Midnight Daffodil (Poisonous Petals #1)

Chapter 22Olivia

twenty-two

OLIVIA

T he next several days blurred together, emotions dulled and distant.

Each day, I stood at the ATM, withdrawing the daily limit. I had three thousand dollars. I wish I’d felt more shame in stealing from him. But he’d taken and deprived me of so much I couldn’t bring myself to dwell on it.

Matt's behavior had shifted over the past few days. He showered me with thoughtful gifts and affection. Despite my secret plans to leave, he showed no signs of suspicion. Yet, something seemed off.

I began to sneakily pack up some of the things that mattered to me, rolling up shirts and leggings and stuffing them into shoes, then transferring all of those things to a huge tote that I planned to take with me. Vera intended to drive by to take my stuff to her place in hopes that I could get more out when I left.

I was stalling, and I knew it.

I didn’t know how to stop. That night, after Vera had taken the things I wanted out of the apartment first, I packed another medium sized tote full of other stuff I didn’t want to leave behind. I fought a wave of drowsiness that threatened to engulf me, eyelids fluttering in a constant battle to stay awake as I furiously wiped the sweat dripping down my brow.

The overwhelming thought of the days to come left me shaking in a mess of tears on the closet floor. Lost in panic, I didn't see Matt squat down, his concerned green eyes peering at me.

“Tell me what is going on, Livie baby,” he spoke to me softly, thumbing away one of the tears that lingered on my puffy cheek.

I just shook my head.

“You’ve been worrying me. I want to bring a guest over to do a psych evaluation on you, Livie darling.” He stood to his full height.

Now, I was the one concerned. “What do you mean?”

“Your behavior recently has been quite strange. You go from euphoric, smiling, and laughing to depressed. Crying fits, uncontrollable and inconsolable. I’m worried you might harm yourself. I work long hours sometimes and must make frequent visits to my office. You spend a lot of time alone, and Vera isn’t good company.” He held his hand out, pulling me to my feet.

He pulled my body against his, my head just at his shoulder. I could hear his heart beating steadily in his chest. His lips tenderly caressed the top of my head.

“I’m worried about you.”

“What does this mean? The evaluation?”

“Well, if he thinks there’s any risk to your physical well being, he’d suggest a sitter to be with you permanently when I’m not here to watch over you,” he explained.

He was going to get me an adult fucking babysitter. All traces of doubt receded as quickly as his colleagues' hairlines. Matt found a loophole. He would try everything to keep me here with him.

I pulled away from him and met his emerald stare. “When would this person be coming to do the evaluation on me? Is he here now?”

Matt patted my hair down, smoothing it away from my face as he mulled over the question. Light brown flecks danced around his pupils, studying my features as if trying to memorize them. He continued to stroke me softly as his hand made its way to the small of my back.

“I have him scheduled to join us for dinner tomorrow evening. He’ll observe for a little while, speak with us together, and then separately. I’ve already requested he prescribe you anxiety medication to stave off these attacks you’ve been having. None of that will be healthy for the baby when you’re expecting,” he explained calmly.

Here we go again with the baby talk.

So that means I had less than 24 hours to get out of here, or I was going to be stuck. Matt knew something was up, the tranquility only ensued chaos. I couldn’t stay here.

“Okay.” That was enough to appease him. While he was at work tomorrow, I had to leave. There was no more time.

Matt took a seat on the couch, making small talk about what I wanted for dinner, giving me his thoughts about the things I bought when I went out with Vera and paid some bills on his phone. Normal couples were probably all over Seattle doing the exact same thing as us. We were anything but normal, Matt and I. I knew the evil lurking under his pale skin and innocent touches.

The unknown of what he could do sent a cold shiver through my core. I knew the monster hidden below the surface.

S leep didn’t come easy. Uncontrollable worry plagued my mind. I planned to leave my phone from Matt behind and use the cash and the one from Vera to order an Uber or a Lyft.

My mind ran through several more subjects. I googled a few low-budget hotels in the area, along with cheap food places that were within walking distance. I looked up how to renew my license so I could drive, then googled the price of cars. Spoiler alert; they were way too expensive. I applied for a couple of jobs in the city before my eyes grew heavy with sleep.

Should I press charges against Matt?

I didn’t know the answer to that right away. What were the chances he’d do this again? What if he killed his next girlfriend?

I sighed out loud, rolled over onto my back, and looked up at the vaulted ceilings. I imagined myself in Luke’s bed. I thought about the cozy feeling of home and the way he smelled. His scent permeated throughout the entire house but was strongest between the sheets. My eyes drifted shut as I imagined him moving over me, inside me. That could be a reality for me soon. That one night with Luke didn’t feel like enough anymore.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Tomorrow was going to change my life.