Page 51 of Saving You

I stare at him in disbelief. I reach forward and poke him in the peck. He doesn’t even flinch. I do it again, this time harder. He reaches up and rubs the spot.

“What gives, Bails?”

“How are you real?”

His brows pinch together. “What do you mean?”

“How are you real? You’ve taken in Charlie and I, you’re offering to host the people I invited for a dinner party, and you’ve bought new furniture for this room for me. Again, how are you real?”

He places his hands on either side of my face. “Bailey, I’m slowly realizing I’d do anything for you and Charlie. I can’t think of anything I wouldn’t do for you two. I’m real. I’m right here, and I have no intentions of going anywhere anytime soon.”

I stare into his eyes, getting lost in the sincerity in them. I go onto my tiptoes, and just as my lips brush his, the doorbell rings. He rests his forehead against mine and groans.

“That’s probably the mattress. I should go let them in.”

He kisses my forehead before retreating out of the room, and I follow behind him. He opens the door, and sure enough,there are two guys in delivery uniforms on the other side. They take the mattress upstairs while I help Charlie start on her homework and write my list. When the delivery guys leave, Caleb joins us in the kitchen.

“If you give me your keys, I’ll head over there now. I should be back in time for us to start dinner.”

Grabbing my keys from my purse and removing my house key, I hand it to him along with my list. Charlie and I finish her homework, and I work on unloading the dishwasher and cleaning the kitchen counters. My phone buzzes on the counter, and I smile, thinking it’s Caleb asking a question about the list. I check my phone and the blood drains from my face. It’s not Caleb. It’s Derek.

Derek: Bailey, I stopped by your place yesterday and you weren’t home. I’d like to see you and my daughter.

I knew this was a possibility. I just told Caleb it was, but seeing the proof in front of me makes my heart race and not in a good way. I stare at my phone, not knowing what to say. I choose to ignore the text for now and deal with it later.

By the time I finish, Caleb is returning with bags full of groceries. He puts them on the counter, and I separate what I need to make stir fry and put the rest away.

I watch Caleb and Charlie draw at the kitchen table while I cook. He’s so good with her, taking an interest in her hobbies even though she’s only five. While the sight fills me with warmth that Charlie has a male role model who has taken an interest in her, I’m so unbelievably worried he’s going to leave just as quickly as he showed up in our lives.

As we’re eating, I say, “You should invite Grayson for dinner, and anyone else you want to. Just tell me how many so I know how much food to make. I already told Liv to invite Matt, and I’ve invited the girls and Lily.”

“Sounds good. Let me know if you need me to grab anything for the dinner.”

“I think we have everything.”

We finish eating, and Caleb sets Charlie up in the living room with Disney Plus before he comes back and helps me with clean up. We work together in silence and then head into the living room to join Charlie. He sits in the corner of the couch, and Charlie climbs right into his lap. He wraps an arm around her and pats the seat beside him, and I sit. As the movie plays, I slowly inch closer to him until my head is resting on his shoulder. His arm comes down and pulls me closer to him.

I inhale deeply as his scent wraps around me like a safety blanket and I relax into him further. The next thing I remember is being lifted off the couch and carried up the stairs. Caleb places me gently into bed and kisses my forehead before leaving the room. I dream of him. I dream of all the things I now want with him, but am not sure I’d ever ask for.

I’m woken by the sounds of Caleb’s nightmare. I pad to his bedroom, slowly opening the door and making my way to him. It pains me to see him like this as he thrashes in bed, calling the name of his friend. I wake him gently like I did the last time and grab a cold washcloth from the washroom using it on his forehead as he falls back to sleep.

We find a routine throughout the week. Caleb hangs out with Charlie while I cook dinner, we watch a movie or a show together, take Finn for a walk, and then we all head to bed. Derek reaches out a few times throughout the week, but I continue to ignore him. On Thursday, Caleb has a game, so it’s just Charlie and I at home because it’s too late for Charlie to go. I leave him a covered plate on the table with a note before I head to bed.

Every night, I go into Caleb’s room and use a washcloth on his forehead when he wakes from his nightmare. Once he falls back asleep, I make my way back to my room and wish I could find a way to take away his pain.

CHAPTER 19

Bailey

Everyone is confirmed for dinner tonight. There should be eleven of us in total, so I’m making two lasagnas. I’ve seen how these guys eat and I want to make sure we have enough food. I’m also making garlic bread, a tossed salad, and a chocolate cake for dessert. I get to work on making the cake in the afternoon while Caleb’s at work. I allow Charlie to watch TV while I get the table in the dining room, which Caleb apparently never uses, set up for dinner. I lay the tablecloth I bought on the table and set all the place settings. I also got some candles and candleholders and put them along the centre of the table.

I’ve got the lasagnas and garlic bread ready to go into the oven and am chopping vegetables when Caleb comes behind me and says, “Smells good,” as he reaches out and grabs a piece of cut pepper.

I look at him with a smile. “Thanks.”

“I’m going to head upstairs and shower. I’ll be down shortly to help with whatever you need.”

“I think I’ve got everything,” I say as he leaves the kitchen.

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