Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Alice
Once I was out of the hospital, I could breathe and think clearly. Well…sort of. My body held a whole host of aches, my head was throbbing, and I was more exhausted than I’d ever been in my life.
All those things were distracting. What was consuming me was being in Caleb’s house.
The moment he’d carried me over the threshold and settled me on his couch, I’d felt like I’d been wrapped in one of his worn-in flannels.
Rugged wood floors stretched under my feet, scuffed and sun-kissed in the paths he and Jesse had been making for years.
The couch was a simple corduroy in mushroom brown and smelled faintly of leather, grass, and him.
Tucked in the corners were a couple mismatched throw pillows, dented in the middle from the two heads that must have regularly lain on them.
Everything else was neat and tidy, like he didn’t own anything he didn’t need.
Caleb was written into every surface and quiet corner. Practical. Steady. Rough around the edges but deeply comforting. A sweet place for a father and son to live their lovely, beautiful lives.
In the back of my mind, I wondered if I was concentrating on Caleb’s decorating style so I didn’t have to think about what had happened to me. An act of avoidance if I’d ever heard one.
Caleb brought me a glass of water then paced the length of the living room while I sipped it. It seemed like I should have been saying something.
“You were right.”
He stopped in his tracks, his head swiveling in my direction. “I was right?”
“Yes.” I put my empty glass down on the coffee table, wincing from the stretch. “You were right about dating apps.”
His brow dropped low, a storm gathering behind his gaze. “You think I wanted to be right? Christ, Alice. I would have been glad to have been proven wrong.”
He lowered himself to the couch, keeping a full cushion between us. I tipped my head back, studying him in the light of his home. Something I never imagined I’d get to see.
Oh, yes. I was definitely not focusing on the right things. But the way the sunlight streaming through the picture window glinted off Caleb’s beard, turning the rough, tawny hairs into threads of gold, was so much more pleasant.
“That was a stupid thing to say.” I rubbed my sweaty palms along my legs. I’d been given scrubs because the police had taken my clothes to test for—
Oh god.
I brought my trembling hand to my mouth. “This could have been so much worse,” I rasped.
My memory was patchy, but I was certain James hadn’t gotten me out of that parking lot. Someone had come in time. Someone had stopped him from doing what he’d intended. He’d hurt me, but not as badly as he could have—as he wanted to.
“There’s not a single thing stupid about you,” Caleb said. “Nothing about this is your fault.”
I shook my head. “You don’t know what happened.”
“Don’t have to, Allie. I know you didn’t ask to be hurt. I know you were careful and smart. That’s who you are.”
“I don’t feel very smart right now.” I blew out a long breath, moving the topic away from last night. “I think I should explain my behavior at the hospital.”
“You don’t need to explain anything. I saw how scared you were, and I see you’re better now.” He leaned toward me, his brow rising. “Aren’t you?”
“Yes.” I gave him a wobbly smile. “So much better. Your house is so cozy. You didn’t have to bring me here, but…thank you. I like being here.”
His shoulders relaxed, just barely. “Good. Jesse is with his mother this week, so I want you to stay here. Let me see to you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know. I want to. Your doctor said you’d need a friend, and I’m going to be that.”
“Okay. I don’t really have the energy to fight you on it.” I tucked my feet up under me, feeling the pull of my sore muscles, and rested my cheek against the back of the couch. “I don’t like hospitals.”
Caleb frowned, a little crease forming between his brows. “I saw that.”
My fingers worried the edge of a throw pillow seam. “I spent a lot of time in hospitals when I was younger. More than anyone ever should. I can’t stand to be in them now. Even the smell makes me feel like I can’t breathe.”
I felt his gaze on me, like a hand pressed between my shoulder blades. I didn’t look up, just kept tracing the frayed threads.
There was a long pause. I could tell he wanted to ask. What happened to you? Why so many hospitals? But he didn’t. Caleb was many things—blunt, gruff, a little intimidating—but he wasn’t intrusive. He only reached for what I was ready to give.
“Then I’m glad I could get you out of there. Hope you can breathe better here.”
