CHAPTER SIXTEEN #2
“Oh Everly, I’m glad you’re here. Does Lincoln know your back?”
I shake my head.
“No, I thought I’d surprise him but I can see he’s occupied.” I nod at the glass doors that the evil woman just left from.
Olivia looks confused then a shocked realization passes over her face.
“No, it’s not what you think. Lincoln’s not even here. He doesn’t handle her or her business anymore.”
“Oh, so he’s not here.” I feel a little bummed but then realize that he might have court right now.
“He’s not here because today he sets aside time for his foundation,” Olivia says in a hushed voice.
“Foundation?” I whisper back like we’re trading secrets.
“Yeah, his foundation ,” she says it again, like I’m supposed to know what this means.
Finally, after giving her the what are you talking about look, she must know that I have no idea what she’s talking about.
“Good God, hold on one second.” Olivia fishes out her phone and tells someone that she’s stepping out for a bit. “Come on, we need to get you over to him. Hopefully, it’ll bring him out of his funk.”
“He’s been in a funk?”
“The worst. Ever since you went back home with your dad, Lincoln has been moping around in the worst mood. A true grizzly bear.”
Olivia takes my good elbow and guides me out of the building and into a waiting car with a driver. Once we’re settled in and she gives the driver the address, silence fills the car.
“How’s the arm healing?” Olivia finally asks.
“Good, everything is on track according to the doctor.”
“That’s good. On the legal side, everything is going as planned for the case against Linley. She’s being kept under lock and key until trial. They are trying to have her evaluated but I’m not going to allow them to use the mentally unstable approach.”
“Thank you for taking my case but you have to know that I can’t pay for your services. I’d be more than happy to work out some payment plan up until now but going forward…”
Over the last few weeks Olivia has called and we discussed filing a civil suit against Linley.
At the time I was all about seeking justice but the more I think about it the more I realize how expensive this could cost. Linley gets paid millions of dollars for her modeling contracts and could possibly make this case take years in the courts.
I realize that this could get very costly and as someone who doesn’t have a ton of money I don’t think I can foot the bill for it.
“I’m doing this pro bono, Everly. I wouldn’t take a single penny from you, even if you tried. This is something that I want to do and plan to see it all the way through. You’ve become a part of our little family and this is what we do for family.” Olivia places a comforting hand on my knee.
“Thank you, Olivia. I seriously wouldn’t even know where to start or how to begin all this court stuff if you hadn’t taken over.”
A short while later, we pull up to an older building that looks to be a warehouse of some sort.
“He really didn’t tell you about this place?”
Shaking my head, I take in the brick exterior as Olivia tells the driver to hang out for a bit.
“It really is his place to tell you but the cat’s out of the bag now, huh.” She shrugs and pockets her phone in her suit jacket.
We start to walk up the few cement steps when she stops me.
“Has Lincoln told you about his childhood?” Olivia asks.
“He’s told me a few things but we never went in depth on it.”
“All I’ll say is this, don’t let the expensive luxury lifestyle fool you.
He didn’t grow up this way. After we grew the firm, he started this place but the bigger he got the more this place was neglected.
Once you walk in there, you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Not many people know about this place on the business side, at least not the upper snooty ones.
This is the one place he doesn’t want recognition for.
A place he feels like he really makes a difference. ”
Now my curiosity is at an all-time high. What’s behind the brick and mortar that he keeps to himself? I start to make my way towards the doors when I hear Olivia call out to me.
“If you need me to come back and get you, call and I’ll come.
” She opens the back-car door but turns back to me.
“He really is a good man, once you crack his shell. Just give him a chance. He’s been a wreck since all this happened, and I’m hoping you’re here to reconcile and bring back my friend to the man he was after he met you. ”
With those parting words, she ducks into the town car and I watch as the driver pulls away.
Steeling a long deep breath, making sure to rid some of the anxiety coursing through my body, I pull on the metal knob of the door and walk in.
The front entryway looks as though you’re walking into a gym.
There’s an older woman, maybe in her fifties, sitting behind a counter, typing away on the computer.
As I make my way a little further in, a ding rings out and she looks up and spots me.
