Chapter 10
ELIZA
The house feels wrong.
I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling deflated. My dad is doing what he’s been doing since Caleb left yesterday. Pacing. Around and around the downstairs. He’s probably worn a path in the hardwood by now.
Sara has been quiet. She hasn’t even come in to see me. I skipped eating breakfast and lunch with them but finally gave in and came down for dinner, where neither of them said his name.
I keep telling myself that he left because he had to. He promised he’d be back. I saw the look in his eyes, and I know he meant it. But it’s absolutely killing me. Because underneath my certainty, my trust, my love, there’s one thing that’s chewing a hole in my soul.
Fear.
He said he’d come back to me, and he doesn’t lie. I can’t stay here waiting. If he doesn’t come for me, I’ll go find him.
I can still see his eyes as he said the words that have been replaying over and over in my mind.
“I’m leaving so they can’t take you from me.”
I saw the truth there. I believe him, but believing hurts, and I’m still scared—terrified of losing him.
A knock on my door nearly sends me to the floor. Clutching my sheets, I call out. “Yes?”
“We need to talk, Eliza.” It’s my father’s voice, cold and controlled. Just the tone I never like to hear. I actually prefer it when he’s yelling. At least then I know what to expect. “Come downstairs now.”
I know he’s my dad, and I know I live in his house, but I resent the way he speaks to me like I’m a child. I’m nineteen. I can make my own decisions now.
“Okay,” I call back. I get out of bed and slide into a bulky pair of pajamas and a sweatshirt, covering myself with the hood. It somehow feels…safer.
When I get downstairs, he and Sara are both sitting in the living room together, side by side on the couch, like a couple of judges. “What is this, court?” I mutter as I slouch down in the recliner across from them.
What I wouldn’t give for Caleb’s hand on mine. His body beside me. His warmth wrapping me up like a heated blanket.
“We need to talk about your future,” my father says. “How we’re going to…fix this.”
“Fix what?” I quip back. Sara’s eyes flash, and she looks at him. He takes a deep breath and lets it slowly out.
“Caleb manipulated you, honey—”
“He did nothing of the sort,” I snap. The fear inside me is starting to morph into anger. A hot, molten core of emotion that has my pulse scorching. I turn my eyes on Sara, who sits complacently by. “How can you let him talk about your son like that?”
Daniel takes her hand before she can speak. “We both think that what would be best for you is to get some therapy.”
“What!?” I snap, ready to let loose.
“Something to help you…move on,” he says, his voice still controlled. Hard. “Caleb is gone, honey. He’s not coming back. And you need to accept that.”
I’m not going to sit here and listen to this anymore.
Fueled by the rage and fear inside of me, I rise to my feet and storm from the room.
But instead of going upstairs, I rip the front door open and race outside.
The fresh air is a minor relief as it blows over my skin, but it’s nothing compared to what putting some distance between me and the house feels like.
I have to get away from there. From all the memories, the confinement. From my dad, who seems to be trying to gaslight me into thinking I did something wrong.
I did nothing wrong.
Breathing heavily, I keep moving, striding down the driveway until I hear something in the distance that can’t possibly be right. I freeze, listening.
It’s the sound of a truck engine. Caleb’s truck engine. And it’s getting closer. Quickly. My heart nearly leaps out of my chest as I start running down the road. Seconds later, I see his truck round the corner, with him behind the wheel.
“Caleb!” I shout, waving my arms like a madwoman. He accelerates, speeds right up to me, and slams on the brakes. He steps out like a dream, and I hurl myself into his strong, safe arms as tears fall from my eyes. “You came back!”
“You thought I wouldn’t?” he asks, his voice like an anchor, tugging me down to where I belong. My heart slams against my ribs as he holds me. I press my nose to his chest, inhaling his scent like an addict. “I would never lie to you.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” I sob. I was so silly for being afraid.
“You’re gonna come live with me now,” he says, wiping away my tears with his thumb. “They’ll have no control over us. We can be together.”
“With you?” I repeat, barely able to believe what I’m hearing. I’ve never even been to his apartment, but I don’t care if it’s a tent in the middle of the woods. Just so long as I get to wake up in his arms.
“Yes.” He smiles, leading me into the truck. “We’re going to go to your house, and you’re going to pack a bag. I’m going to tell Daniel, and then we’re going to leave. Got it?”
All I can do is nod. My throat is too choked with emotion for me to speak. I curl up in his lap for the brief drive back to the house, but I’m shaking as he parks and we get out.
“It’ll be okay,” he assures me, running his hand through my hair. “Just do as I said, and everything will be fine.”
“Yes.” I nod up at him.
