Slave: The Ghost of Cambria - Book Two

Chapter Twenty-One

The Terminix exterminator inched his way out from under the house and was back onto the concrete pavement of the rear driveway when Tony heard car doors slamming.

"Well, I can't find anything," George said with impatience as he wiped vigorously at the dirt on his jumpsuit. "No droppings at all, and I didn't see any holes into the sub-flooring. So they must be getting in from somewhere on the perimeter. I'm going to do a spot check."

The words didn't register with Tony as he looked to see the clean-up crew's white van slowly roll down the driveway from behind his work truck.

"Okay, sir?" George asked.

"Sorry," Tony's attention jerked back before he replayed the man's words in his mind. "Yeah, that's fine."

"Do you want to take care of your dog for me, please?" he asked, again leading Tony's absent mind.

"Tell you what, check on the front of the house first, would you?" Tony asked. "I need to go check on Ms. Cole for a minute. Cool?"

"That's fine," said George, and he began to slowly pace the perimeter of the house.

Tony hurried back into the house, finding his way to the rear hallway. Arriving at the guestroom, he discovered its door wide open and the room empty. Nevertheless, Tony called out Kristen's name. When he realized she must be upstairs, he moved gingerly, apprehensive to likely to find the poor woman in a similar emotional situation as the day before.

Tony climbed the stairs and moved through the upper hall to the master bedroom, where he found the door wide open. The clean-up crew had left a strong odor behind them, something harshly tangy mixed with a wave of Lemon Pledge. Shitrus, he thought, seeing the bedroom windows open, no doubt left that way by the cleaners to air the space out.

As he inhaled to call out to find her, Tony turned his head and saw Kristen standing in the master bathroom at the double-sink counter, where she starred at herself in the mirror. The floor was slightly wet, and she had left a few footprints, but it was undoubtedly clean - the crew had done their job.

Tony heard Kristen whisper something to him, but he couldn't make out the word as he moved to the doorframe.

"You okay?" asked Tony.

Kristen's head jerked toward him. She gasped lightly, bringing her hand to her mouth to cover it.

It seemed that in his bid to be quietly respectful, Tony had startled the poor girl, and he was immediately regretful when he saw her process it with frustration. Tears were filling Kristen's eyes, and she appeared to attempt control over them before a pained expression seized her face.

Tony stepped forward and gently placed his arms around the woman.

"I'm so sorry, love," he said quietly in her ear.

"No, it wasn't you," she protested with a shake of her head. "I did that to myself."

Kristen smiled and wiped at her eyes, pulling back to look up into Tony's eyes.

"I wanted to come up here and face my fear," she continued, "and I did it. I'm going to be just fine, I promise."

"That's good to hear," said Tony, relieved that Kristen's spirits were still lifted, that his clumsiness hadn't upset her.

She affectionately placed her arms around Tony to hug him. Falling back into his chest, Kristen also allowed him to return his arms around her slight frame. In seconds, Tony realized that Kristen didn't intend for the hug to end quickly. She held on to the young man indefinitely, laying her head firmly at the crook of his neck.