Chapter 27: Chapter 27

"I'm sorry about him," Jake apologises for his cousin, shutting his bedroom door behind him. I shake my head, giving him a tired smile that doesn't quite reach my eyes.

"Don't apologise for him Jake," I say, walking over to his bed and pulling his duvet back. I jump in and instantly relax against his pillow. Jake's scent is everywhere and my eyes grow heavy with sleep. The entire day has been full of drama and all I want is to rest my body and sleep.

"I'm so tired," I yawn, settling myself deeper inside the bed and snuggling into his duvet. I feel the mattress sink in as Jake crawls from the bottom to the top beside me. He lies facing me, his hand stroking my hair.

"Our baby is almost three months old," Jake whispers, his hand disappearing under the duvet and settling against my stomach.

"I know, it's crazy. . . In six months we're going to be parents." I respond in slight disbelief, my voice heavy with sleep.

"We sure are, sleep well Muffin." Jake says softly,  tucking the covers around me. I sigh contently and allow my body to fall into a much needed deep sleep.

*****

A cold breeze hits my bare skin causing it to breakout into goosebumps. I stir awake, my body feeling exhausted.

"Damn," I groan, opening one eye. Sunlight streams in through the window opposite me, lighting up Jake's room. I frown, noticing his side of the bed doesn't look slept in and it isn't warm either.

"Jake?" I call out, sitting up straight in bed and pulling the duvet around me. Silence greets me and another blast of cold air coming in through the window hits me again, causing me to shudder. My frown deepens as I stand up off the bed sleepily, wrapping Jake's duvet around me to keep warm. I walk over to the window and pull it shut, blocking out the cold air. The trees are completely bare outside, swaying in the harsh wind.

I glance around the room for any sign of Jake's clothes or shoes from the night before. Nothing.

I remember him lying in bed beside me but don't recall him falling asleep. I drop the duvet to the floor and quickly change into some thick pyjama bottoms and an oversized hoody that belongs to Jake. I grab some socks from the drawer and leave the room, shutting the door behind me softly. It's an early Saturday morning and I don't want to wake anyone. The house is eerily quiet, not a sound to be heard. I quickly pull on my socks and head for the stairs, straining for any sound downstairs.

Nothing.

"Jake?" I call out quietly, stepping off the stairs and onto the floors downstairs which is icy cold at this time of the morning. The frown on my face deepens and an uneasy feeling settles inside my stomach.

Something feels wrong. . . Really wrong.

"Tobias? Ivory?" I call out, heading towards the kitchen. I hear faint voices coming from behind the door and I stand on my tiptoes, peering through the blurred glass of the kitchen door. I make out a few people sat around the kitchen table but couldn't identify who the shadows belonged to.

My hand grips onto the doorknob and I turn it slowly causing the conversation inside to stop abruptly. The door squeaks open revealing Myra and Michelle sat at the table, eyes heavy with exhaustion. Opposite them are two police officers, a male and a female. I don't recognise either of them but all four people stare directly at me.

"Erm, hello?" I say quietly, frowning. Why are a pair of police officers sat at the kitchen table at 7:45 on a Saturday morning?

"Good morning love, there's coffee in the pot." Myra smiles at me, her voice sounding exhausted.

"What are the police doing here?" I ask, addressing the elephant in the room. The huge elephant in the room.

"Who is this?" One of the officers asks rudely, signalling towards me.

"This is Emily, she's my sons girlfriend." Michelle explains quietly, giving me a re-assuring smile. I glance at the male officer suspiciously who's writing something down in his notebook.

"Jake Melvin's girlfriend, yes?" He asks me and I nod silently, my heart beating faster in my chest.

"Is Jake okay?" I ask fearfully, feeling the goosebumps from before return but for a whole different reason. The officers ignore my question and instead continue to write something down whilst the other one sips coffee from a mug. I frown, huffing out annoyingly at their ignorance.

"Where is Ivory and Jake?" I ask, turning towards Myra and Michelle. They both glance at each other worryingly before Myra stands up, scraping her chair against the kitchen floor.

"I'll only be a minute officers." Myra smiles tightly before signalling for me to follow her. I nod silently and do as I'm  told, closing over the kitchen door. Myra walks ahead into the living room and I follow, my heart beating wildly against my chest in fear.

"Myra, what is going on? Where is everybody?" I frown, shutting the living room door behind me so the officer's don't have a chance of overhearing. The Melvin family never did have a good reputation with the police.

"Emily, we need you to do something for us." Myra says firmly, holding the bridge of her nose as she struggles to remain calm. I nod my head, the fear inside my stomach bubbling away.

"What is it?" I breathe out. Myra places two hands on my shoulders, looking me straight in the eyes.

"Look Emily, I need you to stay calm. You can't freak out, not now." Myra says, tears brimming her eyes. The emotion in her voice is clear as day and from the look on her face, she's about to break down. I've never seen her cry before and I nod silently, unable to form words.

"Whatever you need," I whisper, my body trembling in fright from the unknown. I have absolute no idea what she's about to tell me and I'm petrified. Myra inhales deeply, a look of fear fixed onto her face.

"I think Tobias has done something very very bad." She whispers, her voice trembling. My eyes widen at her words —

"Tobias has done what?" I ask quietly and Myra swallows the lump in her throat before replying.

"I think he's killed the boy Jane was cheating on him with."

My blood runs cold at her words and my mouth hangs open in shock.

"No way! Are you serious?" I hiss in disbelief, forcing my voice to remain quiet. Myra nods her head, fear growing in her eyes.

"There's more. . . Jake may be involved.”