An Unexpected Love

Chapter 20: A Phone Call and Cooties

Ty and I are sitting on the love-seat, Mom and George are on the couch, and Matt is standing behind them. They are all staring at me, waiting for me to explain what is going on. I glance at Ty and he nods, encouraging me to start explaining.

"So um, I found this shoebox on the plane and we aren't sure what to do with it," I start. Mom, George, and Matt stare at me like I'm crazy.

"Um, just throw it away. It's just a shoebox. It's not like it's worth anything," Matt says. Ty laughs beside me and I shake my head in disagreement. I grab the shoebox from between Ty and I and hand it to Matt. Matt slowly takes off the lid. When he peers inside he gasps.

"Matt? What is it, honey?" Mom asks. He hands her the box and she and George peer inside together. They both gasp and their mouths drop open like Matt's had.

"Not exactly worthless," Ty says. I slap him on the arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't be a smart alec." He shurgs and we stare at my family, waiting for them to say something.

"I think we should take this to the station tomorrow. We'll see if someone has filed a report for any lost money. Also, I'll have it tested for fingerprints but I'll need all of us to to give me a fingerprint so ours don't get mixed up with the owners," George says. We all nod and he grabs a notepad off the coffee table and writes each of our names on a seprate page. "Matt? Can you grab the ink pad out of my work bag?"

Matt grabs it and hands it George. He takes each of our finger prints and then puts them and the ink pad back in his bag. Mom hands the shoebox to him and he puts that next to his bag. "I can't wait to have that thing gone," I whisper to Ty. He nods and hugs me quickly.

Mom yawns loudly. "Wow! What a day! I'm sure you kids are even more exhausted than I am." She stands up and kisses Ty and I each on the forehead. "Hope your arm feels better, honey. Oh and Ty, you are welcome to stay the night."

"Thanks," he says. I hug my mom and we say good night to George and they go back to their bedroom to go to bed.

"Good night guys," Matt says as he walks back to his room.

"Night!" Ty and I call out together. Once we are alone I stand up sit on Ty's lap so I am facing him. He kisses me once lightly.

"Well, I think that went pretty well," I whisper. He nods. "I can't wait until this whole thing is over and everything can go back to normal."

"I know, babe. Don't worry though. George will figure everything out," Ty soothes. I nod and lean against him.

My phone starts beeping me pocket. I pull it out and see that it is almost dead. I stand up and Ty follows me back to my room to charge it. I plug in phone and search my pocket for my wallet. "Ty! My wallet is gone!"

"Okay. Um, are you sure that it isn't in your suitcase?"

"Yeah, I made it sure it was in my pocket when I got off the plane!" I exclaim.

"Okay. What all was in it?"

"Just a few dollars and my driver's license."

"Okay. Well, we'll call the airport tomorrow and see if anyone turned it in. Don't worry, we'll get it back. But, I need to call my dad and let him know that I'm staying the night," Ty says. He pulls out his phone and they have a short conversation. Once he hangs up, he tells me that he gets to stay. I ask him if he could just call the airport now. He nods and has another short conversation. When he hangs up, I feel hopeful.

"Nobody has turned in any wallets today. Sorry babe. But don't worry. It was just a few bucks and I'll take you to get another driver's license," he explains. I feel my face fall but I nod. "So, how was your trip to Hawaii?" I can tell he is just changing the subject and I'm grateful for it.

"It was great! I had so much fun and it was great seeing Amy and her family again. What about New York?" I respound.

"It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing my cousins again and we did a lot of great stuff. Of course, I would have been in Hawaii with you are just here with you."

"That's sweet, Ty. I would have wanted you with me too."

"I can't tell you how much I missed you, Kaitlin. I know that it was only three weeks and people go much longer apart but that doesn't change anything. Eveery second I was thinking of you and how much I wanted to do this," he says in his sexy voice. I smile, waiting for the familar feeling of his lips against mine. Ty doesn't disappoint me and he presses his lips to mine. I kiss him back happily and he slides his hands down to my waist. I wrap my arms behind his neck as he takes a few steps forward and I land on the bed. He falls on top of me and I enjoy how safe I feel under him. I had forgotten how much I really enjoyed being in his arms.

After several minutes of making out, I put my hands on his chest and push him off of my lightly. He is about to say something but my phone starts ringing across the room. "Just a minute," I mutter. He sighs and I glance at my phone screen to see what the number is. It says unknown. I shrug and flip open my phone.

"Hello?" I giggle. Ty is behind me and kissing my neck and sending shivers down my spine.

