10. CODY #2
Danielle was silent, and for a moment, I was grateful.
I wasn’t sure I could meet her eyes without falling apart.
The only thing holding me together was the gentle, steady motion of massaging her leg, which I was intensely focused on.
But now, the feelings I had were replaced with this empty void of vulnerability that was increasingly exacerbated by the silence.
Before I realized it, Danielle started to doze off. I paused, ready to slip away and let her sleep. Before I could leave, her hand drifted down, catching mine and guiding it, slow and careful, back onto her thigh. A shock pulsed through me. It was the first time Danielle wanted me near her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered just as she drifted into sleep.
So I stayed, sitting by her side all night, keeping watch over her.
I woke up slouched over on the edge of Danielle’s bed. She was already awake, sitting up and watching TV. Her bright red bed head was easily the cutest thing I’d seen in a long time. Even just out of bed, she managed to look stunning.
Focus. Don’t go there.
“We should get moving soon. Let’s head to the trailer and get settled,” I said, groaning a little as I stretched and tried to work out the kinks in my back from the awkward way I’d slept.
“Good morning to you, too,” she replied in her usual dry tone. “Can I at least have breakfast and a shower first?”
“Of course,” I said, but then hesitated as a sinking feeling made a new home right in the pit of my stomach. “Um, Danielle? You can manage the shower on your own, right?”
She paused before giving me a look that suggested the thought hadn’t fully occurred to her either.
A faint blush colored her cheeks as she looked down, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.
Her fidgeting got worse as she worked out the logistics in her head, and I knew she was going to say yes, whether it was the truth or not.
We had just gotten over the massaging hurdle; bathing was out of the question.
“I think so. I mean, I had a nurse helping me in the hospital, but…maybe you can just sit in the bathroom, just in case? Make sure I don’t fall,” she suggested, barely audible as if I wouldn’t agree. I could tell she wasn’t thrilled by the idea, but we both knew it was safer than risking a fall.
“I’ll tell you what,” I said, “I’ll help you get to the bathroom door and wait right outside. That way, I can hear if you need anything, and you’ll have your privacy. I just want you to be comfortable and safe, nothing more.”
She gave me a nervous little smile, and I had the sense my answer reassured her, if only a bit. We were making progress from the flat-out refusals from yesterday.
“Thanks, Cody.”
She began undoing the brace on her leg while I retrieved her cane from the dresser. I handed it over and offered my hand. Her hand rested lightly in mine as I walked beside her, adjusting my pace to match hers as we turned toward the bathroom.
“You’re getting pretty good at walking,” I said, hoping to give her a little confidence boost.
“It actually feels better this morning, probably because of that massage you gave me last night.”
“I’m glad it helped,” I replied, releasing her hand as we reached the door. “Take your time, go as slow as you need. I’ll be right here if you need anything.”
She nodded, gathering herself, and I settled in to wait just outside, ready if she called out.
As soon as she stepped inside and turned on the light, I let the door fall shut with a soft click and sat down on the floor, leaning back against the wood.
Danielle seemed like a different person this morning.
She was gracious, even a little vulnerable.
The defensive, closed-off attitude she’d had just yesterday was gone.
I wondered if what I’d told her about Riley had shifted her perspective.
Maybe she finally understood that I was in this for both of us, not just playing babysitter. Or maybe she just felt sorry for me.
I pulled out the phone Alex had given us and sent him a quick text.
Danielle is getting ready, then we are driving the other half of the trip. I’ll text you when we are at the apartment. Any sign of Landon?
It wasn’t long before I got a response.
We found where he ditched Liam’s car. Junk lot. Searching their database now to see if a car is missing.
Well, that was something at least. I heard the water turn on in the bathroom.
“Damnit!” Danielle yelled from inside the bathroom.
I turned towards the door, “Are you okay? What happened?”
There was a long pause followed by a sigh. “I have a problem.”
“Are you hurt?” I panicked, but I almost didn’t want to know.
“Cody…I can’t shift all my weight to one leg long enough for me to actually get in the shower. I…I think I need you to help me.”
Nope . Not just no. Fuck no. Alex will kill me.
I couldn’t do it. No way.
“Cody? Hello?”
I had to say something.
“Alright, look,” I said, “I know neither of us is exactly happy about this, so just… turn away from the door or something. I swear, I won’t look at… anything.” How was I supposed to pull that off?
Just stay calm, Cody, and be professional.
I took a deep breath, turned the knob, and opened the door. A wave of steam rolled out and hit me in the face. I’d never understood how anyone could take showers that hot. I kept my eyes mostly closed, squinting just enough to see where I was stepping.
Danielle stood with her back to me, but looked over her shoulder as I came in. She had a towel wrapped around her, gripping the edges like her life depended on keeping that towel up. She looked nervous and more than a little embarrassed—not that I blamed her.
