Free Not Just Friends (Brookfield) by Lacey Wolfe

having.
Nothing.
    She
was being silly. That’s all there was to it. Alyssa began putting the food away
but couldn’t shake that something wasn’t right. If it wasn’t here at her home,
perhaps it was the bookstore.
    Alyssa
unlocked the door that led to The Reading Corner and went down the steps to the
store. She entered the darkened shop and her gut feeling went on high alert.
She checked the front to see if she’d been robbed, but everything looked fine.
    The
aisles were clear, but then she noticed it. In the back corner…the kid corner
where bean bags and comfy chairs were located, she saw a man. He was lying down
and she swore he was snoring. She didn’t want to get close enough to see who it
was. So instead, she tiptoed back up to her apartment and called Cody.
    Ten
minutes later several cop cars arrived. She went down the steps of the fire
escape and met her brother outside.
    “Is
the man still in there?” Cody asked.
    “I
think so. I stayed in my apartment and kept the door dead bolted.”
    “Smart.”
He looked back at another officer and then asked Alyssa, “Got the key?”
    She
unlocked the door. The officers, guns in hand, entered her store. She stayed
outside and watched as they surrounded whoever the man was. Cody was the first
to put his gun in his holster and gestured at the other men to do the same.
    Alyssa
stepped through the door to get a good look as Cody helped the man up.
    Matt?
    What
in the world was Matt doing sleeping in her store? Alyssa approached the officers.
    “What’s
going on?” she demanded.
    “Alyssa,
you need to step back. You’re interfering,” Cody warned.
    “Interfering?
This is my store!”
    “Please.”
    Alyssa
crossed her arms and stepped back.
    Cody
returned to questioning Matt. “You are aware this is breaking and entering,
correct?”
    “I
didn’t think Alyssa would mind. I didn’t mean to scare her.” Matt looked at her
with a pleading expression.
    “She
didn’t know you were here. Did you not think to tell her?”
    “If
I asked, she would’ve said no. So I kinda went around that step.”
    Alyssa
rolled her eyes.
    Cody
stepped back and told one of the other officers to continue the questioning. He
came over to Alyssa. “Do you want to press charges?”
    She
shrugged.
    “It’s
up to you ultimately. He did break into your store. However, he didn’t steal
anything. I don’t think he had anywhere to stay. This is a family matter,
really.”
    “Then
call Diane and tell her to come down here and bail him out of jail.”
    Cody
groaned. “Do you really want to get him arrested? Just this morning you wanted
to help Diane. How is this going to do that?”
    “I
don’t know.” Her arms fell to her sides. “Just get him out of here. No
charges.”
    Cody
nodded and went back to Matt. Alyssa rubbed her arms and walked out front. She
needed some air. This whole situation was just weird. She didn’t quite
understand what was going on. Someone wasn’t telling the truth somewhere. All
she knew was that she needed answers in order to get back to her life.
    Her
cell phone vibrated in her back pocket. She removed it and saw it was Connor.
“Hey.”
    “How
is your day going?” he asked in a cheerful tone.
    “Horrible.”
    “Why?”
    “You
really want to know?” Heck she didn’t want to know.
    “Of
course.”
    “I
was having a normal day, errands and such. But when I got home, something felt
off. I can’t explain it. After searching my apartment, I didn’t find anything.
So I decided to come down to the shop. I found a man sleeping in here. I called
the cops and it turns out it was Matt.”
    “What?
How did he get in and why?”
    “I
still don’t know this. Cody and I are going to sit down with him and see what’s
going on.”
    “Need
me to come down there?”
    She
grinned. “That’s very sweet of you, but I think we’ve got it under control.”
    “I’m
glad to hear that you’re okay. It could’ve been much worse.”
    “Let’s
not think