Chapter 44: Selfie
- RAYA -
After the officers finally left, I was exhausted and assured Dad that he could have Patty pick him up. Thankfully he was here while they were interviewing me though, because it was hard reliving everything. It was the first time for my dad hearing all of it, too, and he had his hand clamped over his mouth for most of it.
Right when I’m beginning to wonder how Dex is doing with Moira, he sends me a selfie with the two of them in bed. Her eyes are closed like she is completely relaxed, curled up by the pillow and Dex is smiling with a thumbs-up. Oh my god, Moria is in Dex Mobius’s bed. How is this happening? And I’m so jealous.
’She’s in your room?! What happened to the guest house?’
’I thought she might be lonely. Also, not sure if she’ll get anxious and rip my dad’s furniture to shreds lol.’
Yikes. That’s a really good point.
’You are seriously a life saver. I’m so sorry. I hope she doesn’t bother you.’
’She’s totally fine, Raya. No worries. I hate being in this house alone anyway. Too many memories.’
I stare at the message, reading it over again, and my heart aches for him. He has shared a lot with me considering how we’ve only known each other a few days, but I guess traumatic experiences have a way of bringing people close very quickly.
I know that his mother died. I know that he hasn’t had dreams in years because of how horrible his nightmares were after that happened. Or at least he wasn’t having dreams until last night.
I can’t help but wonder what his dream was about. I have a suspicion, but there’s no way... there’s no way he would be dreaming of me.
’Touched down in London. How are you feeling?’ Rory texts me.
’Oh my god, Rory. I have so much to tell you.’
’Shit, should I call? Is everything okay? I can call when we get to the hotel room.’
’Health is fine. Police were here. But yeah, a call would be good.’
I don’t know how to tell her about what happened in my apartment over a text. It’s way too much. I still can’t believe it myself.
Obviously she can’t wait until they arrive at the hotel, because my phone rings right away. I chuckle and pick it up.
"It’s not an emergency."
"Well now I’m worried," she says, sounding like she’s out of breath. "I was going to be near panic by the time we got to the room. Just tell me now."
"It’s a long story. Just call me back when you’re settled."
"Raya!" She exclaims, and I sigh.
"Honestly, I don’t even know where to start. Dad went to feed Moira, and his car broke down and I was trying not to panic about him getting jumped and me being responsible for it."
"Is he okay?"
"Yeah, thank god. Dex happened to be here visiting, and he went to help him. And then they went to my apartment together."
"Oh my god," she groans. "What happened? Did he find the journal?"
"No, thankfully. But he found something worse."
After I explain the version of events that I heard, Rory sounds like she’s going to have a panic attack anyway, despite not waiting to call.
"Your neighbor was spying on you?! For how long?!"
"I don’t know. I’m too short to notice a hole up there. He could have been doing it forever. And assuming his apartment layout is like mine, that means the peephole is in his bedroom. He probably had to climb up to look through it."
A shiver runs down my spine again. This is too horrifying. He’s watched me do... everything, I’m sure. Thankfully I don’t make a habit of walking around my apartment naked.
"Gross. That’s so fucked up, Raya. I’m so sorry. Did you tell the police when they were there?"
"No," I sigh. "They were just here for the accident. It probably wouldn’t even be the same unit to investigate it. I’ll have to call at some point. I just... I don’t think I can do it now."
"Well you need to do it before you go back! You’re getting out Sunday?"
"I’m not going back. How can I feel safe there again?"
"Are you going to stay with Dad?"
I scoff. "That’s another thing. Dad is apparently dating someone."
"What?!"
I have to pull the phone away from my ear until she’s done with the loud string of questions that follows.
"Her name is Patty. They met at the market. Four months. And they’re living together."
"Oh my god, why do I have to be in London right now? Like... what the hell? When was he going to tell us?"
"I don’t know, but I’m happy for him. Hopefully she’s, you know, the one."
"She better be if he invited her to live with him already! But assuming they’re sharing a room, there’s still space for you."
"She’s allergic to cats."
Rory groans. "I’m so sorry. I should be there. I don’t even have a key for you to use for our place. Want me to fly back?"
"No. I’ve got it figured out."
"What do you mean you’ve got it figured out? What are you going to do?"
I bite my lip, knowing how she’s going to react. It’s how anyone would react... except Dad apparently. Dex sure made an impression on him. I suppose bringing his daughter to the hospital after a major accident and staying with her to make sure she was okay shows a lot about his character. But then Dex also went to help Dad and confronted the creep living next door...
"Raya! What are you going to do? If you don’t answer me, I’m making Westin buy us tickets back home right now."
Westin grumbles something in the background, and I can only imagine his reaction to that. They have both been looking forward to this trip for awhile.
"Dex offered his guest house."
"What?!" Her pitch keeps climbing with each new revelation I’m giving her.
"It’s just temporary until I get a new place. And who knows, maybe I can sue this guy who hit me and become a millionaire," I laugh weakly. It’s meant to be a joke.
"Things like that take months and months," she says, completely exasperated at this point.
"I’m just kidding. It’s going to be okay. I’ll find a place, Rory. But yeah... it’s a lot for one day."
She doesn’t say anything, but I can hear her sighing, trying to remain calm.
"He sent me flowers," I say softly, trying to find something happy to share. "He and Dad also brought me Melon Pan. And he sent me a selfie of Moira Rose curled up in his bed."
Rory blows out a loud breath. "I hope he’s as good as he seems."
"Dad loves him," I chuckle.
"That’s great, but Dad hasn’t been involved in our lives. It’s not like..."
"Okay, let’s stop there. I don’t want to go over family stuff right now on top of everything else. I’m tired. But I don’t want you to worry. He is a good guy. It’s just his brother who I have to worry about now."
