4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Kallie
Lance helps me out of his truck but doesn’t let go of my hand until we get to the front door of the cabin. He, not so surprisingly, had a spare key. My stomach churns more and more the longer I’m standing here.
As soon as he gets the door open, I’m pushing past him straight to the bathroom. Everything in my stomach comes up the second I kneel in front of the toilet. My body wracks with nerves, and I’m shivering from the cold outside. The hair I had tossed up earlier has fallen around my face, but I can’t find the energy to put it back up before another wave of nausea hits me.
I feel a hand lightly touch the hair around my face, pulling it out of the way. I’ve never been more grateful for having someone here than I am right now. Any embarrassment is long gone.
I feel Lance’s hand rubbing small circles on my back after he secures my hair with a tie and, oddly enough, it’s helping calm my nerves.
After what feels like forever, my stomach finally settles. I flush the toilet and lay my head against the closed lid. I know he must have better things to do than take care of me.
“I’m sorry, Lance,” I whisper in hopes of him hearing me. A long sigh leaves his lips, but I can’t find the strength to open my eyes and look at him as he replies.
“You have nothing to be sorry about, Kallie. We all deserve a night off. I’m just glad you were able to do it with someone you can trust.” Tears well up behind my eyes, but I keep them closed, finding it easier to not let them fall.
He’s right. I’ve been bottling up my feelings for far too long, and tonight, it seems impossible to hold them in any longer. Maybe it’s because I finally feel safe, or maybe because I can start becoming the person I thought I was going to be three years ago.
“Yeah,” I mumble, my words slurring slightly. “It’s sad that Alex getting me fired hurt more than him cheating on me.” I know now we shouldn’t have even lasted as long as we did, but I can’t help the thought that maybe there is something wrong with me. Maybe I was the reason he became someone I didn’t recognize.
A chuckle escapes my lips, but it swiftly transforms into a sob. I try to stifle it by covering my mouth with my hand, but the tears have breached the emotional barrier, and I don’t know when they will stop.
Lance
Seeing her cry on the bathroom floor breaks something in me. Kallie has always been the happy one, the positive one. That she thinks she needs to drown herself in whiskey like it’s her fault is beyond me. She’s absolutely beautiful, inside and out. Any man would be lucky to have a girl like Kallie.
“Come here.” My voice comes out more intense than I wanted as I stand, her eyes following my every move as I hold out my hand.
“Let’s get you in the shower. Sober you up. Okay?”
Her eyes grow wide at my comment. “Like by myself, though, right? Because I-I mean, you’re…you, and while I think you’re way too attractive for your age…”
My mouth gapes like a fish out of water at her rambling, and I can’t help the laugh that comes out. Yeah, she’s still feeling the alcohol, but at least I got her thinking about something other than what a shit show she thinks her life is right now—though forty-eight isn’t that old.
Kallie slaps a hand to her mouth after realizing she just hit on me and also kind of insulted me.
Before she can be embarrassed any longer, she starts talking again as I reach over and start the shower.
“How old are you now anyway?” Kallie asks after I get the shower to the perfect temperature. I turn and face her again to find her face is flushed, which makes the freckles littering her face more prominent. Her brown hair I tied up is starting to come loose, and her bright blue eyes are glossy as she looks up at me from the floor.
“Old enough.” Her face heats more, but her eyes wander down my body as I help her stand, her hand automatically finding my chest to help steady herself. Her lips part like she’s going to say something, but she decides against it.
This girl is a walking temptation, one I have no business indulging in. I clear my throat and take a step back. Her hands fall from my chest, and I instantly miss the feeling of them on me as I leave her to shower without another word, not quite trusting myself to say anything more.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Robert is going to kill me.
After Kallie gets out of the shower, she dresses in a shirt she basically drowns in. Her eyes are red and irritated with the remains of her smeared makeup, and it makes me want to take her into my arms and comfort her the way she deserves, but I refuse to put my hands on her in any way. I don’t trust myself right now, and I refuse to put her in any kind of situation while she has been drinking.
Pulling back the blanket on the bed, I watch as she lays on her side. Her eyes droop as she mumbles something about me being nice and what I think was a thank you.
It only takes her a few seconds to pass out. Now, she’s fast asleep in her bed as I stand there in the dimly lit room. I can’t help but watch her, my emotions at war with my better judgment. Her wet, wavy hair frames her face and her eyelashes cast delicate shadows on her cheeks. The way she sleeps, so vulnerable and unaware, stirs something deep within me.
She looks at peace.
Walking into her bathroom, I find a package of makeup remover wipes and pull one out. I remember my mom saying it was never good to sleep with makeup on, and the shower only smeared it more.
Walking back to her bedside, I sit down slowly, not wanting to wake her as I press the clean wipe to her face. She doesn’t move a muscle as I take off what I can. I know I didn’t do a good job and she will have to take another wipe to her face in the morning, but I got most of the smudging off.
I know I shouldn’t be here, standing in her room, gazing at her in this private moment as I remove the remains of her bad night. It feels like an intrusion, a violation of her space, but I can’t help myself. The way her lips part lightly as she breathes, the innocence shining through her relaxed expression… It’s captivating. She’s stunning. It makes me wonder what her lips would look like wrapped around my co–
What? No. Nope. Time to go.
With a heavy sigh, I quietly stand and toss the wipe in the trash before retreating into the shadows of the hallway. I know I shouldn’t stay, yet I can’t get myself to actually leave. With a final, lingering look at her sleeping form, I turn away and disappear into the living room, grabbing a blanket off the couch and plopping down, ready to relax before I need to head to the bar to close up.