30. Caleb
CHAPTER 30
CALEB
A t the sound of a creaking step, I spin and find Halle padding into the room. The sun is high in the sky, the kitchen, where I’m working today, lit up with natural light.
I straighten from my slouched position on a barstool when the defeat in her expression registers.
“What’s wrong?” Without waiting for a response, I’m up and out of my seat and striding for her.
She tucks her phone into her back pocket, shaking her head like she can shake off the look.
“I… that was the guy who’s go ing to repair the flooring. He said they had a cancellation, so they can start on my place early. They’ll be there tomorrow.”
“Oh.” The news hits me like a ton of fucking bricks to the chest. It’s good news, I suppose. Halle and her brothers can return to their home and their normal lives. But I’ve loved having people in my house. It’s made it feel like a home again. I’ve loved having Halle here even more. Her brothers too. They feel like family. “That’s good news.”
“Yeah, it is.” Despite her agreement, her words are full of dejection.
I cup her cheek, rubbing my thumb along her smooth, soft skin. “You don’t sound happy about it.”
Her whole body deflates. “I’m being stupid.”
I angle her head back, forcing her to look at me. “Whatever you’re feeling, I promise it’s not stupid.”
She bites her lip, her eyes darting away from mine.
“Shh.” I move my hand down to her neck, relishing the way her pulse flutters against my palm. “Just tell me.”
With a groan, she lifts her arms and lets them drop to her sides. “What if we move back home, and you… we… What if with the distance is too much?”
It takes effort to hold back laughter. It’s ridiculous. “Distance” in this respect is a quarter of an acre at most. But if I laugh, it’ll only confirm, in her mind, that her insecurities are silly.
“Baby.” I pull her in close.
She’s stiff at first, but I hold tight, and like I knew she would, she eventually melts into me.
“I hate to break it to you.” I bury my face in her hair. “ But you live next door. I don’t think you need to be worried about the distance. What’s the real issue?”
She rests her chin on my chest and pouts up at me. It’s fucking adorable. A quirk I never would have expected from her until a few weeks ago. She’s gotten comfortable with me. More and more, bits and pieces of the true Halle peek out, like the sun appearing between the clouds on a rainy day.
“I don’t know.”
I rub my finger down her temple, then her cheek. “I think you do know. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I can’t make you feel better if you don’t tell me what’s really wrong.”
With a sigh, she tries to pull away, but I hold her there. “What if when I’m not here all the time, you realize I’m not really that great and you don’t want to see me anymore?”
This time I can’t help but chuckle. With a hum, I trace the slope of her nose. “That’s not going to happen, pretty girl. I’ve been enamored with you since the moment your brothers whacked me on the head with a soccer ball.”
She scrunches her nose. “Ugh. Don’t remind me.”
Laughing, I drag my hand down the column of her neck. “You’re worrying about things you don’t need to, but I’m glad you’re talking to me about it. I can’t help you through it if you keep your thoughts to yourself.” I tap the side of her forehead, driving home my point. “Now that we’ve handled that, are you ready for lunch? I was thinking about making sandwiches.”
“Yes, please.” This time when she pulls away, I let her go. “I’m starving.” Likely knowing I won’t let her help, she hops up onto the counter. “You spoil me.”
I pull out lunch meat, then a loaf of bread. “Making a sandwich for you isn’t spoiling you. It’s called providing for you.”
“Ah.” She sways her feet back and forth. “Is that what we’re calling it?”
I pop four slices of bread into the toaster. “Yep. If I’m going to spoil you, it’ll be with more than a simple turkey sandwich.”
Her expression softens. “I’m not the kind of girl who needs anything lavish.”
My chest warms. “Maybe not, but you deserve it.”
She drops her head back with a groan. “Can you stop being so perfect? Your existence alone has got to be a sore point for the rest of the male population.”
I nearly choke on a laugh as I twist the lid off the mayo. “Maybe the rest of the male population needs to learn that they’d be nothing without women.”
She opens her mouth, but before she can respond, her phone rings. With a huff, she pulls it from her pocket. “Watch it be the contractor calling to say that instead of starting early, he’ll actually have to delay the project.” With a finger hovering over the screen, she frowns. “It’s the school.” She answers, her expression stony, but after the space of a couple of heartbeats, her eyes go wide and her lips part in horror. “I’m on my way.”
That’s all she says before she leaps to her feet and pockets the device .