I stepped close, careful not to crowd her. “I’m going to pick you up and help you into the shower, okay?” I said in a low voice, trying to keep her calm. “I really am going to try not to look at anything, but I need to see at least a little bit to make sure you’re safe.”
She nodded, still clutching the towel, and I did my best to focus on what I was doing instead of the tension filling the small room.
“Okay. Just don’t drop me.” Her voice was shaky, but she took a deep breath and let go of the towel. It drifted down and landed with a delicate pat at my feet. Every ounce of self-control went into keeping my eyes fixed straight ahead, focused on the tiled wall instead of anywhere else.
My arms slid into place—one beneath her knees, the other cradling her back—and pulled her up against my chest, holding her close as I stood.
She did her best to shield herself, arms crossed against her chest. I could feel her whole body shaking.
My eyes stayed locked on hers. Even as the heat of her skin pressed into mine, I couldn’t look away, and for a moment, just seconds, though it felt much longer, I stood paralyzed by my own will, holding her close.
I didn’t want to let her go. For a second, I thought I wanted to kiss her, but I wouldn’t let myself.
We were damn near strangers, but holding her in this way, I felt a connection that I couldn’t understand.
Our eyes stayed locked as I eased her down, the warmth of her stare lingering even as her feet touched the shower floor.
Once she was stable, I pulled the curtain closed, giving her as much privacy as possible.
I sat on the floor just outside, focusing on steadying my breathing, trying to drop my heart rate.
The next fifteen minutes crawled by as she showered.
When the water shut off, I handed her a towel over the curtain. Danielle wrapped it around herself and opened the curtain so I could help her out.
Neither of us said a word while we finished getting ready; the unwelcome tension lingered in the space between us. I wondered if she had felt that same spark I did, or if I’d imagined the whole thing. Why was I even feeling it? We barely knew each other, yet something about this felt different.
Then I suddenly remembered I hadn’t told her what Alex had said.
“I talked to Alex,” I said, pulling a clean shirt over my head. “He told me they found the car Landon had abandoned in a junkyard. The cops are checking the lot’s inventory to see if he stole a car from there. Hopefully, he did, and they can track it down fast.”
“That’s good news,” she replied, flat and distant. I couldn’t tell if she was still embarrassed or if it was something else. She sat on the bed, absent-mindedly brushing her hair. “At least they’re making progress. I’m ready when you are.”
We packed our few belongings, grabbed coffees and muffins from the hotel café, and checked out.
Danielle stayed silent the whole way to the car.
I kept glancing over, wondering what was running through her mind.
Was it about me? That seemed unlikely. She’d barely escaped someone she loved and trusted.
Now, she’d left her home behind while Alex scrambled to keep her safe.
If I were in her place, I wouldn’t have room in my head for anything except fear and survival.
The silence in the car pressed in on both of us as we drove toward Colorado.
I could only imagine everything she was processing.
Her world had been turned upside down, and here I was trying to push the image of me holding her naked body out of my head.
I searched for something, anything, to say that might comfort her, but every word that came to mind sounded empty and useless.
Then the phone rang in my pocket, thankfully killing the silence.
“Alex?”
“Hey, man. So, we found one car missing from the lot’s inventory that was there when they ran a company inventory on Monday.”
“That’s great news.”
Alex sighed. I knew what that meant. Bad news. “Well, not so much. We just found that car on fire under an overpass on I-70.”
“Oh.”
“How’s Danielle?”
As soon as Alex asked that, I could feel my blood pressure shoot up, as if he might somehow read my mind and know what had happened in the hotel room—how it made me feel.
My pulse quickened, and I was sure that if Danielle had looked over, she would have seen the beads of sweat forming on my forehead.
Logically, I knew there was no way he could know, but guilt started eating away at me regardless.
“Hello?” Alex prompted on the line.
“Sorry, yeah. She’s fine. Do you want to talk to her?” I asked.
Before he could answer, Danielle cut in. “I don’t want to talk to him.” Her tone was fierce, final.
“It’s okay, Cody.” I could hear the hurt in Alex’s voice, but he didn’t sound surprised. “I figured she’d be mad at me for a while. Just let her know I love her, alright? I’ll let you go. Just call when you get there.”
“Will do. See you.” I hung up the phone and glanced over at Danielle.
She must have sensed I was going to say something, because a second later she looked over at me.
“What?” she asked, like she expected to be scolded.
“You shouldn’t be mad at Alex. He cares about you. He told me to tell you he loves you.”
“I know,” her reply was timid as she turned her attention to the window. “I just don’t want to talk to him right now.”
She let her head rest against the passenger window, and before long, she’d drifted off to sleep.