A friendly smile forms on her face as she stands to greet me.
“Hello, welcome to SafePlace LA. I’m Erica. What can I help you with today?” Erica comes around the counter and extends her hand in greeting. Just by looking at her, I can tell she’s a nurturer by nature. She has the voice and mannerisms for it.
Erica eyes my arm in the sling and tries her best not to show her appraisal of my entire body. My bruises have long since healed and Dad said that I finally have a glow of life back in me since we started our hikes in the woods.
“We have plenty of space available if you’re in need of a place to stay for a while. The facility is amazing and we can make your stay here comfortable. Discretion is not a problem,” she adds.
Oh whoa, back up. Oh goodness, she thinks I’m here to hide out or that I’m homeless. I’m guessing this place is a shelter of some sorts.
“I’m not here to stay Erica, but thank you for the offer,” I kindly say. “I’m actually looking for Lincoln Thorne. Is he around here or has he already left for the day?”
“Oh dear, please forgive me. I thought… well, never mind, come on back with me and I’ll see if he’s done yet.”
I follow her through a thick metal door, that she scans to get in, then walk down a long hallway with rooms filling both sides.
I was able to see in one of the rooms and it had beds and dressers in them.
After we take a right then left turn, we enter through another metal door that leads into a very large gymnasium.
It looks brand new or very well maintained.
The place is huge, offering a full basketball court, a place for kickball, batting cages, and a volleyball court on the far side.
Off to the other side, there are more doors as we make our way over in that direction.
“Lincoln should be almost done,” Erica says as we stop and she peers in after opening a door. “Come, you can sit in the back until he’s finished.”
She guides me in quietly. As we enter, I hear his voice before my eyes see him. My body lights on fire the closer we get to each other. Erica offers me a seat before she heads back out of the room.
“I know some of you want to give up but there is so much more out there waiting for you. I’ve been where you are and feel the same as you.
I didn’t have an awesome place to retreat to but I made it work.
Made sure that when I woke up every morning that today was going to be a good day,” Lincoln encourages the group of young kids.
He looks so relaxed, propped up on a wooden brown desk towards the front of the room.
He’s wearing a pair of black basketball shorts with a white sleeveless shirt that shows off his ripped arms. His hair is a mess and from the dark circles under his eyes that match my own, I can tell he isn’t sleeping much.
Linc looks in his element here talking with these young kids, as if each one is waiting with bated breath for his next words.
He’s so enthralled in speaking with them that he doesn’t even notice that I’ve walked in.
My purse gets caught on my sling as I try to take it off and it tips over, making a loud noise as some of the contents spill out and onto the floor.
I duck down to gather up the items, trying to dodge everyone’s looks, hoping to be ignored but the scrape of several chairs against the floor sound out.
“Here, let me help you,” a gentle voice offers, as a set of hands come down to help wrangle my pen and lip gloss that rolled away from me.
“Thank you,” I whisper. The young boy who helped me hands me my things, then takes his seat again.
The room is eerily quiet and as I raise my head, hoping that Linc is still in discussions with the group, my eyes fall on the man that’s been keeping me up every night for the past twenty-eight nights.
His shocked eyes stare at me, as if I’m a mythical creature.
The full lips I haven’t tasted in so long are slightly open, and his body is straight as a board.
“Everly?” Linc says in question, like he’s not sure he believes his eyes. The group of kids have all turned in their seats with their heads snapping back and forth at us. Whispers start to fill the room but all I can focus on is the man who looks cemented to the ground in front of the desk.
“Hi.” I stand from my chair in the back. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea and I should’ve waited back at his office with Olivia.
He still hasn’t made a move from his spot at the front or said anything else, which isn’t a good sign. I’m sure I could call Saylor to come and get me as soon as someone tells me exactly where here is.
“Guys this, Everly,” he tells the room, not taking his eyes from me. I give the room a look and a small wave as I feel my cheeks heat from all the eyes on me. “Remember me telling you about her being in an accident a few weeks ago?”
“Yo, LT got a lady!” A voice from across the way sounds off and the room bursts in hollers and whistles.
“LT too ugly to have a lady that fine.”
“Dude, I hope she’s the new counselor.”