We take the stairs to the front door. Caleb reaches for the knob, but it opens, revealing my dad. “You’re not—” But before he can finish his sentence, Caleb steps into the house, pulling me along with him.
“Go upstairs. Now,” he whispers. My whole body is buzzing as I race up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
“I’m not going to pretend anymore, Daniel,” I hear him say as I reach my room. “She’s coming with me. And you’re not going to punish her because it makes you uncomfortable.”
Warmth floods through me. A smile comes over my face as I grab my suitcase from the closet and start stuffing clothes in it.
Only the essentials for now. We just have to get out of here and to his apartment.
Once my parents calm down, once they finally accept that he and I are going to be together, I’ll come back for the rest.
“You don’t want to challenge me, Caleb,” my dad is saying as I reach the top of the stairs. He’s right up in Caleb’s face, looking like he’s ready to fight.
“Don’t do this, Daniel,” Caleb growls. “She’s not yours anymore. You’re not stopping this.”
Dad goes tense and takes a step forward.
“I’m going, Dad,” I say quickly, dragging my suitcase down the stairs. He turns to me, looking absolutely furious. “It’s my choice. You can’t stop me.”
Reaching out, I take Caleb’s strong hand and smile up at him as he squeezes it. That’s all the reassurance I need to know that we will make this work. All I need is him.
I turn and walk with him. That’s when I hear my father shout behind me, “If you walk out that door, you’re cut off!”
“That’s fine, Daniel,” Caleb replies, calmly. “I will take care of her. She’ll be just fine.”
Just as I step outside, I see Sara peeking out from the living room. She’s been watching the whole thing. On the verge of tears herself, she rushes over to my side and pulls me in for a hug. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I understand. You can’t fight love.”
It’s quick, just a brief moment before she pulls back and takes her place by my dad. Following Caleb out of the house and over to his truck, I allow myself to feel a tiny glimmer of hope. If Sara can accept us, maybe my father can come around too.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” Caleb says, taking my suitcase from me. Nodding, I smile up at him.
“I’m not.”
The drive to Caleb’s apartment isn’t long. I spend the whole ride curled up in his lap, eyes closed, basking in the glory of him. When we arrive, he takes my suitcase and leads me inside. It’s actually nicer than I expected but seriously lacking decoration.
“Just needs a woman’s touch,” I tease, but before I can finish, I’m being swept up in his arms and carried over to the couch. My ears seem to turn off and my vision narrows so the only thing I can focus on is Caleb. He’s my entire world now, and my body knows it.
Panting for breath, I let him tug my pants down and lift my top, exposing my nakedness to his lips, which he uses with perfection. As he strips down, I find myself looking up at the most incredible man. Bulging muscles, ripped abs, and eyes that know me.
When he kicks his pants off and sets his stiff arousal on my belly, it’s like being twisted up in a circle of flames.
“Say it,” he says, staring into my eyes. Nothing more, but I know what he wants to hear.
“I’m yours.”
Nodding, he teases my entrance with his crown, sending a shiver of anticipation through me. “And you have always been mine.”
“Yes.” I nod, reaching out for his strong waist, something to hold on to when he takes me. “And you’re never leaving again.”
“Never.”
And then he takes me, pumping his sex straight into my center with no hesitation. I cry out at the sensation. The pain I felt the first time is gone, but the stretch is still there. Rocking his hips, he forces my eyes to his. They gleam with lust as he impales me with his swollen spear.
It’s only our second time, and he already knows just how to please me. It’s like we burned the whole world down and claimed each other.
My hips move back against his, finding and matching his rhythm. My body tingles, and my heart pounds. It’s ecstasy. But more than that—it’s love. The culmination of the game we’ve been playing, pretending that being together wasn’t inevitable.
Speaking of inevitable, I think back to our first time.
To how he finished inside me and the tickle I’ve felt in my belly ever since then.
As he pulls me down on me, I whisper, “Make sure I’m pregnant.
” I drown in the sensation of his muscles against me.
His heat. The pulsing of his heart against my chest.
“God, angel, you drive me crazy.” He smiles, gently taking my earlobe between his teeth.
He ruts deeper, faster, harder, and we go off together. I shout his name over and over, clamping down on him as he fills me with his love. So what if the world thinks this is wrong? It’s nothing but right to me.
My tender love muscles quake around his manhood as we both come down, and I see my future ever so clearly.
More of this. More of him.
Just more.
“You’ll never be away from me again,” he says gently, taking my ring finger and kissing it. “Soon, there will be a ring right here.”
My heart leaps. I gasp.
I thought he’d never love me. That loving him would destroy everything. But it didn’t. It created something new. And I cannot wait to live that life with him.