13. Bridget
13
brIDGET
T hunder rumbled in the distance. I shut my eyes and let out a long breath, trying to stave off another panic attack.
I’d already had two today.
Chase came home right before the storm kicked up. Since then, I’d fought the urge to text him and ask if he’d send Luna over.
God, I was such an asshole.
He had put himself out there for me, time and time again. I had done nothing but hurt him. I wanted Chase more than I’d ever wanted anyone, but every time I was near him, I hurt him again. The more I tried to avoid hurting people, the more I did.
Lightning struck, blasting a bright flash through the windows. I couldn’t hear anything over the pounding rain on the roof.
I dog-eared the book I was reading and adjusted my position in the wingback chair. Hannah Jane had picked it out for the sitting area. It was cute, but uncomfortable as hell. Maybe I’d just go read in bed .
Another crack of thunder cemented me to the chair. Breathe, Bee. Breathe. I let out a shaky exhale and closed my eyes.
I’m safe. Kristin is safe. Melissa is safe. I’m alone. I have a new phone. Chase is in the house. Hannah Jane and Isaac are two doors down. He can’t hurt me .
The reassurances I forced through my mind did little to calm my racing heart. A cold sweat broke out on my neck.
I eyed the bed. It was a mere ten feet away, but I couldn’t move. Couldn’t get out of the chair. Fear was paralyzing.
I shivered and tried to pull my cotton shorts further down my thighs.
Earlier, I’d been going through some things that had been chaotically packed by the boys. I’d gotten a little overheated, so I changed into a pair of booty shorts that had seen better years, and a threadbare tank top. They were well past their prime, but I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away because they were so damn comfy.
But now, I was freezing.
Another flash of lightning illuminated the window over the kitchen sink. There was a hard thump against the side of the cottage. Was Luna outside? She hated the rain. I couldn’t imagine Chase letting her out in this mess.
Another roll of thunder shook the cottage, but I could still hear a faint scraping sound against the side by the kitchenette.
“Luna?” I croaked.
The rain picked up and crescendoed into a drumroll.
I can do this, I told myself. I’ll just go over to the window and see if Luna is out there.
I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled.
I’m safe. Kristin is safe. Melissa is safe. I’m alone. I have a new phone. Chase is in the house. Hannah Jane and Isaac are two doors down. He can’t hurt me.
My feet hit the cool wood floor, and I cursed the fact that I hadn’t been able to find my slippers yet.
One foot in front of the other.
Instead of walking calmly like a normal person, I leaped to the kitchen like I was playing a game of the floor is lava. I gripped the counter’s edge and closed my eyes, releasing the air in my lungs and trying to control my pulse.
Years of living with a ticking time bomb heightened my sense of danger. Whenever Kyle was about to flip like a switch, I’d get this itch on the back of my head like a warning. And right now, it was going off like a fire alarm.
Make yourself a small target. Walk slowly and silently. Don’t make a sound. Be calm. Don’t cry.
I opened my eyes and peered out the window.
I couldn’t see anything beyond the torrential downpour on the other side of the window. The rain dimmed the light from Chase’s porch to a gentle glow.
I looked over my shoulder and saw my phone sitting on the end table by the chair. Thunder boomed overhead. The rumble shook the cottage, sending sharp vibrations through my bones. A surge of adrenaline and anxiety had me grappling at the countertop for support.
Another flash of lightning blinded me, and my blood ran cold. A silhouette stood a few feet away in the yard. Fists clenched, shoulders wide.
Piercing blue eyes stared straight at me.
I hit the ground, cowering in the corner of the L-shaped countertop with my knees to my chest. Blood roared in my ears, and I could feel every nerve ending in my body ready to fire.
I was hallucinating. Had to be hallucinating. Needed to calm down.
With miraculous strength, I peeled my eyes open. The cottage was dark again. A steady rain was the only sound .
I’m safe. Kristin is safe. Melissa is safe. I’m alone. I have a new phone. Chase is in the house. Hannah Jane and Isaac are two doors down. He can’t hurt me.
Another flare of lightning lit up the window by the bed. The silhouette appeared behind the drawn curtains, hands pressing against the glass.
Kyle wasn’t running . He was here.
Chase.
Had to get to Chase.
I wanted him, but now I needed him. Though my mind was fearful, my heart knew who I could trust.
Pulse racing, I flipped the deadbolt, flung open the door, and ran. My bare feet squished through the soaked grass with every step, flinging droplets of mud onto my bare legs.
