his question
towards Luke who has now put his arm around me.

“Yes,” I answer the question and look up at
Miss Finnegan who is still standing on the steps that lead from the
kitchen to the family room. I notice that Jeffrey is now standing
next to her and they’re just listening. I wonder how much of this
they already know. I look back at Jacob and give him a nod to
continue.

“He made his first appearance four and half
months ago. So by my best guess, it would have been shortly after
Jane and Ted died when you first encountered him,” Jacob says,
watching me as he explains. “Like I had said, it would have started
as following and watching.” “Then as his fantasy grew, that is when
he would have broken in.” Jacob stops again. I must be white as a
ghost because he turns to Miss Finnegan and asks her to bring me
some hot tea.

“Baby, are you alright?” Luke asks taking my
face in his hand and turning it toward him concern in his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m just trying to process all of
this,” I tell him trying to sound as normal as possible.

“So you said that’s when he would have
broken in. What was he looking for?” I ask Jacob, who has a look on
his face like he wants to stop. “I want to know,” I say
reassuringly so he will continue.

“A keepsake. Something of yours to feed his
fantasy. It could have been an article of clothing or something you
were wearing the day he met you. That’s why I asked you to check if
any clothing was missing, but you didn’t know because you and Emma
had been doing so much shopping. You had donated so much of your
old stuff that you weren’t for sure.” Jacob recalls my answer and I
remember thinking how it was weird that he would ask me that.

“It would have been something that you had
worn but not washed. Your smell on it would have been important.”
Jacob stops when he sees my face. I remember something from the day
he had broken in.

“My pillow, one of my pillows was gone,” I
tell them. I had not thought of that since that night but I
honestly did not think twice about it. I figured Miss Finnegan had
taken it for some reason and forgot to bring back.

“Lilly, that is why I asked you to think of
anything that was missing no matter how trivial you thought it
was.” Jacobs’ frustration coming out again and he rubs his hands
through his hair. “If I had known about that, I would have known
what we were dealing with,” he says through his teeth, which
suddenly makes me angry.

“Well, maybe if you had enlightened me with
some facts, I would have thought of it!” I snap back at him. How
was I supposed to know he was talking about something as trivial as
a pillow? I thought he was talking about something of value little
or big.

“She’s right dear,” Miss Finnegan has
returned with my tea and I motion for her to put it on the table
next to the water, which I haven’t touched yet. Not sure why they
keep thinking I need something to drink. “I’ve been saying all
along that you need to tell her,” she says to my defense.

Speechless, Jacob looks at Miss Finnegan and
then to Luke shaking his head. “Why worry her if we didn’t know?”
He defends himself. “In my experience, that is what you do.” He now
seems to be questioning himself and a look of guilt passes his
face, which breaks my heart that he could think any of this is his
fault.

“I can’t help but think how things would be
different if Dad had told me any of this was happening.” Luke is
now angry looking at his dad.

“Now wait a minute, so now this is my
fault?” Jeffrey shouts at his son.

“Stop, stop!” I yell. “It’s no one’s fault.
I will not have everyone turning on each other.” The room goes
silent. “What would he be doing with my pillow?” I ask Jacob, not
knowing if I really want the answer.

“It makes him feel closer to you. Having
your scent feeds the fantasy even more.” Jacob explains averting
his eyes and becoming more agitated. “He’s a sick pervert, Lilly,
and you have to swear to me that you will not leave this house
alone again!” Jacob stresses again now looking me in the eyes.

“I promise,” I repeat to him.

“Now that he sees Luke as a threat, I’m
afraid it is only going to get worse. He is becoming increasingly
more aggressive,” Jacob says getting up again and starts to pace,
which only makes me more anxious.

“Okay, I think that is enough for now,” Luke
interjects and I am glad. I am starting to feel very woozy and
Jacob is making it worse instead of better. “Drink some water
baby.” Luke hands me the water and I take a sip. It does make me
feel better.

“My sister is in town. I invited her and her
boyfriend over for dinner before all of this happened. Dad and Mom
were going to join, but I can cancel if you are not up to it.” His
face is filled with concern, but I think it will be a good
distraction from all the craziness so I nod my head to let him know
its fine.

Jacob huffs out of the room mumbling to
himself that he has some things he needs to take care off.

Miss Finnegan gets back to making dinner and
Jeffrey tells us he is going home to get showered, changed, and
will be back with everyone.

“I want to go to New Orleans tomorrow and go
back to Bon Dieu’s to see if I can find some answers.” I tell Luke
now that we are alone, but I can tell he is not crazy about the
idea. “Emma and Jacob can come, even Max if you want.” I try to
convince him but he still gives me a look of apprehension. “Please,
I really need to do things to keep my mind off of it,” I plead.

“Okay, but you will not stray from the
group, and you have to listen to us,” Luke finally agrees and I
wrap my arms around him. He leans back on the couch as I snuggle up
to his chest his arms tightly around me. It feels so safe in his
arms. I tilt my head up and kiss his chin. The little whiskers that
have formed since he shaved this morning poke me. “I love you,” he
whispers, reaching down he takes my lips with his. His mouth opens
and his tongue slips between my lips as his kiss deepens.

“I love you too,” I answer when his lips
move from mine and he places a firm kiss on my forehead. “I’m
excited to meet your mom and sister,” I murmur my face buried in
his neck. I inhale deeply to capture his sweet scent.

“I know they’ll love you,” Luke says kissing
my forehead again. “So I have to know, what was so important that
you had to leave today?” He asks worried about what I was
doing.