Chapter 16
One week’s up, midnight
I choose you.
—Drew Callahan
Fable
I can’t sleep. I’m too restless, too worried, too…everything. My mom left hours ago after I encouraged her to call her new loser boyfriend to make up with him. He came by within fifteen minutes of her ending the call and they took off to their favorite hangout: a shitty bar the local drunks love.
That I work at a bar doesn’t go unnoticed by me. I do realize I’m following in her footsteps no matter how hard I try not to. Makes me wonder if we’re predestined to end up like our parents anyway, regardless of whether we fight against it.
Just the thought depresses me, so I file it away.
Owen came home around five, the relief that Mom wasn’t there evidenced by his easygoing smile and his teasing—if a little crude—nature. I really need to break him of the bad language habit he’s developing at a rapid pace, but who am I to talk? I curse all the fucking time.
We order pizza, and it takes forever because it’s the Saturday night after Thanksgiving and no one in town wants to cook.
We watch awesome nineties movies on cable—the one luxury I gladly pay for since it makes Owen—okay, fine, and me—happy—and wait for our food, moaning and groaning about how starved we are.
All the while, I think of Drew. His smile, how he touched me, the way he looked at me when he hauled me into his lap that first time.
The taste of his lips, the warmth of his breath, the touch of his hands on my bare skin—he haunts me while I tease my brother, as I watch a movie I’ve seen one hundred times, when I finally shove pizza into my mouth like I haven’t eaten for weeks.
I cannot stand the idea of him alone somewhere with his thoughts, his memories, his troubles. I check my phone again and again, hoping for a text, a call, something, but he doesn’t contact me. And I won’t contact him.
Yet.
Maybe he needs time, I reason with myself later in the evening as I watch Owen throw some clothes in his backpack.
He’s headed back to Wade’s to spend the night.
His friend called to ask and I spoke with Wade’s mom, reassured that he really was going over there and not running the streets in the middle of the night.
I want to trust my brother, but come on.
He’s thirteen.
So I’m left all alone, and I’m used to that. Owen spends the night at his friend’s house a lot and my mom prefers staying out until the bars close. I’m always working at night, so no one is usually home around this time anyway.
The rain is still coming down; I can hear it as I lie in my bed in the dark, my eyes wide open as I stare at the ceiling.
I can’t get Drew out of my mind. I need to know he’s okay, that he’s safe.
Without thought I grab my phone and type in a quick text to him, sending it before I can second-guess myself and delete it.
Slipping out of bed, I go into the living room and curl up on the couch, slinging an old throw blanket over me as I flick on the TV. It’s past midnight. Our weeklong fake relationship is officially over.
And as the minutes turn into hours, I realize he’s not going to come and rescue me. He kept his word to our agreement.
My position as Drew Callahan’s one-week girlfriend is done.
Drew
I passed out cold on top of my bed, still in my jeans and sweatshirt, not bothering to pull the covers over me. I must’ve slept like that for hours, because I wake up groggy and disoriented, my muscles aching and my mouth dry, my stomach growling since I skipped two freaking meals. I never do that.
Glancing at the alarm clock on my bedside table, I see it’s past two in the morning and I sit up, scratch the back of my head, and lean over to flick on the lamp.
My cell is sitting on the bedside table, taunting me, and I grab it, push the button to see if anyone called or texted, when I see it. A text from Fable and it says one word.
Marshmallow
Holy shit! She sent it to me hours ago. Hours.
Feeling like a complete asshole, I practically trip over my feet as I scramble off the bed, shoving my phone in my back pocket and grabbing my keys off the dresser.
I should text her back, but that’ll take too much time and I’m consumed with the need to see her.
I’ve left her hanging for hours. The thought of disappointing her…
I can’t stand it.
I leave my apartment and charge out into the still-pouring rain, climb into my truck, and take off.
The streets are pretty much empty, I pass only the occasional car, and all I can think about is Fable.
Maybe I should’ve called her. What if she’s in real trouble?
What if she really needed me and I let her down?
Pulling into her complex’s parking lot in record time, I get out of my truck and practically run to her door, remembering the apartment number from picking her up when we left seven days ago.
Damn. I can’t believe I’ve known this girl for only seven days. She’s become my everything—and with all my baggage, I’ve probably become her worst nightmare.
