Chapter Four
Valli
When Nixie strolls into our bedroom, I’m already awake and staring at the ceiling. Honestly, I don’t think I have slept more than a few hours at a time since Cave was taken from us.
“She’s awake,” Nixie says, and I furrow my brow, unsure who she is talking to.
Both Noa and Cipher wake, each taking in the fact that Nixie is standing in our room rather calmly.
“Good,” Vincent says, his voice echoing out over the speaker. “The assessment period is up. I was on the phone all afternoon yesterday but just got confirmation that they have completed their initial evaluation and filed their report.”
I sit up. “And . . .?”
“It’s not ideal. They recommend an extended observation period. Thirty days to be exact.”
“They want to keep him for an entire month?” I blurt out.
“They can’t be serious,” Noa snaps.
“They are. But I have managed to negotiate something, though I’ve had to call in a favor from a judge I went to law school with, so I would appreciate if you don’t ask more about it. I got you visitation, Valli, for one hour.”
“When?”
“This morning at ten. If you’re late, they will not reschedule. Valli, prepare yourself, as what you’re walking into will not be easy.”
“We will meet you at the front entrance of the institution at nine forty-five,” Nixie says and ends the call before we can protest.
“One person? That’s bullshit. He’ll want to see us all,” Noa states.
“Right now, it is out of our control. Vincent told me that Cave has been repeating Valli’s name, so this is probably a way for them to keep him longer. We must play by their rules if we want him back,” Nixie explains. “I will meet you out the front of the bar at eight fifty.”
With that, Nixie leaves, and Noa falls back onto the bed with a huff. Cipher has been quiet the whole time, and I feel terrible for him.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“Don’t be, I just miss him. But I’m grateful at least one of us gets to see him.” He pulls me into his arms, and I rest my head against his chest.
“Okay,” Noa says, sitting up. “I have processed it, still pissed, but you need to go. Tell him we are fighting for him and that I plan to dig a new hole in the cornfield for his post, so he has to come home to help me build it.”
“I’ll tell him,” I say with a small smile.
“You can tell him that the music box is almost finished. He will know what that means,” Cipher whispers against my hair.
We get up and I shower while the guys make breakfast; it’s nothing special today, which fits the mood, just some cereal.
When it’s time to leave, both Noa and Cipher walk me to Ares’s Bar, where Nixie stands ready in her best power suit, looking like she is itching to take on anyone who gets in her way.
“Ready?” she asks me.
I nod. I’m as ready as I will ever be, but I’m also nervous.
She looks at Cipher but lingers longest on Noa. “You two stay here—do not follow us.”
“But—” Noa complains.
“I mean it, Noa.”
Cipher nods and Noa pouts. I hug Noa first, and he holds on to me tightly, his chin dropping to my head. “We will do whatever it takes to bring him back. You tell him that.”
“Promise.”
Cipher pulls me from Noa’s arms and wraps his tightly around me. “You’ve got this.”
Nixie barks an order for us to hurry, and I follow her to her car. It’s a brand-new sports car, not at all what I’d expect her to drive. The facility is a little over thirty minutes from the island, and she wants to arrive early so they can’t deny me entry.
“Evan will be there,” she finally says, breaking the silence.
Nixie has filled me in a little about Cave’s past, about who is who, though I know there is more she hasn’t told me. Yet with Nixie there is no point pushing her; if she wants you to know something, she will tell you, but if she doesn’t, she is a vault.
“That’s the doctor, right?”
“Yes,” she says, keeping her eyes on the road. “He was the attending physician for Cave’s case. He would have been notified the second Cave was put back into the hospital’s system. I need to tell you we have history.”
“You don’t have to explain it to me.”
Nixie laughs. “Oh, I’m not explaining that shit show to you. I’m warning you. He is going to say something when he sees me, but I need you to ignore it and stay focused on Cave.”
“Okay.”
She glances sideways at me. “Just . . . okay?”
I shrug. “You told me to ignore it, so I will. Your business is your business. I simply want Cave back.”
She nods and turns her focus back to the road. We remain quiet for most of the trip, allowing my nerves to eat at me. By the time we reach the facility gates, sweat rings decorate the fabric under my arms and my thumbnail is bitten down too far.
Vincent is waiting at the front entrance, as he said he would be. Nixie finds a parking spot, and then we join him where he stands in a suit that is probably worth more money than I could ever imagine.
“They are expecting you. I’ll wait out here.
The visitation pass only covers the two of you.
I already used mine as the legal representative on file.
” He looks at me specifically. “It’s one hour only.
Do not antagonize the staff, don’t make any promises you can’t keep, and if they tell you to leave, you leave. I need access to stay open.”
“Understood,” I say with a nod.
He holds my gaze for a second. “You’re going to be fine.”
Nixie takes my hand, and we walk inside. The reception area is clean and quiet but has a distinct hospital smell that I don’t like. All I can think about is Cave waking up to the smell every day, and how that would make him feel after what I read in his file.
Nixie arranges for us to be signed in, and we are issued visitor passes and asked to follow a female staff member.
We walk down a long corridor to a room at the end, where she asks us to wait.
The room has a table and chairs, and a large window looking through to another room.
The second room has some chairs in the corner and a reinforced door; my stomach churns simply looking at it.
My nausea intensifies when a man, close to Nixie’s age, walks in to meet us. He looks me over, then turns his attention to Nixie, and I see the way he looks at her—when she looks up, a hardness comes over him.
