9. Theo
CHAPTER NINE
THEO
I walk into the hospital with a tray of coffee in one hand and a box of donuts in the other. The only people in the lobby are either starting their shifts or finishing them. I take the elevator up to the second floor.
The elevator doors open, and I step out, the hallway lights still dim as I press the button to open the swinging door.
The right one swings open as I make my way down the corridor to Sierra’s room.
The nurses’ station in the middle of the floor is the only area that has the lights on.
One of the nurses behind the desk is typing away on the keyboard, and she casually looks up at me and smiles before looking back down.
I thought for sure someone would say something to me since it’s not really visiting hours.
I stop outside Sierra’s room. The door is slightly ajar, so I knock on it with my elbow.
“What are you doing knocking?” Caleb hisses when he pulls open the door.
“It’s common courtesy to knock on a closed door before walking into the room.” I gawk at him. “What if she was naked?” He turns his back to me, and I follow him into the room. “What if the nurse was in here?”
Sierra is lying all the way on one side of the bed, leaving a lot of empty space.
“Are you sharing her bed?” I ask him. Sierra smiles softly, her eyes opening slowly and then closing.
“Good god, Caleb, she’s been shot. She can have the whole bed.
” I shake my head, putting the box of donuts and the coffee on the tray table that has been moved against the wall.
I turn back, putting my hands on my hips.
“I expected better from you,” I tell Sierra.
“I can’t sleep without him by my side,” she replies. “I had to force him and threaten him.”
“She did,” Caleb defends himself, going to her side of the bed. “Do you want some coffee, baby?”
“I do,” she mumbles, licking her lips.
“I was told I had to tell you I didn’t pay for any of this.” I point to everything I put down. “Everleigh made it special for you, and it’s an order from Lilah.”
“That’s so sweet.” She smiles and then looks at Caleb. “But first I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Let me help you,” Caleb says softly, holding out his hand for her. She slides her hand in his, and then he waits for her to get up and walks her to the bathroom.
“She’s going to be okay,” I reassure him as he stands outside the closed bathroom door. He looks like he’s about to punch holes in the wall, and his expression is a Maybe you should stop talking. I hold up both hands, grab a coffee from the tray, and retreat to the chair in the corner.
“Why are you here at the ass crack of dawn?” he asks. Why? Because I’m freaking out about Collins, and I know the only person I can talk to is Caleb. But he has so much on his plate. So I lie to him for the first time ever.
“Couldn’t sleep. Figured I’d come by to see if you needed anything. Get up to speed with everything I need to know.”
I know he can see right through me, and I know he’s about to call me out on it.
Luckily, Sierra saves me when she pushes the door open and slowly comes out.
“Okay, it’s coffee time,” she declares, and he kisses her.
I don’t think I’ve ever been jealous of anyone a day in my life.
But what they have, seeing it after yesterday’s news, I’m jealous.
“What’s in the box?” she asks me as she slowly walks back to her bed, sitting on the edge, and then having Caleb swing her legs onto the mattress.
She tries not to wince, but she does, and the murderous look is back on his face.
“I’m fine.” She holds her hand up to Caleb’s cheek.
“I’m fine, but I’m hungry, and I don’t want to be hangry, so go and tell me what’s in that box. ”
He kisses her lips before walking over and opening the box. “Lots of shit,” he throws over his shoulder, and I can’t help but snort.
“She said it’s lemon and blueberry,” I tell her, and she gasps.
“Bring me the whole box.” She holds out her arms just as my phone rings. I pull it out of my back pocket and see it’s Nino calling me.
“Good morning, buttercup,” I answer, putting the phone to my ear.
“Hey.” I can tell from his tone that this is going to be a serious conversation. I sit up and look over at Caleb, who watches me. “We just got to the Packard project.”
“Yeah?” I’m not sure where he’s going with this.
“Not sure if you came by here since yesterday, but did you take some of the tools?”
“No,” I reply.
Then I ask Caleb: “By any chance, did you send anyone to the Packard project to pick up some tools?”
“No.” He comes to stand in front of me. “Why?”
I tap a button on the phone. “Nino, you’re on speakerphone. I’m with Caleb.”
“Hey,” he says. “I got here this morning with Frankie, walked in, and stuff is gone. It looks like a break-in, but we weren’t sure.”
“I’ll be right there,” I tell him. “Why don’t you guys relax until I get there?”
“Sure thing, I’ll have my breakfast outside while finishing the crossword puzzle,” he replies sarcastically. I hang up on him.
“I’ll drive by there and see what’s going on, then call you,” I tell Caleb. I look at Sierra. “Hope you feel better.”
“Thank you,” she replies, her mouth stuffed with cake.
I drive to the Packard place and find Nino and Frankie sitting outside on the steps with cups of coffee.
“What do we got?” I ask, walking past them to the front door.
The side of the door looks like someone pried it open with a screwdriver.
Parts of the wood are broken on the side.
“This is pretty amateur.” I step into the house.
“What’s missing?” I look around as Nino comes in to stand beside me.
The house was gutted after they found mold all the way behind the walls and in the air ducts.
We tried to handle it without gutting it, but it was safer this way.
“The nail gun and the speaker.” I look over to the kitchen, where a makeshift table is set up with the plans to the house.
“The speaker?” There are more tools on the floor. “There are more expensive things to steal than the speaker.”
“Maybe they thought we wouldn’t notice,” he offers. “Either way, it’s missing. What do you want me to do?”