“Sorry, but she must be here for me.”
My face immediately burns even hotter, not only from their words but at this entire situation. I think I’ve read this all wrong and should leave now with my dignity somewhat still intact.
Turning on my heels, I secure my purse and start for the door to get the hell out of here and away from the suffocating room. I’m almost to the door, when I hear Linc over the grumblings of the room I’m all but running from.
“Wait! Don’t leave,” Linc calls out and the sound of shoes jogging towards me has the hairs on my forearm standing tall.
I make it out the door and down the hall a few feet, when I feel his chest caress my back as his body towers over mine. I turn to face him and our bodies press together.
“What are you doing here, Everly?” Linc asks in my ear, where his lips almost touch my lobe.
I’m not sure if he’s angry or what, as his tone doesn’t give anything away.
“I… I had an appointment—”
He lets out a breath on my shoulder and neck, making the words in my head jumbled and not at all able to surface through my mouth.
“Twenty bucks says they kiss.”
“You ain’t even got two bucks to your name.”
“Yo, shut up man.”
The bantering must bring Linc out of this situation, as he takes a step back. I let out the breath I was holding and try to gather my thoughts. He walks back to the door and pops his head in.
“You guys go and have some fun today. Try and remember what we talked about. I’m here if any of you need me.” He dismisses them as they mumble, leading out the other side door at the front of the room.
The door closes with a deafening click and all that can be heard is my heart pounding against my ribcage.
“Everly,” Linc starts but I interrupt him.
“I’m sorry I came here. I should’ve called or emailed you, not just showed up…”
Two large hands press against my body, one on my uninjured shoulder and the other on my hip giving them a light squeeze. I shake my head to stop rambling; I’ve become a bumbling idiot.
“Baby, take a breath before you pass out.”
I finally look up at his face and see worry written across it.
“Linc,” I say but a lump gets caught in my throat and tears prick the backs of my eyes. I can’t help the flow as they start to stream down my cheeks, but his thumb is right there to catch every one of them. Seeing him here in the flesh, after a month, is overwhelming me.
“Don’t cry, baby. It kills me every time.”
Linc pulls me in, careful of my arm, and holds me as I let the past few weeks wring out of me. I feel Linc lean down and, with a strong arm he picks me up from under my knees and cradles me to his chest while moving us. I bury my face in his neck and breathe in his scent. God, he smells like home.
“Tell me what you need, Everly.” I hear the sound of a door open and then he has us seated with me in his lap as he slightly rocks us.
Looking up, I lift my head so that my eyes and his eyes are focused.
“You, Linc. I need you.”
“Me?” He asks, shocked by my answer.
“Yes, you Linc. I need you.” He starts searching over my face with his eyes, as if he thinks he’s hearing the wrong words coming out of my mouth.
Reaching up, I cup his cheek and lean in close.
“I love you, Lincoln Thorne. I love you and I should’ve told you that before I left.”
He swallows hard as his Adam’s apple bobs.
“You love me?”
“I do. I love you with everything in me. This past month has been miserable, and I’m sorry for shutting you out. I thought I needed some time to think, but what I really needed was you.”
“Oh Everly, I love you too. I thought I’d lost you after what happened. I’m so sorry for everything and not being up front…”
I place a finger over his lips.
“It’s done and I know we have other things to discuss but right now I just want you to hold me for a bit, if that’s okay?”
“Anything you want, baby.”
Linc bends his head down and captures my mouth with his. The feel of his soft lips touching mine makes my body ignite and come alive.
A roar of noise booms through the hall, making us break up our kiss.
“I told you LT had game!”
“Where’s my twenty bucks?”
“Man, I never get the fine ones.”
Linc looks down at me, as the voices and comments carry from his group of kids who are creeping through the small windows of the door at us, and we burst out in laughter.
“Let’s get out of here so we can talk,” Linc says and stands from the chair as he gently places me down back on my feet.
“Are you sure it’s okay to leave? Don’t you have a class or something?”
“I’ll explain everything at home.”
Home.
The word has me feeling a lightness that I haven’t had in a long time. Warmth filters over me and a flutter expands in my chest.
“Okay.”