Chapter Thirty
Cash’s POV
My arms gripped her tighter as I gently lowered her to the floor.
Her breathing was rapid, faster than it was when we were kissing like our lives depended on it.
She looked scared, then asked me to catch her.
I was freaking out. Shit. Shit! I could feel myself getting louder the longer her eyes were closed.
“Shit! Devin!” My voice hitched as her name left my mouth. My hand was on her face, unsure of what to do, her limp body in my arms. Her eyes fluttered as I gently tapped her face.
“Devin?! Devin, love. Open your eyes, my love,” I urged as people started to gather around us, someone said something about an ambulance. Another voice demanded to be let through.
Was this too much on her body? On her mind? Should I have pushed for the break her ex’s lawyer offered when she’d had that look on her face? The one that made her look like she was feeling guilty about something?!
It was clear to me that she had nothing, not one mother fucking thing, to feel guilty about in this whole situation. If she didn’t know it before, she’d know it once I got done talking to her.
“Devin! Please, baby!” I was begging her as she went in and out of consciousness, “Please! Open your eyes!”
Why was it getting harder to get my words out without sounding like a kid hitting puberty? Why is it getting blurry and hard to see her? What’s happening to me?
I blinked and my eyes cleared for a second but quickly became blurry again.
Fuck! What’s happening?! I slid my arms under her legs, looking around for a place to princess-carry her so she could have some privacy through whatever this was.
I was starting to freak out that she wasn’t opening her eyes and I wasn’t comfortable with the murmuring of the crowd around.
Just as my breathing started to get ragged, I felt it.
A tiny, soft hand touched my cheek. I froze and everything became still. No one moved. There was no sound for a few moments.
“Please don’t cry, Johnny,” the gentlest whisper called out to me, soothing the deep-seated fear that was growing inside of me.
My mother told me when I was older what happened the day my dad collapsed at the dinner table, that Thanksgiving.
She said he was dead and I didn’t want Devin to leave me like my dad left my mom.
Dad didn’t have a choice in if he left or not.
That choice was taken from him by a heart attack.
It was so sudden, and she was never the same after.
I knew I wouldn’t be either if something happened to this strong, resilient, delicately lovely creature laying in my arms.
My wide eyes stared at her green and gold orbs.
Panic was still coursing through me, but the relief I felt when I saw her smiling at me was so immense, I broke.
Tears flowed freely down my cheeks as I gently pulled her closer to me.
She was wiping my tears as I pulled her all the way into my chest, crying into her hair.
She wrapped her arms around me just as hard.
When I finally pulled away and she looked at me, I wasn’t sure if the wetness on her cheeks was mine or hers.
I kissed her, gently, like she’d break if she got too overstimulated. She was precious to me. The most precious. Leaning my forehead against her, I heard the EMTs before I saw them coming up with a gurney and all of their equipment to check her out.
They asked me to help them move her to the gurney, while they did what they needed to.
I held her hand the whole time, needing to touch her, needing the physical contact.
I lied and said I was her husband when they asked about what our relation to each other was.
They’d inform us they would be taking her with them, needing to get her fully checked out.
I nodded, following like I was going in the ambulance with them. I wasn’t letting her out of my sight.
No way.
I stayed as close as I was allowed, always trying to hold her hand, or help her in some way or another.
They kept her overnight for overeating, and to see about her other results coming back.
She had fallen asleep roughly an hour after getting settled in her room, while I said there, wide awake.
Sitting next to her in that god-awful chair that every hospital seems to fucking have, that night, watching her sleep I realized something.
I was completely gone for this woman. This strong, kind, gentle, and fierce, funny, stunning woman.
I’m utterly, madly, deeply in love with her.
*****
Devin’s POV
It had been a month since I was forced to be a witness for whatever the fuck that trainwreck of a custody battle was.
The judge ruled that she had yet to prove herself an unfit mother, as the baby wasn’t even here.
Caleb’s team was also unable to fully prove that she had raped him.
It was unfortunate, but there just wasn’t enough proof from that night.
As such, she was allowed to have a chance to prove herself as a mother, and the court would reconvene one month postpartum to re-evaluate things.
Amber said that was only due to the claims of her mental state being what it was believed to be, and the text messages Caleb was able to provide showing she’d threatened to self-harm if he didn’t stay with her.
Hopefully, they wouldn’t need me again, because that was my final act of kindness for him.
Amber had also spoken with the judge while I was apparently passed out in the hallway, before someone burst into the courtroom and announced to everyone I’d fainted, letting them know I would not be doing this again due to the mental strain it put on me.
She was trying to secure an assurance that my testimony today would be all that was needed, including moving forward, if this results in another court appearance for the two of them.
The judge assured her due to my health complications that I wouldn’t be needed again.
Everyone rushed out to check on the lady who fainted after testifying and saw Cash holding me, crying over me, kissing me like I was the key to happiness.
Including my ex who, according to Amber and her amazing tea she had, thought it was his moment to shine as he looked like he could potentially become the knight in shining armor he saw himself as.
That was, until Cash picked me up and gently placed me on the gurney like a fragile gift he didn’t want to be broken.
Amber said that Caleb went white looking between us before looking away from the scene unfolding before him.