“What happened?” I ask, grabbing the ingredients so I can shove them back in the fridge. “Are they okay?”
Her hands flutter at her sides, her mind a million miles away. I throw all the items onto the top shelf, slam the fridge, then cup her cheeks, worried she’ll have a panic attack.
“Halle, breathe. Tell me what’s going on.”
Her eyes dart frantically about the room. “Keys. I need my keys.”
“Not like this, you don’t,” I argue. “I’ll drive you wherever you need to go.”
Her anxious gaze finally meets and holds mine. “The hospital. I need to get to the hospital.”
Halle all but slams her body into the desk just inside the entrance.
“Casen Rose. I’m here about Casen Rose.”
The bored-looking receptionist takes her time looking up. “Are you family?”
“Yes.” Halle blows out a frustrated breath, making the hair around her face flutter. “I’m his sister and guardian.”
The receptionist taps on her keyboard, still taking her sweet-ass time. “It looks like he’s still in the emergency department. If you head through those double doors there”—she points to our left—“follow the hall to the end and turn left. Then look for the ER sign. It’ll be on your right.”
Halle takes off in that direction, and I give a muttered, “Thank you,” before following her.
Once we find the emergency department, we’re stopped at yet another reception desk.
“I’m here for my brother,” Halle says without preamble. “Casen Rose. I’m his guardian, Halle Emerson. He was brought in by ambulance from his school.”
This receptionist is much more reactive than the first. She has a pass filled out before Halle has finished rattling off this information.
“Bay twelve on your left,” she says, handing the visitor sticker to Halle. “Are you gonna need a pass too?” The receptionist peers over at me.
“Yes, ma’am,” I answer, as Halle bounces in place beside me.
“Name?”
“Caleb Thorne,” I answer. “Go,” I tell Halle. “Don’t wait for me.”
She bites her lip, brow furrowed like she doesn’t want to leave me. But her worry for her brother wins out, as it should, and she takes off.
“Here you go.”
I stick the badge to my shirt, heading in the direction Halle disappeared in.
A minute later, I find her in room twelve. Casen lies in a bed that takes up the majority of the space in this small room, his normal olive-toned complexion replaced with an ashen pallor.
Halle’s hands flutter around his body like a frightened butterfly unsure of where to land.
“Case,” she whines. “What happened?”
He winces. “I fell wrong during gym glass. ”
“Your leg is broken!” Tears pool in her eyes. “That’s a big thing.”
He groans, covering his face. “I know.”
“Have they given you anything for pain yet?”
He nods, his bottom lip wobbling in a way that’s rare for fourteen-year-old boys. “I overheard the doctor saying I’ll need surgery to set the bone. I don’t want to have surgery, Hal.”
“Fuck,” she curses, taking a step closer. “It’s okay. If that’s what has to be done, we’ll get through this. I’m here for you, no matter what you need.”
“Where’s Quinn?” he asks.
The question isn’t a surprise. Of course he’d want his twin here.
“Still at school,” she answers.
“Is he going to come?” Casen asks.
Halle sighs, clearly too overwhelmed to process how to handle the situation.
“School will be out in an hour or so,” I say, squeezing Halle’s shoulder. “When he gets off the bus, I’ll have someone bring him straight here, okay?”
Casen assesses me, his expression full of more emotional intelligence than a kid his age has any right to possess. “Thank you.”
I dip my head in acknowledgment and pull out my phone. I shoot off a quick text to Salem, who responds almost instantly, more than happy to help out.
“Can I hug you?” Halle asks her brother. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I just… I really need to hug you, okay? ”
Casen opens his arms. “It’s just my leg, sis. My arms are fine for a hug.”
With a watery laugh, she dives in to hug him. “When the school said you were being transported by ambulance, I was so scared. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Back at you, Hal.” He pats her back and lets go.
“What happened?” she asks him, plopping into the chair on his left.
He sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “We were playing football outside. I was running for the ball, and my feet got tangled.” He holds out one arm, his hospital bracelet slipping down his wrist. “Now I’m here.”
Halle laughs, though the sound lacks humor. “You were a clumsy baby, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re a clumsy teenager too.”
“Hey,” he laughs. “Don’t kick me when I’m already down.”
She leans over and squeezes his hand. “I love you, Case. Don’t scare me like that again.”
“Love you too, Hal. And no promises. Accidents happen.”
With a sigh, she looks up at me. “Yeah, they do.”