"Hi Kaitlin. How are you feeling?" an unfamilar and smug voice asks. I blink in surprise and try to concentrate on the conversation. Ty keeps kissing me and I swat at him.

"Ty, stop it," I scold. "Um, who is this?" I say into the phone.

"You don't need to know my name, but I'm sure you are wondering how I know your name and number. See, I didn't say anything to you or friend after I ran into you but when I walked back to where you had been standing I found your wallet. The picture on you license made me realize that it belonged to you. You always get a good look at a girl when you are on top of them." I cringe at how wrong that sounds. "Anyway, I looked at the return card in the wallet and called the number you had written down. You know the rest." His voice is still smug.

"What do you want? It doesn't sound like you are just calling so you can give me back my wallet," I say coldly.

"You're right. Smart girl. I believe you have something that belongs to me." Panic flashes through my eyes. I don't like where this conversation is going. I feel Ty's nervous eyes on me and I turn around to face him. He looks at me, confused and worried. I stare into his eyes for a second before turning back to face the wall.

"What?" I ask the man in a shaky voice.

"Think back to what you found on the plane. I'm sure you remember." I gasp at his words. I was right! The shoebox does belong to him! "There we go. I knew that you had it."

"Where did you get it?" These are the only words that I can form. Ty has stepped in front of me and is mouthing something. I wave my hand to quiet him.

"That doesn't concern you, girl! All the money better be there or else! Tomorrow I will call back so we can set up a time to meet up so I can get my money and you can have your wallet. When we meet we are going to meet at the beach at the park by your house. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Also, you better not come with anyone besides the friend that was with you today. Do you understand?" he says harshly. I nod, forgetting that he can't see me.

"Yes," I mumble.

"Good. I'll be in contact tomorrow." He and another man laugh and he hangs up. I shut my phone and start gasping for air. The room is spinning and the walls are closing in on me. I feel myself swaying and Ty's arms enclosing around me.

"Kaitlin, calm down." He pushes me back to the bed and sits down next to me. I start hypervenalating and Ty puts his arms on my shoulders. "Breath! Kaitlin! Relax!" I try and take deep, slow breaths. I get my breathing back to normal but start sobbing. Ty wraps his strong arms around and I burry my head in his chest. He rubs his hands up and down my back until I calmed down. "Kaitlin? Babe, what's going on?"

"Ty, I'm scared," I stutter.

"It's okay. You're alright," he soothes. His sweet words send my into tears again. Pain is shooting through my arm from all the moving around but I don't care right now. Ty keeps me pressed against him and lets me cry for another minute. He starts rocking me back and forth. I can feel tension in his strong arms. I know that it is killing him not to know what has me so scared. I look up at his face and our eyes meet. He tilts his head slightly.

"What are we going to do, Ty?" I ask.

"Well, let's start by you telling me who that was and what they said," he suggests. The words come spilling out of my mouth in a rush. I tell him everything that happened during the phone call. "Wow, um okay. You were right."

"Ty! I didn't want to be right!" I sob.

"I know but you are." He stares out my window and I grow impacient. I fake a cough, causing him to look at me. "Um, I guess we better go wake up your mom and George. We need their help." We both glance at my alarm clock and see that it is one in the morning.

"But the guy said that if anyone came with me besides you we would be in trouble," I protest.

"I know but we need to tell them, sweetie." He stands up and pulls me with him. He puts his arm protectively around my shoulders. I knock on Mom's bedroom door and when she doesn't answer I push open the door slowly and quietly. She and George are sleeping heavily and George is snoring loudly. I walk over to my mom's side and shake her gently. She sits up quickly and raises her hand like she is about to hit me. I jump back and Ty pulls me into him. Mom rubs her eyes and stares at me.

"Oh my gosh, Kaitlin! You just scared the-. Umm, never mind. What are you guys doing?" she asked staring at Ty and I. I relax now that she is awake and I unlock Ty's hands from my waist.

"I'm sorry for scarring you Mom, but we really need to talk to you. It's an emergancy. Please wake up George and meet us in the living room,"Ibeg. She stares at us for the minute before nodding. I sigh and Ty puts his arm around me as he leads me back to the living room.

We sink into the loveseat and lay against each other, closing our eyes. I hear bare feet hitting the floor and turn to see three people coming into the room. Mom and George are wrapped up in their robes as the sit next to each other on the couch. I am surprised to see Matt walk in behind them in his boxers. He stands in front of Ty and I and stares at us.