I couldn’t help but look at Cash, smiling at him gently, as she recounted the whole scene in my hospital room after I was allowed visitors.
Though, the nurses insisted I was a lucky one with a husband like I had since the man hadn’t moved from my side.
I blushed practically from head to toe as I recalled how he fussed over me while the EMTs and hospital staff did their jobs.
This man…he just made me feel so secure. So safe.
Loved.
Something I hadn’t felt in what felt like years, but was only months in actuality.
He’d fallen asleep sitting in that uncomfortable hospital chair, his head resting on my lap.
I looked down at the man I knew I could trust, running my fingers through his hair as I let the feelings sink in.
Testing them, feeling their weight. Those feelings told me, sinking deep within me that I could trust him.
My eyes scanned his face as I realized with a certainty I hadn’t even had with Calen that Cash would never hurt me.
I felt that he would protect me from whatever life threw my way, but he’d also hold my hand and treat me like a true partner, an equal.
He already treated me like I was something priceless to him, and we’d only been friends this whole time.
Seeing him in the courthouse, knowing that he knew when I hadn’t told him anything other than, ‘I have to appear. I can’t get out of it’.
He was there when I felt shaky and nervous and like the mask might slip.
He was there as I was trying to find something to anchor me.
I didn’t know how, but I just knew that he was someone special, and I needed to hold on to him.
The whole time we were in the hospital and once I was out, he’d treated me even better than before.
I mean, he even offered to hire a maid and chef so I could take it easy, and movers to move me to a new unit in the same building for fucks sake!
I face-palmed quietly so as not to wake him when I thought of his face earlier. All earnest and firm in his idea.
If only Becky hadn’t been so crazy. Of course she had to follow Eddie home one night and find out where our apartments were.
Of course she came back and egged both our front doors, spray painted what a whore I was across my wall, and smashed our doorbell cameras.
Along with every other person who had one in the whole hallway.
She did all that while screaming like a maniac that she was Caleb’s true love, and they’d be together one way or another, promising to permanently remove me from the equation.
Even after she was arrested, I wanted someone else.
I didn’t want her to get out on a technicality or anything and come back to cause more chaos.
I wanted to be able to truly move on from the insanity that was my previous marriage.
Thankfully, there were two units on the same floor available.
Eddie and I wanted to keep our units on the same floor to be as close as we could.
We wanted to share a wall or at least be across the hallway.
However, when we met with the leasing office, we found out that the two units were on the floor we were already on, but at opposite ends.
One of the newly available units just so happened to be right next to his apartment, right down the hall from Eddie’s instead of right next to it.
It was also freshly, professionally cleaned and it even smelt like fresh paint.
You could also hear absolutely everything through the walls.
I loved it, and happily agreed to move in.
Eddie wasn’t too happy to be on the opposite end of the hallway from me.
But he was happy I was happy and that, as Cash pointed out, I wouldn’t be on my own at the other end.
Two to three weeks after moving in, I started to gather what his routine was.
At least on the days I was home from work.
Whenever his mentee, Calen, was over, I could hear practically every conversation they had with each other, every detail.
And when the kid's mom came to pick him up, she always had some baked goods with the offer of a real meal or the offer to help tidy up a bachelor’s home.
God, she was trying so hard, and being so obvious.
Like, girl, I think even the village idiot would be able to figure out that you had a crush.
Every time, I heard him tell her the same thing, “No thank you, I’m seeing someone.
I don’t think she’d appreciate it.” He was polite, not rude.
I knew he was trying to set a good example to Calen.
I still hated hearing this woman hit on my guy, even if he shut her down every time.
That part brought me satisfaction though, knowing he had boundaries already in place with her and I didn’t need to worry.
I did want to ask if there had ever…been…
anything between them. Not that I wanted details, and it happened before me, but I wanted to know if I needed to be on alert whenever she was around.
And he’d also always close the door on her after he was done talking, before she had more time to intervene or say anything else.
He would always say a midwest goodbye to Calen, and he always made sure to rebuff her advances when she would butt in.
I loved that he made it known he was off the market.
It was…an odd feeling, to be stood up for, even when he had no idea if I might be home or not, like it was the most natural reaction.
I knew he liked me, especially since we’d agreed we were only ‘seeing each other’, but I was touched that he was running women down.
Staring out the window, something settled deep in my stomach.
I wanted to make it official. I didn’t want to be ‘someone he was seeing’ anymore.
I wanted to be his girlfriend. His woman.
I wanted to see where things go. I wanted to know about him.
I wanted to kiss him again. We hadn’t kissed since the courthouse.
Amber and I had also had two meetings since getting out of the hospital.
Both times I had more evidence for her so I could get a restraining order against both Caleb and the crazy mistress because of all their drama.
I was happy that I had moved and they’d have to work a little bit harder to find me.
I wanted the restraining orders in place also so I could maintain some sort of peace of mind, knowing they can't just come up to me and start shit with me, they had to stay away from me or face legal consequences. No matter where I was.
That would help to cover my ass. Because if any romance novel ever has taught us anything, it was you could not trust the other woman. They were all fake and tried to be the victim, eleven out of ten times.