I tried to shout for Chase, but my vocal cords were paralyzed. All that came out was a desperate wheeze. I was halfway through the yard when I finally made a sound.
“Chase!” It came out as a garbled mess of a shout.
All the lights in the house were off except for the porch. He was probably asleep.
I didn’t dare turn around or look over my shoulder. If I saw Kyle, I knew I would freeze in my tracks.
I kept my eyes on the porch light as I screamed again. “ Chase !”
I almost let out a sigh of relief when I saw a light turn on inside.
“ Chase !” I shrieked as I scrambled up the porch steps. I swore I heard the footsteps behind me drawing closer.
Mud coated the bottom of my feet. I slipped on the second step, sending my knee into the lip of the wood planks. Pain lanced through my leg, but the adrenaline pumping through me pushed me on. I tried the doorknob, but it was locked.
“Chase!” I screamed, pounding on the door like I was trying to break it down. “Chase! Please, please!” Tears were streaming down my face, blurring my vision.
The door flew open, and Chase pulled me inside, wrapping me in his arms.
I probably looked hysterical. I was half dressed, soaked to the bone, covered in mud and grass clippings, and had blood trickling from my knee.
“Darlin’, what the hell?—”
“He—he’s out there!” I shrieked. “Chase—he—he’s out there!”
Chase’s body went rigid.
Before I could make sense of what was happening, Chase was carrying me up the stairs, taking two at a time. “Stay in here, lock the door,” he ordered as he lowered me onto a bed and moved to the nightstand. He opened the drawer and pulled out a flashlight and a gun.
“You hear me?” he snapped. “Lock the door behind me. Don’t come out.”
Luna ran into the room, jumped up on the bed, and dropped her head into my lap.
“Good girl, Lu,” Chase clipped as he racked the gun, loaded a round into the chamber, and flipped the safety off. “Stay.”
As soon as I got up, turned the lock, and heard the resounding schnick, I crumbled onto the ground. My chest heaved with deep sobs. The crash from life-or-death adrenaline was almost as bad as the fear itself. I had experienced that rollercoaster far too many times.
Luna trotted over and curled up beside me, nuzzling her head under my cheek. I wasn’t sure if minutes or hours had passed, but I heard the gentle, unhurried footfalls of someone walking up the steps.
“Bridget,” Chase said as he tapped his knuckles against the door. “It’s just me. You can open up. ”
I scrambled to my feet and wiped my eyes before unlocking the door.
Chase opened the door slowly. His t-shirt and sweatpants were soaked, but he looked otherwise unharmed. He flipped the safety on the side of his gun back on and put it back into the nightstand.
“Come here, darlin’,” he said, opening his arms.
I collapsed into his embrace, fisting his damp t-shirt and pulling him closer. Chase held me as I cried.
I stood in his arms as the rain poured and thunder rolled. But with him, I wasn’t afraid.
He stroked my cheek with a feather-light touch, brushing wet strands of hair out of my face. “Can you tell me what you saw?”
“He was there,” I croaked out. “I thought Luna was outside. And I looked out the kitchen window and s-saw him. I know it was him.”
“Did you see anything else?”
“The window by the bed,” I whimpered. “There was lightning, and I saw him against that one, too.”
“Okay,” he said gently, tightening his arms around my body.
Being sandwiched between his bulging biceps felt like the safest place on earth.
“I searched the yard, checked the tool shed and the cottage, and cleared the house. I didn’t see anything unusual. The only footsteps I found in the yard were yours. There were some downed branches around the cottage. It’s possible that they were hanging in front of the windows and looked like a person.”
“I know what I saw,” I snapped, shoving away from him. “I’m not crazy.”
Chase pulled me back. He wasn’t gentle this time. Didn’t treat me like I couldn’t handle it. “I know you’re not, Bee. But you’ve been through a lot of stress. And since we don’t know where he is, you’re smart to be on the lookout. Okay?” He tucked strands of hair behind my ears and cupped my cheeks. His brown eyes were warm and reassuring. “I called Steve, and I called the station. They’re gonna have patrols out doing drive-bys.”
The gentle pressure of his hand rubbing my back nearly lulled me into a trance.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I shook my head, blinking back tears. “No.” It was barely a whisper. But, for once, I felt brave enough to tell him the truth.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he cradled me against his chest.
“Can I stay here tonight?” I whimpered.
“Always.” He kissed my forehead. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Chase had me sit on the edge of the bathtub while he dabbed my knee with antiseptic. A first aid kit was cracked open beside him.