"Thanks for making Mom yell and wake me up," he teases. I mumble a sorry but he ignores me. "Scoot over you two." Ty throws the pillows on the ground and scoots as far to the edge as he can and pulls me as close to him as possible, but there still isn't enough room for Matt.

"Go sit in the recliner," I suggest. "There isn't enough room."

"Really?" He smirks at me and turns around, sticking his butt and boxers in my face. I squeal and block my face. He shakes his butt three times in my face before squeezing himself next to me. He's practically sitting on me. I move even closer to Ty so I'm kinda sitting on him and push Matt over. "See my ass isn't that big."

"Matt! No cussing!" Mom yells. I smirk and laugh at him getting in trouble. He rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out at me. "Stop acting like babies!" Matt and I roll our eyes at the same time.

"Matt, get up now,"I say sternly. He shakes his head and grins. I am about to punch him in the arm when Ty lifts me up slightly and sets me on his lap and wraps his arms around my waist.

"There. Now you guys can stop fighting." Matt jumps up and starts pointing at us.

"PDA! PDA! Kaitlin and Ty are showing PDA!" he teases. "Oh wait! Cooties! Eww, cooties!" He soudns exactly like a little kid when they see their parents kissing or are getting chased by a pesky boy. Mom rolls her eyes and glances at George who is just laughing under his breath.

"Matt, stop yelling and sit in the recliner. Ty and Kaitlin get your hands off of each other or I'm letting Matt sit between you two," Mom orders. Matt sinks into the chair and Ty helps me move next to him. "Kaitlin, you said that this was an emergancy. What's wrong?" she asks in an annoyed but worried voice.

Ty quickly tells them about the scary phone call and my suspitions from earlier and how I was right. Their eyes buldge and they shake their heads at all the right times. I stare at them, waiting for someone to say something.

"Wow. This night just keeps getting better and better," Mom says sarcastically. She shoots us a worried glance. "Are you two alright?" We nod. "Have you guys even slept at all?" She glances back and forth at Ty and I and we shake our heads. She turns to George. "Honey, these two need to get some sleep but what are we going to do?" He thinks this over for a minute in his head.

"Well, we all should go to bed so we can think better in the morning," he replies.

"I'm not letting them go and meet this man alone! He could kill them!" Mom says harshly. He takes her hands in his, trying to reassure her.

"I know, Alison. I'm thinking about having some of the guys go over there with them undercover. After all, it is a park and there are obviously going to be other people there," he assured my mom. When he says "the guys," he means some of the other cops.

"But he said we have to come alone!" I protest, jumping up off of the couch. Ty puts his hand on my arm, trying to get me to calm down. Mom glares at him and he instantly drops his hand.

"I know. You will be. The guys will already be there when you get there," George argues.

"I don't care! This guys scares me! He could kill us!"

"I agree with her. If he finds out that you are there, it will be the end of us and probably some of the cops," Ty says, taking my side of the argument.

"I don't care what you decide as long as everyone comes home safely and in one peice and this guy ends up in jail. Maybe I should go with them,"Matt suggests.

"No! I will not allow that!" Mom yells.

"I know, honey. I'm going to figure out the best way to capture this guy and still keep everyone safe," George responds. I sink back down and lay my head on the back of the couch.

"I'm so scared, Ty." He checks to make sure Mom isn't looking at us before squeezing my knee gently.

"Iknow, babe. But don't worry. I'm going to stay with you and be by your side until everything is alright, no matter what," he whispers in my ear so know one else can hear. I feel like kissing him but I know we'd both be in so much trouble with my mom, so I settle on a smile in his direction.

"Okay, enough for tonight. Let's go to bed and let our brains process this. Ty, we'll call your dad first thing in the morning. No need to worry him so early. You two go straight to bed and get some sleep," George finally says. Everyone nods and he and Mom get up and head to bed, calling goodnight as they close their door. I glance at Matt to see while he is still here. He stands up and walks towards me so he can kiss the top of my head and hug me.

"It's going to be alright, you guys. I love you both and won't let anything happen to you either of you. Now, please try and get some sleep. You both look like you need it," Matt whispers. We nod and say goodnight. He walks back to his room and closes his door behind him quietly.

Now with everyone gone, I curl up in Ty's arms and rest my head on his shoulder. I close my eyes and relax in his protective arms. "I sure hope George knows what he is doing."

"Don't worry, he's good at his job," Ty whispers. I nod and focus on his steady breathing. Ty reaches for a blanket and wraps it around us.