Chapter 6 Eberly
EBERLY
After cleaning up the kitchen, I made another cup of coffee, went outside, and walked around the garden.
On cloud-free days especially, I felt my mother’s presence all around me.
It was as though the sun’s rays wrapped me in the same warmth her hugs always had.
There were times when I missed her so much it was hard to breathe.
I longed to talk to her about Trevino. About how his visit this morning had confused me and how being close to him had made me feel as though my heart would beat out of my chest.
“Be careful what you wish for, Eberly. You might not like it as much as you think you will,” he’d said right before leaving.
I couldn’t stop myself, though. I wanted his hands, his lips, his tongue on me and to feel his hardness between my legs.
I meant it when I said I couldn’t imagine anything he’d do to me that I wouldn’t like.
I craved the darkness I sensed just beneath the surface of everything he said and did in the same way a moth couldn’t stay away from a flame.
I spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon pulling weeds and pruning the plants I’d neglected since I started working for Trevino.
When I heard a loud crash coming from inside the house, I flinched. Before I could get to my feet to see what had happened, my father stormed out the kitchen door.
“I warned you not to involve her. I have no control over the money left to her, and what’s more, I’d sooner die than let you get your hands on it or her,” he shouted into his phone. “You come near her again, and I’ll end you. Do you fucking understand me?”
Those were the last words I heard him say before he got in his car and sped off, throwing gravel from the drive onto the lawn where I sat. I lowered my head, and when I raised it, he was long gone.
I’d left my cell phone inside and went in to grab it, hoping he’d left a message as to where he was going. When I didn’t see one, I checked his study.
Papers were strewn everywhere, and when I knelt down to pick them up, I saw evidence of the crash I’d heard.
A bronze sphere that usually sat on his desk was on the floor, and right above it, a large oval mirror was shattered.
A glass vase that sat beneath it had also broken into several pieces that were scattered on the floor.
I made my way over to his desk, careful not to step on the shards of glass, and picked up an envelope that had been torn open but sat face down.
The return address was from a bank whose name I recognized and inside was a letter.
My hand shook as I unfolded it, and I gasped when I read what it contained.
Unless an ungodly sum of money was paid by the end of the day tomorrow, our house would go into foreclosure. Was it even worth the amount they were demanding?
I sat in my dad’s chair, still holding the letter, and called his cell. When it rang several times, then went to voicemail, I sent an urgent text, asking him to get in touch with me as soon as possible.
When I still hadn’t heard from him by early evening, I called Baron Van Orr, Isabel’s father and my dad’s best friend. He apologized but said they hadn’t spoken in several weeks. That in itself was troubling.
I couldn’t think of anyone else to call and ask if they’d seen or heard from him other than Nancy, but I didn’t have her number.
I stayed in the same place, hardly moving except to breathe, until after the sun had set.
I must have drifted to sleep, but woke when the landline rang. I checked the time and saw it was a few minutes after ten, and since my dad obviously still wasn’t home, I ignored it. I’d seen enough slasher movies to imagine the ways my answering it could go wrong.
When it rang a second, third, fourth, then fifth time, I started to get freaked out. I slid from the chair to the floor and called the one person I could think of other than my father, who still wasn’t picking up.
Trevino answered on the first ring. “Eberly? What’s wrong?”
“My dad is gone. He left this afternoon, and I can’t reach him.” When the landline rang again, I squeezed my eyes shut and put my finger in my other ear. “I think someone is at the gate. I don’t know what to do.”
“Where are you now?” he asked.
“Home.”
“Where specifically?”
“In my dad’s study. It’s on the first floor, across from the stairs.”
“Does the house have an alarm system?”
“Yes, but it isn’t on.” I felt like such an idiot. Why hadn’t I set it? I knew better.
“Can you arm it from where you’re at?”
“N-n-no,” I stammered.
“I’m going to put you on hold and call law enforcement. Don’t hang up, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Eberly? You still there?” he asked less than a minute later.
“Yes.”
“I’m on my way, and so is the sheriff. He said he has the emergency code to let himself in the gate. I’ll stay on the line with you, though.”
“Okay,” I repeated.
The landline rang twice more, but when I could hear sirens in the distance, it abruptly stopped.
“Hang tight. I’m on your road and can see the squad cars arriving now. Stay where you are. I’ll come to you.”
I could hear multiple vehicles pulling in and saw flashing red and blue lights. “The, um, door you came in earlier is unlocked.”
His voice was muffled as though he’d put his hand over the mic, but I could still hear him cursing as he entered.
“Eberly? Are you in here?” he asked from the hallway outside the study.
“Yes, by the desk, but be careful. There’s broken glass.”
In what felt like less than a heartbeat, he lifted me in his arms and carried me out of the room and straight to his truck.
“We’ve got this, Trev. Get Eberly out of here,” one of the deputies hollered when we rushed past him.
Without responding, he opened the driver’s door, set me on the bench seat, and climbed in after me. When I scooted to the passenger side, he pulled me back next to him.
“Thank you for coming. I didn’t know who else to call.” I put my head in my hands. “Although I guess I could’ve called the sheriff myself.”
“You did the right thing by calling me first,” he said as he turned the truck around and drove out the open gate. “Tomorrow—not tonight—we’re gonna talk about how much trouble you’re in. For now, you’re safe and you’re with me, and that’s what matters.”
My eyes opened wide. I was in trouble?
“I’m sorry. I’m worried about my dad. Before he left, I heard him on the phone, shouting at whoever he was talking to. Then I found a letter from the bank threatening foreclosure.”
His eyes scrunched, but he didn’t appear surprised.
“Did you know?”
“I heard a rumor earlier today, and to put your mind at ease, you don’t have to worry about the auction bid. I took care of it.”
My cheeks flamed. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
He drove through the Los Caballeros’ gate, pulled up in front of his cottage, and parked. “As I said, we’ll talk more tomorrow. For now, we both need some rest.”
“That’s when the bank is foreclosing.”
“Another thing we’ll address in the morning.” Trevino got out and, when I scooted to the edge of the seat, put his hands on my waist and lowered me to the ground.
“You know where the bedroom is. Get yourself settled, and I’ll join you in a few minutes,” he said once we were inside.
“Um, okay.”
“Eberly?”
I’d taken two steps, but stopped. “Yeah?”
“The same thing that happened last night will happen again tonight. The only difference is that, instead of you taking care of me, I’m gonna take care of you. Okay?”
“Okay,” I responded without turning around.
“Eberly?” he repeated.
“Yes?”
“Look at me.”
When I faced him, he closed the distance between us and took both my hands in his. “You can trust me.”
“I know.”
I entered the bedroom, toed off my shoes, and lay on the right side of the bed like I had last night. A few minutes later, Trevino came in.
“Get under the covers.”
“I’ll be okay.”
He leaned forward and put his hands on the edge of the bed. “Eberly, I told you to get under the covers.” There was enough light streaming in from the kitchen for me to see the look on his face.
“Yes, sir,” I teased. As soon as I said the words, his expression changed.
He stood upright, and his eyes scrunched. “Go to sleep,” he said as he walked out the bedroom door and closed it behind him.