“Doesn’t look too bad,” he mused as he peeled a large Band-Aid open.
I was perfectly capable of handling the injury myself, but I relished the feel of his hand on my body. The kindness in the act. The humility.
One hand caressed the back of my calf while the other smoothed down the bandage. His eyes flicked up to mine. The tiniest smirk tugged at his mouth as he leaned down and kissed my knee.
My heart warmed and fluttered at the simple gesture. Chase stood up and helped me to my feet. His fingers trailed along the hem of my tank top. It was a good thing I had the sense to keep a bra on, or he would have seen my nipples trying to drill their way through the fabric.
He started inching the shirt up, and my jaw dropped.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I gasped .
Chase chuckled. “You’re filthy, and you’re in my house. I’m a bachelor, not a slob. You need to shower.”
“I can undress myself, thank you very much.” Although, I was becoming less and less opposed to him undressing me.
“You’re still hurt,” he said as he stripped me out of my tank top. “Don’t be shy around me. I’ve seen you in a bikini before.”
I looked down. Thank God, no nip slips.
Chase leaned in. His mouth grazed the shell of my ear as he whispered, “I’m well versed in hiding hard-ons around you.”
I couldn’t help myself. I looked down and saw his thick bulge outlined in the front of his gray sweatpants. My thighs clenched of their own volition. Damn my hormones and lack of orgasms. I wanted to lick him like a popsicle.
When I looked back up, he was grinning. “But I’m not hiding it in my own fucking house,” he said as he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of my shorts and pushed them down. “Think you can deal with that?”
I nodded and stepped out of my shorts.
“Good,” he said as he leaned in, resting his forehead on mine. Chase trailed his finger along my hip, tracing the edge of my panties. “Need help with these?”
Yes, yes, yes! My hormones cheered. He’d find the growing wetness soaking the gusset if he got any closer.
And it would feel so fucking good.
“No.”
Chase wasn’t fazed. He trailed his finger up the side of my body. Shivers flooded my skin as he lingered at the dip in my waist. “I’ll be downstairs when you’re done.”
He stepped back and gave me an obvious assessment, ending with a lingering look of approval on my breasts. Pinpricks of heat skittered across my skin. Under his gaze, I didn’t cower. I held my chin high and basked in his appreciation .
He bit down on his lip and fought a grin. The grin won as that jackass shook his head and backed out of the bathroom.
I made quick work of the shower and spent the rest of the time sniffing Chase’s body wash like a proper psychopath.
He had a stack of clean towels neatly folded in a narrow linen closet beside the shower. I stole two, wrapping my hair in one and using the other to dry off.
When I turned, I caught a glimpse of my body in the mirror. Most of the bruises had faded. The few that were lingering were a dingy yellow-green. They’d be gone soon, too. The contusions on my face were only mildly discolored now.
I fought the urge to go back to the cottage for concealer and powder.
“Chase already saw you looking like a human punching bag,” I muttered to myself.
I could walk downstairs without a stitch of makeup on.
My bra and panties were the only things still on the floor. I had been so dazed by his lustful gaze that I hadn’t even noticed that he’d stolen my clothes.
Damn him.
I had half a mind to stomp down the stairs in nothing but a towel just to spite him.
A better plan formed in my mind.
I poked my head out of the bathroom door and tiptoed into Chase’s room. He had set out a t-shirt and a pair of sweats on the edge of the bed. I passed them up and went to his closet.
Button-up shirts in every color imaginable hung in rows. I plucked a light blue one off a hanger and slid it on my arms. I practically salivated over Chase whenever I saw him in it.
It was his lucky shirt.
I ragged on him for being superstitious, but he claimed that the verdict always went his way whenever he wore that shirt to testify in court.
I chewed on my lip as I fastened the button that hung just below my breasts. Begrudgingly, I slipped my panties back on. They weren’t sexy, but at least they weren’t day three of shark week panties.
I tossed the towels in the hamper and sifted my fingers through my hair, tossing it to the side. It wasn’t much better, but it did take me from drowned golden retriever to girl next door .
The staircase loomed before me as I stood frozen on the top step. I could hear the ambient sound of something on the television downstairs. But every time I blinked, I felt myself taking that first step that would never land. I felt the vile replay of being pushed. Of falling.
The doctor at the hospital had called it a certain-death experience.
I remembered falling and knowing that nothing was below me but a hard, unforgiving floor.
I remembered the moment I knew I would hit the ground and would not wake up.
But I did.
So, I took the first step.