Chapter 14 #2
“Take good care of her,” Pearlie ordered, giving Whit a significant look that I found puzzling even in my current state.
Whit pulled me tighter against him, keeping his arm around my waist to support me as he led me into the house.
“I’m sorry about this,” he said as we made our way to the elevator. “I should’ve paid closer attention. I didn’t realize they’d given you so much.”
I let out a small, giddy laugh. “You tried to warn me,” I said, searching for the button for the fourth floor among the multiple, blurry buttons that swam before my eyes. “It’s not your fault.”
“The effects should wear off in an hour or so,” he assured me, pressing the correct button for me. “I’ll sit with you until they do.”
Sitting with me was the last thing I wanted him to be doing with me. The fire in my body raged, making me want to peel off my skin for relief. But in my mind, I pictured us tearing at each other’s clothes in a frenzy, reckless, impatient to join our bodies together, to feel skin upon skin.
I shook my head to banish the dangerous images and stepped away from him to give myself some space. “Is it hot in here?” I panted. “I can’t breathe. It’s so hot…”
The doors opened to my floor and not a moment too soon.
“So freaking hot…” I muttered, tugging at the collar of my shirt as we made our way down the hall. But finding that insufficient to relieve me, I pulled it over my head and tossed it onto the floor.
“No, no, no,” Whit said in a rush, grabbing up my shirt and hurrying me to my door. “Not out here. We’ll cool you down inside.”
As soon as we entered the apartment, I kicked off my shoes and started unbuttoning my shorts. “What the hell is wrong with me?”
He stilled my hands with his, firm but careful. “Easy,” he said, his voice tight. “Let’s get you in the shower.”
I lifted my eyes to him and grinned. “Sounds fun. Want to join me?”
Somehow, I could hear his breathing become shallower, his heartbeat quickening. He swallowed hard and squeezed his eyes for a beat as if the sight of me tormented him. “No,” he finally managed. “Not like this.”
I stepped closer and popped open one of the buttons on his shirt, my grin growing. “Are you sure…?”
He put his hand over mine, pressing my palm against his chest briefly before his fingers curled around mine, and then headed toward the hallway, pulling me after him to the bathroom.
While he turned on the shower, his back to me, I stripped out of my shorts, the heat unbearable.
When he glanced back, his breath caught before he averted his gaze.
“Jesus,” he ground out, his voice thick. He cleared his throat, keeping his eyes trained on the floor when he extended a hand to help me into the shower. “Cool off in here for a while. I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
And what if I needed him now?
I stepped toward him, taking his hand. “Whit,” I said, his name saying everything I wanted to but didn’t know how to voice.
At this, he looked at me—really looked at me—conflict showing in his eyes, a struggle between apology and…longing. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
He then moved past me and out of the room, pulling the door mostly closed, but leaving it open just enough that I knew he could hear me if I called.
The first touch of the water stole my breath no doubt colder to me than it actually was.
I don’t know how long I stood there under the water, letting it soak my hair, cool my skin.
I leaned against the tile and let my forehead rest on my folded arms. As the heat finally dissipated, a bone-deep exhaustion took its place, hitting me so hard, I had to grasp the windowsill to steady myself.
I shut off the water and grabbed a towel, my teeth chattering as I hastily dried off. Shivering, I wrapped my bathrobe around me and hugged myself, trying to ward off the chills wracking my body.
“Whit,” I called, my voice shaking.
He was there in an instant, gathering me close, his warmth wrapping around me. He tucked me under his chin, his palm rubbing slow circles on my back, his touch so careful, so tender, it made my throat tighten.
“You’ll be okay,” he murmured against my hair. “C’mon, let’s get you something hot to drink. That’ll help.”
I laughed weakly as he ushered me to the living room. “Just make sure there’s no booze in it. I never realized I was such a lightweight.”
After I settled on the couch with a warm blanket, he brewed tea and helped me to hold it for the first few sips, his hands covering mine. When my eyes began to droop, he set my mug aside and found a thicker blanket, draping it over me before resuming his seat beside me.
“I’m so sorry,” I told him, stifling a yawn. “I never get like this. What in the world was in that wine?”
When I sagged sideways toward him, he put his arm around my shoulders and drew me in. Despite the lingering haze clouding my mind, I noticed that I fit against him perfectly as if we’d been made for one another.
