CHAPTER 2HUGH
CHAPTER 2
HUGH
When I said Denise was mine, I meant it. As I laid there watching her, I wondered what I was going to do with her. It was the second night that we’d laid together like this. She’d hesitate in the hallway and move towards the guest room. And I’d let her. I knew she needed time and I was trying not to rush her. But I was struggling. Laying on top of the blankets with her beside me, I felt the distance between us. She was here, but she wasn’t here .
She was acting a little more like herself today, but it had taken a while to get here.
That night we’d found the video, she’d frozen up. Without even talking about it, she became laser-focused on Foxx. Any time I brought up the video, she changed the subject back to work. There was always something to do before she could leave, another thing to research or memorize, and we’d be too exhausted to talk when we got home.
It was clear that she was distracted, but she was adamant that she didn’t need time off. In fact, there wasn’t a day that we left before nine at night. We knew what she was doing, but she couldn’t be reasoned with. I didn’t know much because she wasn’t talking to me or anyone. She hadn’t talked much since that night.
We went from work to the condo and back. She hadn’t even picked up her phone before today, which put me on Cleo duty. I was giving Cleo daily updates on how she was doing, but it was the same every day: work, home, repeat.
Our weekends were spent cuddled up, bingeing this fantasy show she was obsessed with. It was a little too over the top, but watching it was worth it. She’d pointed out stuff that was important to know for later, or some reference to another book or show. It was a distraction—a good one.
But I was worried. She needed something that wasn’t in my power to give, and it ate at me. Any time that wasn’t spent with her was channeling that anger and frustration at the gym, but it was only taking the edge off. I was doing all that I could for her but it wasn’t enough. And more was coming. It was the calm before the storm. Something was coming, and I was going to do everything that I could to ensure that both Denise and Cleo were safe from it. But, Denise needed to be ready for it.
Right now, she was hiding, cocooned because she felt safe. I knew if she didn’t start to process everything happening around her, it was going to drown her. I was doing what I could, but that wasn’t enough. I grabbed my cell, trying not to wake Denny. She didn’t need to talk to me, but she needed to talk to someone, and I had an idea of what she could do, I needed to set a few things up in the morning.