Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Eloise
I bolt awake, panic consuming me as I sit upright, gasping for oxygen. I look around, confused for several seconds.
“Hey, angel. You’re safe.” Those soothing words come from the man next to me. Cannon. He’s been nothing but kind.
“Where are we?” It’s dark, and that scares me.
“Parking garage under my building.” He reaches for my hand and gives a gentle squeeze. “You slept the entire way here.”
I’m breathing heavily. I don’t like the dark. It’s making me nervous.
“Let’s get you upstairs.” Cannon jumps down from his side of the SUV and comes around to mine.
By the time he opens my door, I haven’t moved an inch. I’m still ramrod straight, practically hyperventilating, the seatbelt still securing me.
He reaches across me to unfasten the belt and picks up my backpack from the floorboard.
I grab it before he can remove it from the car.
He releases it and offers me a hand. “You’re safe here, Eloise,” he repeats.
I take his hand and let him help me out of the car, hugging the backpack against my chest. For some reason, it’s like a lifeline.
It’s all I have in the world. This isn’t the first time I’ve clung to this bag as though it were the only thing tethering me to Earth.
I’m actually surprised no one has ever taken it from me.
With my luck, somewhere along the line, someone could have tossed it into a fire pit and laughed while my only personal belongings burned.
Cannon guides me to an elevator and pushes the button. He turns to me while we wait. “I live on the fourteenth floor,” he reminds me. “This elevator is designated for the fifteenth and sixteenth, so we’ll take it up and walk down one floor. That way we won’t encounter anyone.”
I say nothing. I’m trembling. I hug my bag with one hand and tug on my shirt collar with the other. I really hate the dark. There are plenty of lights on, but I’m still bothered. Or maybe it’s more a matter of claustrophobia from being underground. What I really hate is that I can’t see out.
Cannon keeps a hand on the small of my back as we enter the elevator and keeps it there all the way up. When we exit, I see a woman at a desk through a glass door, but Cannon turns me toward the stairwell and opens it. “One floor down, and then we’ll be home.”
Home… What a weird word. It has no meaning to me.
He doesn’t rush me in the stairwell, but I want out of it almost as badly as I wanted out of the garage and the elevator. He told me four of his coworkers live on this floor, and sure enough, there are four doors in the hallway.
Seconds later, we’re inside his apartment.
I blow out a long breath when I see that one wall of the great room is mostly glass, and it’s still daylight outside. It eases my panic. I move directly toward the windows. I need to see out.
Cannon follows me. “Sometimes I forget to pay attention to the view,” he says. “The city has become a backdrop to me. I rarely stand and look out anymore. I used to when I first moved in.”
“It’s alive,” I whisper.
“The city? Yeah, I guess it is.”
I can’t imagine ever growing tired of looking out this expanse of windows.
I love the view already. It makes me feel like a voyeur in other people’s lives.
They’re all hurrying down the sidewalk below like ants.
Each on their own mission. I could stand here and make up stories about where they’re going and live vicariously through them.
I’ve never been in a building like this. I’ve seen them on television, but that’s not the same as witnessing it myself.
“I have a guest room you can use, Little one. Do you want to see it? Maybe you’d like to take a shower or a bath?”
I glance at Cannon. “Alone?”
His brows furrow. “Uh, yes? I can’t tell if that idea relieves you or upsets you.”
I turn back toward the window. “I don’t know,” I say softly. It’s true. I don’t have a clue why I asked. I was just curious.
“Eloise, things are going to be awkward between us for a while because we don’t know each other. We’ll talk and learn things about one another, and then it will be more relaxed.”
“Do you want to sleep with me?” I ask bluntly. I need to understand what his motives are. Before he can answer, I turn to him. “Why did you bring me here?”
Cannon leans against the window and crosses his arms. “First of all, I brought you here because you need help, and I’m capable of providing it.
That’s the most important thing. I’m not going to lie and say I’m not attracted to you.
I’d have to be blind not to be. Not your looks exactly, but your soul.
It calls to me. I’m magnetically drawn to you in about ten different ways.
Yes, I’m interested in you beyond the altruistic aspects.
But I’m a good guy, Eloise. I would never presume or pressure you in any way.
