Page 58 of The Wickedness of Man

“Oh, uh, one second,” said Caleb, voice muffled through the door. “Let me check.”

Several minutes passed before he knocked again and then stuck only his arm through to pass me both a white t-shirt and his button-up shirt that I had somewhat ripped apart.

“No towels here. Maybe use the t-shirt to towel, and then wear the button-up like a robe?”

“You don’t have any towels?” I asked, taking the items he’d extended.

“This isn’t my place. There’s really nothing here at all. I mean, I can get you the bed sheet if you want…?”

“No, that’s okay,” I said, hurriedly doing just as he’d suggested to get the cooling water off me as quickly as possible. “Whose place is this then? It looks like a rental.”

“Yeah, about that, listen, we should definitely try to have a chat whenever you’re ready.”

I wrapped the sodden t-shirt around my hair to help dry it, and then pulled the button up over me. It was large enough that it covered to about midthigh, but the top, where I’d torn off the buttons, was somewhat open. Still, it worked. I opened the door, and there stood Caleb, looking for all the world like he regretted giving me anything to cover myself with.

“It’s not going to be a fun talk, is it?” I asked with a sigh.

He ran a sheepish hand along his hair, and I had to stop myself from leaning in and grabbing hold of him. He somehow looked even better than I recalled. “I uh… I don’t know, actually, but there is some stuff we need to discuss…”

I nodded.

“Mind if I take a quick shower first?” he asked. “There’s not much to eat here, but feel free to rummage in the bag by the door if you’re hungry. I think there’s some granola and chips, maybe.”

“I’m not,” I said, with some surprise. It occurred to me then that the last thing I’d eaten was my birthday cake on Friday night. I’d been too hungover to really have anything except a cup of coffee for breakfast on Saturday.

“Ah, sure,” Caleb nodded. “Let me get cleaned up, and then we can talk, okay?”

We passed each other, and almost as if we were both unable to stop it, he bent over and kissed me on the forehead and I wrapped him in a tight hug.

“I’ll be right out.”

I stood there as the door closed behind me, staring at the condo, wondering, not for the first time, what the hell I had gotten myself caught up in. I went and looked into the bag he’d mentioned, and although there was food, none of it seemed appetizing. I considered drinking some water, but felt perfectly sated, oddly enough, so instead I went and sat on the bed andtried to dry my hair with the t-shirt. I realized belatedly I had left my cell in the bathroom, and hoped my parents weren’t calling, but if I knew them—and I did, unfortunately—they would be at church, singing and praising their lord while plotting how they would destroy their daughter’s life. I was so lost in thought that the knock at the front door didn’t phase me at first.

Then, as the person knocked again, panic invaded my senses. Had they found me somehow? Had I been right that this was some kind of trick? Caleb yanked the bathroom door open, gesturing with a finger to his lips for me to remain quiet. He was wearing a thin t-shirt and his regular slacks, but water clung to the fabric around the hard planes of his abs. If it was them… if I asked him to, would he protect me? Would it be too much to put on a stranger?

You’re not really so strange to each other now, are you?

He stalked silently toward the door, leaning toward it, listening. There was no peephole for him to look out of.

As he got close, a woman’s voice, mildly irritated called out, “It’s me. I know you’re in there. Open up.”

Caleb looked over at me. I mouthed back at him,Dr. Lowe?

He nodded, but the look in his eyes was dark.

With a quick flick of the inner latch, Caleb pulled the door open. Dr. Lowe stood in the hall, looking worse for the wear, her blouse dirtied, her face wan. She looked… distinctly weaker than the last time we had met.

“Aren’t you going to invite me into your…” She leaned over and peered past him to spy me in the room. “…little love nest?”

“You aren’t a vampire, you don’t need an invitation,” he groused, stepping back and gesturing her in.

“How chivalrous,” she murmured as she passed by Caleb, but the tired look in her eyes weakened the snarky effect.

“You,” I snapped at her, once my senses had recovered. “What did you do to me? I just wanted to be able to be a normal person, not this, this…”

I glanced over at Caleb, which made my do a double flip as I felt his desire answering mine.

“I can’t stop thinking about—well,things,” I said, forcing my attention back to the doctor, then shifting my gaze to the floor. “It’s maddening.”

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