Chapter 36 – Who’s There?

Harmoni

"Alright girls, you guys can choose the movie, and we'll go make some popcorn," Jessie said as he stood up from the couch, unwrapping himself from Emily and placing a light kiss on her forehead.

Since they started going out, they had become inseparable. Couple goals in some aspects.

William and he were nearly out the door when Jessie added with narrowed eyes and a pointed finger at us: "And for the love of everything beautiful on this planet, please don't choose a cheesy romance."

Both Emily and I groaned at that requirement. I guess 'The Choice' was out of the question then.

While the men were chatting in the kitchen, waiting for the snacks to be done, Emily and I scanned through the on-demand movies made available on our home cinema device.

Being rich had its perks; dad had renovated one of the rooms on the first floor to a home cinema. The room was filled with comfortable burgundy red couches, a state-of-the-art sound system, and a giant projector screen.

I remember the first time my dad invited his friend over to watch a rugby game. They had been screaming at the players so loud it had kept me awake half the night since my room was right above this precious gem.

Needless to say, my dad had gotten an earful the next day and soundproofed the room all over again. Strangely enough, I now couldn't hear any sound coming from our home cinema, but my dad was always able to tell when I was moving around in my room.

I'm blaming the Polish workers for this magic trick they pulled. This is how I found out that sneaking out of my bedroom when my dad was right underneath was not an option.

"I got it!" Emily said, pulling me back to the present time. I raised my eyebrows at her, waiting for her to elaborate on her choice. "What about AXL?"

"You mean the one with the mechanical war dog?" I double-checked.

"Yeah, I heard it's quite good, plus we'll even get a bit of romance in it," she added, winking at me.

"Sounds good. Hopefully, the guys will like it too." It was the first time for both William and me to join a double date. My nerves had been up all day, hoping he would enjoy it, especially the company.

Emily was my best friend, I already knew from hours of gushing and recounting our romance that she approved of him, but that wasn't enough. For this to work, I needed William to get along with Emily.

The men walked back into the room, laughing at something one of them had said. Relief washed over me at the sight. This was a good start.

"So what did you ladies choose?" William asked, settling the two bowls of popcorn on the table in front of us, while Jessie placed the candies and the chips.

"You'll just have to wait and see," I smirked, loving how the girls were in control at the moment.

William shrugged and took a seat back next to me. He lowered his head, placing his mouth to my ear as he whispered, "It's not like I came here for the movie anyway."

I swallowed hard, as a shiver ran through me from the sensation of his breath against my ear.

"You say the sweetest things to me," I replied, as a smile crept onto my face.

"If you guys are done being all mushy we'd like to start the movie," Em teased. To which I answered with my middle finger.

Both guys chuckled at our antics.

The lights dimmed and the movie began. Will wrapped his muscled arm around my frame, pulling me closer to him. I felt the familiar flutter in my stomach as his scent and warmth invaded my senses. I shifted one of my legs above his, while my head rested in the crook of his neck, tangling us together.

Finally feeling at ease and comfortable, I returned my attention to the movie.

By the end of the film, William had to walk to the kitchen to bring tissue papers since Em and I started bawling our eyes out. The guys hadn't said anything while the movie was playing, but we both knew we would be teased to no end once the credits started rolling.

Our assumptions were proven correct when both of them gave us a significant look before bursting out laughing.

"Don't give me that, you guys are just insensitive," Em defended.

"Right?! I mean AXL basically sacrificed himself to save his owner," I reinforced.

"It's just a movie," Jessie continued, the teasing smile never leaving his face.

"Maybe it is a movie, but the message and the gestures are things that can happen in everyday life," Emily continued her argument.

I was about to agree with her when a sound caught my attention.

"Wait, guys, can you be quiet for a second? I think I heard something," I whispered, suddenly more aware of my surroundings.

Beside me, William tensed as we all listened for any suspicious sound. A few seconds passed, and I was going to blame it on paranoia when the creaking sound of the wooden floor was heard again.

I went rigid; someone was in my room, and I knew for a fact it wasn't my father. He had come halfway through the movie to bid us goodnight, and he rarely woke up once he was out.

"Someone is in my room," I voiced my thought with a shaking voice. Emily cowered in her seat while William stepped into action.

Grabbing the earpiece he kept in his pocket when he was with me, he immediately turned it on, reporting what I had just admitted to the team.

"Stay here," he ordered as he walked out of the room. I felt my stomach drop as he left. I guess this was how he must have felt the day of the shooting when I hung up on him.

I could hear William walking up the staircase. The wait was unbearable; my heart was audibly pounding in my chest, threatening to escape. I couldn't stay here; I had to help.

"You better keep her safe," I said to Jessie.

"William told us to...," his voice was muffled by the door as I shut it behind me as quietly as I could.

All of a sudden, a shadow appeared in front of me. I screamed at the top of my lungs, terrified.

"It's me," I heard a familiar voice repeat. "I thought I told you to stay downstairs," he added, my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the corridor enough to decipher the frown that had appeared on his face.

"I can help," I said, feeling like a scolded child. William sighed loudly before pulling me into a tight hug. Feeling safer than I had minutes ago, I allowed my body to relax against his.

"Stupid, but I get it," he said, smiling down at me.

"Who was it?" I asked, still wary.

"I don't know, she was wearing a hood and disappeared out the window as soon as I entered your room. Jason is chasing her in the garden as we speak," he explained, gently caressing the side of my arm reassuringly.

"She? I didn't know the Diamond crew had girls," I said, voicing my thoughts.

"Yeah, it was pretty hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure it was a woman, and from the looks of it, I don't think she was from the Diamond crew," he revealed, raking his hand through his hair.

Why did I have a feeling things just got a whole lot more complicated?