“So, your questions are loaded. I want you to be safe. I will make sure of it. I want you to learn to trust me and open up to me. I want to know what you’re so afraid of, who you’re running from, and the details of your life so far.
I would never take advantage of you or rush you or try to convince you to feel things you’re not feeling.
For now, you’re here as my guest. I want you to be safe, fed, clothed, and housed. ”
He’s so sincere that I believe him. “Okay.”
He nods across the room.
I turn and look around. I was so focused on the window that I didn’t pay attention to anything else when we entered.
Now, I take in his apartment. It’s huge.
We’re standing in a giant room that’s both a living room and a kitchen.
One side has a large kitchen island and a table and chairs.
The other side has a sectional that would easily seat eight people, I think.
It’s facing the biggest television I’ve ever seen.
Cannon is rich. That makes me nervous all over again. I’ve never been anywhere this nice.
“Come, Little one. Let me show you to the guest room. I’ll warn you, it’s very youthful. I hope you don’t hate it. If you do, we’ll change it.”
I follow him. I still have a death grip on my backpack. He hasn’t tried to take it from me again. When I step into a room behind him, I stop in my tracks.
The room has white furniture. It’s very youthful, like he said.
The bed is against one wall. It’s odd, almost like a couch.
There’s a dresser, a desk, and a bookshelf.
The bookshelf is long. It extends almost an entire wall, and it’s filled with books and toys.
Every kind of toy imaginable. Dolls, stuffed animals, puzzles, games, coloring books.
“Do you have a daughter?” I ask.
“No. No kids.” He doesn’t elaborate. “What do you think?”
“It’s so pretty. I’m afraid to touch anything.”
“Well, toys are meant to be enjoyed, Little one. You may touch anything you’d like. Nothing is off limits.” He moves toward a partially open door and pushes it wider. “The bathroom is attached. You can lock either or both doors. Whatever makes you feel safe.”
I follow him as he enters the bathroom. My eyes widen. It’s also large. And so incredibly clean and pretty. The vanity and flooring are white, like the bedroom. Soft pink towels hang from the racks. The bathtub is so clean it gleams. It has a clear curtain with pink flowers scattered on it.
Cannon clears his throat. “While we were driving, someone shopped for you. I don’t know what your style is, but I think there are clothes to get you by until you can shop for more.
” He spins me to reenter the bedroom and heads toward the dresser.
He opens a few drawers and then turns around.
“Yep. There are clothes in here. And I see there is girly soap and shampoo in the bathroom. Would you like to take a shower or bath?”
“Yes, please.” I haven’t had a bath since I was a child. I’ve never lived anywhere where I would dare touch the bottom of the tub with any part off my body. Gross. I finally loosen my grip on my bag and set it on the floor.
“Eloise, if there’s anything I can get you, please just ask. How about if I go see what’s in the fridge and make something for dinner? I know we ate a few hours ago, but I bet by the time you’ve had a bath, you’ll be hungry again.”
“Thank you.” I suddenly lurch forward and wrap my arms around him. It’s the oddest thing for me to do. I’ve never done something like this before.
He hugs me close and rubs my back. “You’re safe, Eloise,” he repeats.
I hold him tighter. I don’t want to let go. I like how safe being in his arms feels. He was the first person to touch me after he rescued me. He picked me up and carried me out of that hellhole. He held me in his lap for a while before I found my wits and scrambled off him.
Cannon has touched me several times. My face, my shoulder, my hand. He’s kind and affectionate. I don’t think he intends to turn on me and make me wish I’d never accepted his help. I think I trust him.
He doesn’t pull back until I do. It’s like he’s letting me decide what I need, and he never rushes me. I’m overcome with emotions, though, so I turn and rush into the bathroom and close the door.
It’s weird to be in this pristine space with all these pretty things. I stare at the door for a minute and consider locking it. But I don’t. I don’t really like the idea of locking it. I’m glad there’s a small window in the shower. It will keep me from feeling claustrophobic.
I turn toward the tub and reach down to turn on the water.
It heats fast, so I adjust the temperature and put the plug in the bottom.
While it fills, I remove my clothes. They’re disgusting.
Not only were they not clean this morning, but I’ve since spent time tied to a fucking chair in them.
I don’t think I want to see these jeans, shirt, or any other part of this outfit again.
Much like everything that was in my car.