A thick knot formed in my throat, and I swallowed against it. “Thank you,” I whispered. “I can breathe perfectly.”
Before he could reply, a firm knock rattled the front door. Caleb’s head snapped up, his body tensing. He rose in one fluid, powerful motion, and for a moment, stood there, shoulders squared, jaw ticcing, as if ready to throw himself between me and whoever was on the other side.
Then he exhaled and walked to the door.
When he opened it, two uniformed officers stood on the porch—a man and a woman.
“Good morning, Caleb,” the man greeted. “Sorry to be out here on official business. We’re here to speak with Ms. Clark about last night. Her doctor said she’s here.”
Caleb glanced at me, his eyes dark with worry and something fiercer I couldn’t name. I nodded, telling him without words I was ready.
“Come in,” he said quietly, stepping aside.
I pulled my knees tighter to my chest as the officers approached, bracing myself for what came next.
Caleb stayed the entire time. He sat beside me while the officers questioned me and I told them every detail I remembered.
I winced when I recounted drinking my Coke after I returned from the restroom.
They all tried to convince me I wasn’t stupid, but I didn’t agree.
I went to college. I knew better than to leave my drink unattended.
That kind of thing was drilled into girls’ heads from an early age.
Yet…
My desire not to make a scene had overridden my common sense.
There was no way I would forgive myself for making that decision. No one could ever get me to believe anything different.
Once I’d given the officers every detail I could remember, they filled in the blanks.
The bartender had noticed something off when James had walked me out. She’d grabbed a couple regulars and followed us into the parking lot. When they got there, I was unconscious and bleeding, and James was half dragging me toward his truck.
They saved me.
If they’d been even a minute later...but they hadn’t. Whether it was luck, the universe, or something more divine, they’d come in time. They’d stopped him.
And now, I was here. Alive. Safe. He had taken something from me, but not anything I couldn’t get back with time.
James had been arrested on the spot. The tests confirmed what everyone had suspected—I’d been drugged. The officers couldn’t promise anything, but they said it looked like an open-and-shut case.
When they left, I was so tired I could barely see straight. More than that, I needed to be alone. I couldn’t bear to even look at Caleb, and he wouldn’t turn away from me.
“I’d like to take a nap,” I whispered.
He was so tuned in, he had no trouble hearing me. “Of course. I’ll show you the guest room.” He took my hand in his and pulled me up from the couch. “I’ve got you. Come on.”
Any second, he would let go. There was no need for him to hold my hand all the way down the hall. I wouldn’t get lost. Not when I was following him.
But he didn’t. He cradled my hand in his until we reached the guest room, and at the door, he gave it a squeeze.
“If you’d let me give you flowers, they’d be a so-damn-sorry-this-happened-to-you bouquet,” he said.
I sighed so heavily my shoulders rolled, and my chest felt hollow. “That would be a terrible first bouquet. I’m glad you’re not giving them to me.”
“Yeah.” He ducked his head, scuffing his socked foot on the floor. “I hate everything those cops just told us. But I almost wish they hadn’t caught him so I could take care of him myself.”
“Then you’d be in jail.” I laughed dryly. “I’m okay, Caleb. I feel like the dumbest person on the planet, but I’ll survive.”
“Allie,” he breathed, cupping the side of my face. “You’re not dumb. Nothing that man did was on you. You are right about one thing, though. You’ll survive out here in the light, and he’s gonna rot, locked away in the dark.”
My nose tingled, and a huge lump formed in my throat. All I could do was nod.
He dipped down, pressing a quick kiss to the top of my head. “Sleep well. I won’t go far. All you have to do is call for me, and I’ll be here.”
I didn’t know why he was doing any of this for me, but I wasn’t questioning it.
Not now. Wordlessly, I stepped into the guest room.
It smelled faintly of cedar and laundry soap.
The quilt was plain but fluffy. Sunlight slipped in between the curtains in hazy golden bars across the bed.
I sat down on the side and waited until his footsteps faded down the hall.
Then, safe and warm in Caleb Kelly’s house, I pulled the covers over my shoulders and fell asleep.