Zoya’s P.O.V
I woke up to a cold bed and an empty house. It had taken a while for that to sink in, and I had to blink a couple of times to reorient my hazy mind. At first, I thought Sam had abandoned me.
Had he just been using me? Had he decided that he no longer needed my help and ran? Without even bothering to say goodbye? Had he robbed me and disappeared into the night?
In a sudden fit of annoyance, mostly toward myself for being so self-sacrificing in nature, I berated my own mind for even thinking in such a desperate and pathetic manner. Sam couldn't abandon me, because this was my own home, one that he barged in without even asking. If anything, only I had the power to abandon him, since he needed my help, and I could live without him.
But as I checked my belongings, my anger eventually dissipated because I found everything still intact. He hadn't taken anything, not a cent, not a dime, not a penny, not even a shirt or a towel from my suitcase, other than the clothes that were currently on him.
And since I couldn’t very well wish for the guy to be running around naked…I decided that being that petty wasn’t even worth it. He could keep the clothes. But…why had he left without a word?
My suspicion quickly turned to worry as I wondered where he was and what he was doing. I pressed my lips together, various scenarios running through my brain, as I tried to grasp for an answer as to his whereabouts. Had something happened to him? Was he in danger? Where did he go? Was he coming back? Or… something terrible surfaced in my mind.
He was a runaway, and now he was missing, did that mean that whoever or whatever he was running from finally caught up to him? I shuddered to think what would happen if they did, what they would do to him, and how he would take it. I hoped that wasn't the case, and that he had simply gone out on his own accord. That was way better than thinking that he had been taken away by force.
I walked into the living room in a daze and sat down on the couch, staring blankly at the wall. I leaned back, sinking into the seat, trying to find ways to fix this problem or at least contact him, but we hadn't exchanged numbers, and neither did he have a cell-phone. My mind raced with thoughts of Sam, and my heart ached with unexplainable worry.
I went to the kitchen to look for something to cook, deciding to do something productive as I swam in the ocean of my thoughts instead of wasting time and mulling things over while staring numbly at the blank wall.
Should I call the cops? But what if the cops were the ones he was running from? Oh god! What did I do? Who do I call?
But just as these thoughts engulfed my mind, driving me half crazy with worry…a knock sounded on my door, breaking me out of my train of thoughts.
I opened the door instantly, in hopes of finding Sam, but instead…I came face to face with Ezra.
“Sheriff?” I blinked up at him in puzzlement. “Is everything alright?”
He was standing on the porch with his hands in his pockets, looking as dashingly breathtaking as ever. But somehow, him being here made me worry more. Was he here to tell me some kind of bad news about Sam?
"Hey, Zoya," Ezra said with a polite smile. He didn’t have his hostile aura about him anymore and seemed like he was genuinely okay to be here. Nothing about his body language yet indicated that he had bad news, so I guess I could relax for the time being. "Mind if I…come in?"
I hesitated for a moment, still unsure if I should let him in. After Sam's unexpected stunt with me, I did not think I would ever want a stranger to come in my house again, even just for the sake of courtesy. But he seemed harmless enough, and after yesterday, I had grown significantly comfortable with his presence, plus it seemed like he had something else to tell me, so I guessed it should be fine to let him in.
"Sure, come on in," I said, moving aside to open the door wider and leading him into the living room. I gestured to the couch. “Make yourself at home.” I went to the kitchen to resume my perusal of the cupboards in search of something to cook and eat. “I was just thinking of cooking breakfast. Is there anything you want to eat? Any allergies, preferences? Though, I have to warn you, the available selection isn't very diverse.”
Ezra looked around the room suspiciously, his brow furrowed in confusion. His nose was upturned in a somewhat familiar way, though I could not figure out what made the action, the stance, so familiar. He seemed to have noticed something odd, eyes wandering around. He looked like he was searching for something, and he was using his nose to do it… like he was sniffing around, literally.
“Is there anything wrong?” I asked, suddenly realizing with an electrifying jolt what made the act so familiar. It reminded me of Sam, when he did the same thing to me. It struck me just now, how similar Ezra and Sam actually were.
“Nothing,” he said, a little too quickly. But his stance didn’t change as he looked around the room curiously. He seemed to be thinking something, but he wasn’t telling me what it was. “Nice house.” He finally muttered, but I was pretty sure that was just something to divulge my curiosity.
“Thank you,” I said with a shrug. “So, breakfast? Any preference?”
"I was actually on my way to the hospital," Ezra said suddenly, finally looking over at me. "That man we rescued…I got a call from the hospital this morning, and they were asking for the doctor that treated him. I don’t know much about all the medical terms that they kept hauling at me, so I just told them that I could take you there and you could sort out whatever questions they have."
They asked for me? Without hesitation, I nodded my head. “I'll go with you, no problem,” I said. “I just need to shower and get dressed.”
No matter the personal problem I was dealing with, the patient always came first.
“Great,” he said with a smile, gesturing for me to go ahead and get ready while he sat down on the couch. “I'll be waiting here.”
Nodding, I left everything that I was doing and headed straight to my room. When I came out of the bathroom, I found Ezra still looking around the room, his eyes darted from object to object, as if searching for something.
“Is there something you’re looking for?" I asked, unable to hide my suspicion. “Can I help?”
Ezra jumped, surprised by my sudden appearance. "Nothing, just admiring your decorations," he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
I didn't believe him. There was something about his behavior that made me suspicious. But I pushed those thoughts aside and got ready to leave with him.
As we walked out of the house, I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. And as we drove away, I had no idea that a pair of eyes had been watching us from the woods behind the cabin all this time…watching over me and seeing me leave with someone else.