“Nixie,” he says, greeting her with a nod.
“Evan,” she casually returns.
The tension between them is undeniable. I would never ask her about her past, but I would love to know their story.
“Nice to see the front of you again,” he says, a hint of teasing in his voice. “Last time I only saw the back of you running away.”
Nixie holds his gaze. “It’s good to see you too.”
Her reaction to him is neutral, and I observe the way he watches her after not getting the response he was clearly hoping for.
“You must be Valli,” he says, turning his attention to me.
“I am.”
“He says your name a lot. It’s one of the reasons we agreed to the visitations, as it seemed like the most likely way to get a response from him.”
He pauses but I say nothing. I’m doing what Vincent asks of me because if I say what I am actually feeling, it won’t be nice.
“I need to be honest with you about what you’re walking into. He hasn’t been cooperating with the staff. While he hasn’t been violent in the last twenty-four hours, that is mainly due to us keeping interactions to a minimum. The restraints are a precaution for your safety.”
“He won’t hurt me,” I interject.
Evan looks at me skeptically. “With respect, you don’t know that. Or what he is like in this environment.”
“With respect,” I reply, “I know him better than anyone in this building.”
Evan opens his mouth, but Nixie beats him to it.
“If you actually wanted to help him, then give them five minutes without restraints and see how they interact. You’ll have your answer about what he’s like when someone he trusts is in the room. Or you can leave the restraints on and watch how that turns out.”
Evan stares at her. “If anyone gets hurt—”
“No one will get hurt. You have my word.”
Evan nods. “Fine, but I will be in the room the entire time.”
“Fine,” Nixie throws back with a little attitude. She’s let her mask slip slightly, and I try to keep my smile at bay.
He leads us through to the other room, and the door is unlocked by a staff member who stands to the side and doesn’t look at us.
The room beyond is small and white, with no décor—it’s simply a cell.
A chair is bolted to the floor with Cave seated in it.
I pause in the doorway. He still looks the same, yet so very different, as he is no longer in his scarecrow outfit. I have never seen him in anything else.
Cave hasn’t looked up, and that concerns me. How drugged are they keeping him? He should have been able to hear me coming. He knows me.
“Cave,” Evan says, but there’s no response.
I step into the room, and as the door closes behind us, his head snaps up, eyes finding mine.
My heart thunders in my chest as Evan moves closer to him.
“I am removing the restraints. Please do not make me regret it.”
Cave doesn’t answer him; instead, he jumps from the chair the second he is free. He crosses the room and throws his arms around me, pulling me into his chest and holding on so tight I can barely breathe.
I wrap my arms around him and press my face into his chest.
“I missed you,” I whisper just loud enough only he should be able to hear me. “We are doing everything we can to get you out of here.”
His arms tighten further.
“Noa says he is digging a new hole for your post, and you have to behave so you can help him. Cipher says the music box is almost done.”
Cave pulls back just enough to look at me, and his amber eyes lock onto mine. I feel the darkness behind them, which I expected with him being back here after all these years.
I wish everyone could see the man who weaves me flowers from cornhusks, the friend who carries Cipher from the shed when he forgets to eat, and the person who will listen to Noa ramble on for hours about digging holes.
Cave lifts one hand and presses it against the side of my face, and I lean into its warmth. His jaw moves as he tries to find the word that fits what he needs to say. “Home.”
“I promise we are trying.”
Cave nods.
Behind us, I can hear Evan saying something to Nixie in a low voice, but I tune them out. I get little enough time with Cave and I want to enjoy every minute.
Reaching up, I put both my hands on his face.
“Listen to me. I need you to be okay in here, to not give them any reason to keep you longer. I can only imagine how this place makes you feel, but I am asking you to be strong just a little while longer. Know I am fighting as hard as I can on the other side of these walls, but I need you to fight as well. Can you do that, please?”
He nods slowly, once.
“Good.”
I spend the rest of the time catching him up on island chatter and how excited Leni is to come visit. It seems like time flies by, and the ticking of the clock taunts me. I know I should be grateful that Nixie negotiated five minutes with Cave unrestrained, but we get the full hour.
I hear Evan clear his throat behind us. “We need to—”
“I heard you,” I say with a sniffle, trying to keep my composure for Cave’s sake, though I seem to be failing miserably.
“I’ll be back,” I whisper to Cave. “As often as they will let me.”
I remove myself from his body and he lets me go, then I step back, Cave watching my every movement as I turn around to face Evan and Nixie, wiping the tears from my eyes.
“It was good to see you, Cave,” Nixie says, and Cave nods.
“When can I see him again?” I ask. I know Vincent didn’t want me to push, but it can’t hurt to ask.
“I will see what I can arrange,” Evan replies.
It’s not a yes, but it’s also not a no.
I glance back at Cave one more time. Seeing him standing there breaks my heart.
I want to yell and scream that he doesn’t belong here, but I won’t.
I can’t. Not if I want him to come home.
Instead, I blow him a kiss and smile when he reaches out to catch it and put it in his pocket.
He winks at me before Nixie takes me by the hand and pulls me from the room.
Tears run down my face as we follow a staff member back down the corridor and out to the main reception where Vincent is waiting.
Nixie fills him in on our visit while I rush outside, needing some fresh air.
The second I cross the doorstep, I tip my face up and simply breathe.
I held it together in there, but I cannot anymore.