Classified ☑

[ chapter 14 ]

"I'm fine. I promise," I said into the phone, using my foot to close the front door. I shifted the phone into my other hand as I locked the door. "The door is locked, okay?"

"Remember, you have Gracie's and Joseph's numbers as well so if for some reason you can't contact me, call them," Thomas said through the phone.

"Uncle Thomas," I said, rubbing a hand over my face. "I'm inside, doors are locked, alarm is set. I'm good, I promise. Now enjoy your date with Gracie, please," I pleaded.

I loved my uncle, I really did. But sometimes he could be overboard on worrying about me, even though he did have a good reason to be.

Even though I hadn't practiced fighting much within the last eight months, it all came back like clockwork the other night. And somehow, I was able to keep my emotions out of it when I was attacked.

"Okay, okay, okay," my uncle mumbled into the phone. "I'll text you when I'm on the way home."

"Bye Uncle Thomas," I drawled out.

He huffed. "See you in a couple of hours, Nina."

I ended the call before he could think of anything else to worry about, placing my phone on top of a stack of papers laying on a small coffee table. Surveying the house, I took in how messy it was. Whoever had broken into the house was after something and I felt in my gut they hadn't got whatever it was that they needed.

I grabbed my speaker from upstairs and hooked it up to my phone, getting ready to clean. As I was about to press play, the doorbell sounded.

The sound made my heart drop. My uncle wasn't supposed to be home for another couple hours, I hadn't ordered anything for dinner, and as far as I knew, I hadn't invited anyone over.

I crept towards the door, keeping my footsteps light, and grabbed my phone along the way. Glancing through the peephole, I saw someone with a hoodie over their head, lit up by the porch light. They stood near the porch steps as they shifted from foot to foot, waiting outside.

My shoulders sagged in relief as the tension left my body. I knew who it was by the way he stood there.

Grabbing the latch with my hand, I pulled the door open as Cole turned around to face me, leaving the screen door the only thing between us. "Hey," I said, tentatively. "What are you doing here?" The roads were still icing over and it drizzled as we spoke.

He smiled shyly, stepping closer towards me with his hands shoved in his hoodie's pocket. "Well, I wanted to talk to you."

I looked into his deep, brown eyes and saw the sincerity behind his words. What he wanted to talk about, I wasn't completely sure. But he was here, standing outside in the cold.

I stepped back and opened the door wider. "You can come inside."

Cole nodded his head, opening the screen door and stepping inside. He pulled his hood off and took in the surroundings of the house, truly seeing it for the first time. His eyes widened as he saw the mess.

"So." I crossed my arms over my chest, looking him right in the eye. "Why'd you come here?" My uncle would know any second, if he didn't already, that Cole was in the house. The alarm system sent him a notification whenever someone stepped foot on the porch.

He tensed before looking me in the eyes with his warm, brown ones. "What did I do to you? You're pushing me away and I don't know why."

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach as the words left his mouth. That's not at all how I wanted him to feel, yet my actions to him probably said otherwise.