The Letter I Refused to Accept Chapter 06

The Letter I Refused to Accept Chapter 06

He didn’t waste a second. He ran straight to her house. He wanted to hear her say what she meant with his own ears, and he wanted to explain the misunderstanding once and for all.

But he’d barely stepped into her building when he froze.

Two police officers were standing in the hallway, and one of them was knocking on Sienna’s

door.

Cole’s feet carried him over before he could stop them. Countless terrible thoughts came crowding into his head, and he couldn’t push them back down.

“What’s going on? What happened here?”

One of the officers glanced back at him. “Nothing serious. It’s a follow–up visit. We caught the mugger, and we’re here to take her down to the station to identify him.”

“We can’t get through on her phone. Do you know her, by any chance? Can you reach her?”

Cole’s mind went blank with a roar. He couldn’t hear anything else they said. All he could think about was that one word. Mugger.

He blurted out, panicked, “What mugger? What does she have to do with it?”

The officer gave him a suspicious look. “If you’re her friend, didn’t she tell you? Last night she ran into a mugger near the Cross Street Bridge, and she almost got hurt.”

Something exploded inside him.

A mugger. Last night, Sienna had called him. She’d said someone was following her and asked

him to come get her.

And what had he done? He’d decided it was some excuse she’d made up to apologize. He hadn’t even stopped to wonder whether she was really in danger.

Instead, because Chelsea was scared of the dark during a power outage, he’d hung up on her

He didn’t dare imagine how hopeless Sienna must have felt.

In the end, he went to the station with the police, and he finally saw what had really happened the night before.

In the security footage, Sienna’s face was pale. She’d already sensed someone behind her.

He watched Sienna dial his number with shaking hands, and less than a minute later, he

watched her stare at the screen in despair.

It felt like someone had carved a piece out of his chest. He couldn’t even bring himself to look

at her face anymore.

Then the mugger pressed the tip of the knife into Sienna’s back, and blood started seeping

through her thin shirt.

Cole buried his head on the table completely. He couldn’t bear to hear any more, and he couldn’t bear to watch. All he could do was clench his fists and pound them against his own

head.

Why couldn’t he have trusted her a little more? Why had he heard that something was wrong in her voice and done nothing?

He went back to Sienna’s front door again. This time, he didn’t even have the nerve to knock.

He finally worked up the courage and raised his hand to knock, but the door across the hall opened first. The neighbor lady recognized him.

“Oh, Cole, honey, are you here to see Sienna? Bad timing, I’m afraid. Around noon today, I saw somebody pick her and her grandma up in a car. I don’t think anybody’s home right now.‘”

Cole froze.

Somebody had picked them up. Sienna’s only family was the grandmother who’d raised her. Who else did she know? Where had they gone?

The thought drained the last bit of color from his face.

He took the spare key out of his pocket. Sienna had given it to him a long time ago and told

him he was welcome to come over anytime.

He hadn’t planned to use it. He’d wanted to wait for her to open the door herself, so he could use that moment to explain everything. But he couldn’t worry about that now.

The lock turned halfway, and the door swung open.

But there was no familiar voice to greet him, and no smiling face. All that waited for him was gloomy darkness and a chill that sank into his bones.

Cole stood frozen for a full minute before he could make himself walk in.

He’d been there so many times. When he saw that everything he knew was still in its place, he calmed down a little. It meant they’d only stepped out for a while, and they’d be back.

But then his eyes landed on the unopened tube of burn cream in the trash can, and a sharp pain shot through his chest.

That day, he had noticed her burn. But he’d been angry that Sienna didn’t seem to care about

their promise. So he’d let himself take Chelsea’s side.

Even so, he couldn’t stop worrying about her arm. As soon as he and Chelsea left the restaurant, he’d gone and bought burn cream nearby.

But he’d hesitated outside the restaurant for a long time and never went in. In the end, he’d

given it to Sienna’s grandmother to pass along.

He picked up the burn cream and squeezed it tight in his hand.

It was his fault. He’d been too stubborn and too proud, and he’d pushed her away again and

again. But there wouldn’t be a next time.

He’d explain everything to Sienna, and they’d go public and be together, the way they’d

promised.

He sat on the living room couch, his eyes fixed on the door. But he waited until the sun went down, and the door never moved.