“Not sure it’s worth it to make a police report if it’s only those two things. Any damage to the house besides the door?” I look around.
“Not from what we can tell. It’s bare bones, so not much they can damage.”
My phone rings. Caleb is FaceTiming me. “You couldn’t wait for me to call you?”
“Sierra wanted me to call you,” he says. “She’s injured. Do you want her more injured?” I can see her sitting on the bed beside him, and she turns to look at him, confused.
“Throwing her under the bus when she got shot is a new low.”
“Didn’t even try to protect me,” she mumbles.
“Whatever,” he hisses. “What is it?”
“Probably some kids fucking around.” I report to him about the door and what was taken.
“Okay, the doctor is coming in,” Caleb says. “I’ll keep you posted.”
“Later.” I hang up, then turn to Nino and Frankie. “I’ll call Mikaela now and get the missing tools replaced. If you see anything else missing, let me know.”
“Will do,” Nino confirms as I walk out of the house and head over to the next jobsite.
The day gets away from me, and by the time I check my watch, it’s a little after five-thirty.
I get home, making a beeline for the shower before walking to the kitchen.
I pick up my phone, wondering if Collins is feeling okay.
I still don’t even have her fucking number to check up on her.
I open my fridge and take out the two steaks, and then make some rice and veggies.
I sit down to eat by myself, my head spinning around in circles, thinking about how the fuck to make this right. When I’m done, I take out a Tupperware and fill it with the steak, rice, and veggies, and put it in the fridge before dragging my ass to bed.
It’s only 7:45 p.m. I set my alarm for 3:00 a.m. again before I crash. I sleep the whole way through until the alarm rings, and I slap it off. I roll out of bed, heading to the bathroom before brushing my teeth and getting ready.
I stop in the kitchen, grabbing the food container and then heading to the truck.
The drive there is as quiet as it was last night.
When I arrive, her car isn’t in the driveway.
Panic runs through me. I’m about to make my way over to the station when a car pulls up beside me.
With a sigh of relief, I look over at Collins and her tired expression.
I grab the food from the passenger seat and get out at the same time she does. “Hi,” I greet awkwardly, holding up my hand.
“What are you doing here?” Her hair is tied up, and I can’t decide which way I like it more. Well, I know I really liked it when I was running my fingers through it.
“I brought you dinner.” I hold up the container. “Or breakfast, whichever you call it.”
“Theo . . .” She sighs, and I can hear the fatigue in her voice. “I don’t have the energy for this right now.”
“So then stop fighting with me and let me come in.” I follow her up the front steps that have seen better days. She slides her key into the lock and lets me in, the hot, thick air assaulting us right away.
“Do you want to go shower while I warm up your food?” I ask her.
“I want to go shower.” Her face looks paler than it did yesterday. “But it might be easier to get this talk out of the way so you can go and I can relax.”
“I’m not leaving,” I assure her, and she just shakes her head.
“Theo, really.” She puts her bag down on the kitchen table and holds on to the back of the chair. “We don’t have to do this. We don’t have to drag this out.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.
I brought you dinner.” The sudden need to be near her, to take care of her, is more powerful than I care to admit.
I walk over to the kitchen and put it on the counter.
“We’re going to sit down and talk a bit.
You are going to eat, and then I’m going to leave. ”
“Fine,” she gives in, the exhaustion winning. “Whatever.” She leans over the sink to open a window.
“I got that,” I tell her. “Go shower.”
She looks down at her feet, not sure what to do.
I’m waiting for her to fight back, but instead, she walks toward the back of her house, where her bedroom is.
I open the windows, then go out to my truck and grab the two new fans I bought when I picked up a new nail gun.
I hear the shower going as I put the food in the old microwave, ready to start when she comes back into the room.
I pull the fans out of the boxes, fill one up with water and a couple of ice cubes, and plug it in. I then start breaking down the boxes.
“What is that?” She’s standing behind me.
I hadn’t heard the shower turn off. Her blonde hair is down, wet, and brushed back.
She has not a lick of makeup on, and her eyes are a color I don’t think I’ve ever seen in my life—gray on the outside with a yellow in the middle—but when she looks at the fan and then back at me, they seem green.
That day in the bakery, they looked blue. They are mesmerizing.
“I got you these. Figured you could put one in the kitchen and then take one to your bedroom. It’s the newest on the market.
It’s like air-conditioning without the hose for outside.
Brings in the heat from one side, and with the water, it turns it into cold air.
” I look at the fan. “I’m not sure how it works, but it’ll do until I can get someone in here to install a system. ”
She holds up her hand at me. “I’m sorry, what system?”
“This house is a furnace. Probably because the insulation isn’t what it should be.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say you probably won’t let me insulate it properly, so I’m compromising.
” I can see on her face that I have to go slow.
She’s got a wall around her that is so high it’s going to take everything I have to knock it down.
“You’re compromising by buying me an air-conditioning unit?”
“Yes.” I start the microwave. “I made steak. I would have texted to ask you if you like steak, but I don’t have your number.
” The microwave beeps, and I open the door.
“Not sure if this is warm enough, but if not, we can zap it some more.” I look at the container.
“I should have just cooked the steak here.” I close my eyes. “Next time.”
“Next time?”
“Yes, next time.” I put the container on the table and pull out the chair.
“I’m going to be in this, Collins.” She stares at me.
“I want to do this. I’m going to be a part of our child’s life, that’s nonnegotiable.
” I swallow the lump down. “Part of your life too. That we can negotiate, but I’m really fucking hoping you’ll have me. ”