I bound up the concrete stairs to her second-story apartment, the metal railing rattling loudly, and I knock on her door almost frantically, my breath coming in short spurts, the rain dripping down my face.
Long, agonizing minutes go by and I knock again. What if she’s not there? Damn it, I definitely should’ve called first. Pulling out my phone, I’m just about to call when the door cracks open, the safety chain in place.
Relief floods me, making my knees wobble. It’s Fable, peering through the narrowly open door, wearing only a thin, oversized T-shirt and nothing else. All I see is long, shapely legs and tousled blond hair.
My body instantly reacts.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice is small. Cold.
“I got your text.” I swipe my hand across my face, wiping the raindrops away.
“You’re two hours too late.” She’s about to shut the door but I wedge my foot in, keeping it open. “Go away, Drew.”
“Fable, listen to me. I fell asleep. I’ve been asleep for hours.
I woke up not even fifteen minutes ago and the second I saw your message, I hopped in my truck and sped over here.
” I spread my arms wide. “Look at me. I ran in the fucking rain across my apartment parking lot and yours to get to you.”
“So what?” Her flippant tone irritates me. Fable in tough mode is back on full force and I don’t like it, though I probably deserve the attitude.
“Come on.” I scratch the back of my head. “Just tell me this. Are you all right? Everything okay with your mom and your brother? No crazy emergencies or anything?”
She frowns. “No emergencies. We’re fine.”
“Good.” My heart eases a little and I rub my chest, thankful she’s okay. “If you don’t want me here, I get it. I just…after seeing that text, I had to make sure you were safe.”
I ease my foot away so she can close the door and turn, ready to leave, when I hear her speak.
“Drew…wait.”
Slowly I turn back around to find she’s opened the door all the way, allowing me to fully see her.
And fuck, she’s so beautiful. Her face scrubbed completely of makeup, her expression wary, all that gorgeous hair a wavy mess that tumbles just past her shoulders.
The T-shirt only hints at her curves, but I know exactly what she looks like beneath it and my fingers itch to take it off her.
“Yeah?” My voice cracks and I clear my throat. I should stay away from her. Keeping her close brings her into my disastrous world and she has enough problems on her own. She doesn’t need mine to royally screw up her life.
“Could you…will you come inside and stay with me?”
My heart stills, literally skips a beat, and I take one step forward, ready to leap at this opportunity. Despite the warnings going off in my head, despite knowing I’m not good enough for her, I don’t want to turn her away.
I can’t turn her away. I’m drawn to her. I have to have her. At least one more time before I walk away from her for good. I know it would be in her best interest if I stay out of her life, no matter how selfish I am. But I want to keep her with me.
Forever.
“Where’s your mom?” I ask, my voice deceptively casual.
“With her boyfriend.”
“And your brother?” I sink my teeth into my lower lip, gnawing at it. I’m this close to doing the right thing and walking away from her.
But I’m also this close to pushing her inside and tearing that shirt right off her tight little body so I can have her naked and beneath me in seconds.
“He’s spending the night at his friend’s house.” She opens the door wider, a clear invitation. “Please, Drew. Come in. You’re getting rained on.”
She’s right. I am. Even with the slight overhang that covers her front door, I’m getting drenched. And it sucks.
“Are you sure you want me?” I ask, my voice low. There’s double meaning behind my words. I hope she gets it.
Fable nods slowly, her lips curving into the slightest smile. “I definitely want you.”
Without another word, I stride into her apartment, walking right past her. She closes the door and turns the lock as I turn toward her. I slip my arms around her waist and pull her in to me, needing to feel her body as soon as possible.
She surprises me, launching herself at me, her arms going around my neck and her legs curling around my waist. I grab her to keep her in place, my hands gripping her ass. She’s wearing flimsy panties, so thin I can feel her warm, pliant flesh, and I groan as she presses her mouth against mine.
We were last together only a few hours ago.
Hell, I was inside her body only this morning.
But I feel like we’ve been separated for weeks.
Months. Our mouths are ravenous and her hands are buried in my hair, holding me close as I stumble around her living room, finally collapsing on her couch with her still wrapped around me.
She’s shoving at my sweatshirt, I’m pulling on her T-shirt, and I win the first round, disentangling her from the oversized shirt and whipping it off her body.