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I walk with them to the door, not wanting to be rude by sitting on my arse. Allie pulls open the door and a startled squeal escapes her. Cole is standing on the other side, his fist raised, ready to knock.
“Cole,” she gasps, holding a hand to her heart. “You scared me.”
“Sorry,” he rumbles. When I turn my gaze to him, I notice he’s staring at Alex, his gaze narrowed and his stature menacing.
“Cole, this is Alex. He’s Allie’s new friend from the library. Remember, I told you about him?” I rush out before a fight breaks out. All I need is for him to scare Alex off. Allie would never forgive me or him.
He nods in confirmation, not speaking. He also doesn’t move his gaze away from Alex either.
Well, crap, that went well.
Shuffling uncomfortably on his feet, Alex shifts his eyes nervously between Cole and Allie. He looks unsure as to whether it’s safe or not to leave her with such a large beast. It’s not nice to think, but Alex really doesn’t stand a chance against Cole. Although, it’s really freaking sweet that he wants to protect her.
Clearing his throat, Alex takes a step towards Allie before stopping himself, looking to Cole warily, then back to Allie, saying, “I’ll speak to you later then.”
Allie smiles. “Yeah, and thanks for coming over.”
“Nice meeting you,” I tell him, waving goodbye to him.
Cole doesn’t move to let Alex past, so the poor guy has to squeeze past Cole, looking completely petrified. He doesn’t take his eyes off Cole, probably worried he’s going to touch him and not in a friendly way.
“Cole,” I hiss once Alex is safely in the lift and out of hearing range.
“What?” he asks, holding his hands up. He even has the nerve to act all innocent.
Rolling my eyes, I gesture for him to come in, shutting the door once he’s inside.
“You miss me already?” I tease.
“I wanted to see if you fancied watching the rest,” he asks, waving around the box set ofChicago PD.
“Does a fat kid like cake?” I scoff, snatching it out of his hand.
He looks to Allie with his eyes scrunched together before turning back to me. “Um, should I answer that?”
I playfully smack his shoulder, laughing. “Of course I want to.” I smile. However, when I remember the Whithall’s Scandals blog, my smile falls from my lips. “I need to look up a site first.” I pout, wanting to do both. I just don’t know how long I’ll be on there.
“What site?”
I explain what Alex said earlier and my theory about finding out if there are other stories like mine posted on there. By the time I’m finished explaining, he glances at me with a sheepish expression, rubbing the back of his neck. I’ve noticed he does this when he’s nervous or unsure of what to say or how to approach something.
“What?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.
“I just don’t think it’s a wise idea you going through that blog. What if therearemore stories out there?” he suggests. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“He’s right,” Allie says softly, stepping forward. “You’ve had a long day as it is. You don’t need this added to your plate. I was planning on looking myself, so if I find anything that could help us, I’ll print it off.’’
“Are you sure?” I ask, feeling bad. I can’t deny, a large part of me knows I won’t be able to stomach any more today. Seeing Becca and Rosie earlier near enough broke me. They’re all I’ve thought about all day.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to erase the image of their faces from my mind, or Rosie’s beaten body. God, just thinking about her is turning my stomach. Her attack was brutal, no remorse, nothing. It’s sickening to know someone can do that to another human being.
“Yeah, I’m positive. I’m nearly done with my project anyway.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, pulling her in for a hug. “Come on then, Batman,” I call to Cole, dragging him down the hall by his hand.
“Night, Allie,” he calls over his shoulder, and she giggles at the sight of us.
“Night, Cole.”