“Rest now, sweetheart,” Whit said, his voice soft. He pressed his cheek to my damp hair and held me a little tighter. “I’ll sit with you until you’re asleep.”
Except I didn’t want to fall asleep. I wanted to stay awake, sink into the warmth of him, the comfort of his arms.
But his heartbeat was steady and strong and soothing under my ear, and sleep took me anyway.
The air was heavy.
Pressure weighed on my chest, squeezing my lungs, forcing me awake with a gasp.
My eyes snapped open to search the darkness that seemed just a little too thick, too…aware.
Whit had gone, but I couldn’t shake the sensation that someone was standing just out of my sight.
The apartment suddenly felt claustrophobic, full, and yet vastly, endlessly empty like some great cosmic void had opened up in its center, sucking out its soul.
Or maybe it was just the after effects of the wine.
I clicked on the lamp next to the couch where I still lay and scanned the living room once again now that the soft light illuminated the small space.
But that solitary lamp seemed to cast more shadows than it dispelled.
It flickered. Once. Almost imperceptible.
I stared at it, waiting. But it didn’t happen again.
Convinced the flicker had been nothing more than a normal surge of electricity, I shoved aside the fleece blankets Whit had draped over me and sat up, disjointed memories of what had happened playing in my head.
Groaning, I pulled my hand down my face.
What the hell had come over me? It’s not like I’d never had a drink before. But a couple of glasses of elderberry wine and I was totally wasted. Worse, I had completely thrown myself at Whit. Which was nothing like the real me.
I just hoped he didn’t think less of me, that I hadn’t derailed things between us before there was even anything to derail.
But considering the way he’d bolted from the bathroom, maybe I’d misread him.
Maybe the heated glances, the charged moments were all in my head.
Maybe all along he’d just been trying to be a good friend.
With another groan, I flopped back against the couch cushions, covering my face while the full force of my embarrassment washed over me.
I owed him a huge apology.
A soft creak in the corner of the room, like a single floorboard under a cautious step, brought my head around. Seeing nothing, I glanced down at my phone on the coffee table.
3 a.m.
The Devil’s hour, Vivian had always called it. No one would be up at this time unless they were up to no good, she would say.
“Welp, guess you were right about me, Vivian,” I mumbled.
I stood up, intending to go to my bedroom, when I thought I heard a quiet clatter—like when Henry rustled through his Lego bricks, looking for a specific piece. I held my breath for a few seconds, listening for the sound again, cold creeping along my skin, raising goosebumps on my arms.
When only silence followed, I heaved a sigh of relief and continued toward my room, but something drew me to Henry’s bedroom instead.
I cautiously entered, searching for the source of the noise, but nothing looked out of place.
If anything, the room seemed oddly still. Like it was holding its breath.
A few minutes later, I’d thrown on my favorite pajama pants and shirt, making a mental note to check the thermostat’s settings. The apartment was freezing, but the AC hadn’t kicked on since I’d woken up.
And then I heard the clatter again.
My breath caught in my chest. I knew I’d heard it that time.
A soft scrape followed, like something being dragged across the hardwood.
Part of me wanted to just shut and lock my bedroom door and ignore what might be in Henry’s room.
Another part of me wanted to storm in there and confront whoever—whatever—it was, banish it from the apartment.
And then there was the tired, frightened part of me that just wanted to run from the apartment, grab Henry from June and get the hell out of there even though I had nowhere to go.
I paced my bedroom rug in agitated designs and chewed my bottom lip, weighing my options. Finally, I made my choice.
I crept toward Henry’s room. This time, my blood ran cold.
In the center of the floor, a robotic toy dinosaur advanced straight toward me, the mechanical clicking and whirring producing an eerie cadence. I was so locked on the dinosaur I nearly missed the flash of movement at the foot of the bed. With a gasp, my gaze snapped in that direction.
The pale face of a young boy peeked out, his eyes wide, startled, his body low to the ground like he was on his hands and knees. But as soon as our eyes met, he ducked back, frightened, like I was the one haunting him.
I flipped on Henry’s light and rushed to the other side of his bed, but the boy had vanished.
“David?” I called. “Was that you? You can talk to me. It’s okay.”
But the room was still. The dinosaur had abruptly halted mid-stride as if its animus had been snatched away.