Page 97 of Saving You

The velvet is soft under my fingers, and my mind races a mile a minute. I open the box, and my entire world freezes. Nestled inside is a gorgeous diamond ring. A white gold band with a small, round diamond sitting in the centre. It isn’t ostentatious; it’s perfect. Something I could see myself wearing.

“Ummmm, whatcha got there?” Lily’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

“I don’t know. It was in the pocket of Caleb’s hoodie.”

My eyes leave the ring, and I meet her gaze as a shit-eating grin spreads across her face.

“That, hun, looks like an engagement ring.” Her voice is full of excitement.

“We haven’t even been together that long,” I say, but I also really want it to be just that. The thought of marrying Caleb one day doesn’t scare me. It fills me with joy and excitement. I’m not ready for that step yet, but one day in the near future, I’d love to be engaged to him. To marry him.

“Go talk to him.”

I shake my head quickly. “No, tonight is our annual Christmas girls’ night.”

Lily shakes her head, her smile still on her face. “I know you. You’re going to spend the rest of the night with your headfilled with questions about what that ring means. You won’t mentally be with us. So, take the ring and go talk to him. Charlie and I will hang out here.”

I worry my lip between my teeth, knowing she’s right. “Fine, but I’ll come back after.”

“Don’t worry about us,” Lily says as she pushes me towards the front door. “Charlie, come say bye to your mom.”

The sound of Charlie’s pounding footsteps carries through the house until she stops in front of me.

“Why are you leaving, Mom? We were going to watch a movie.” She’s more confused than sad.

“Mommy’s got to go talk to Caleb. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” I pull her into a hug and kiss the top of her head.

“Okay.” That seems to be enough for her, because as soon as I release her, she runs back into the living room.

“Don’t rush,” Lily says as she ushers me out the front door, handing me my purse and keys.

“I’ll text you when I’m on my way back,” I say as I step outside.

“Don’t worry about us.”

I hurry out of Lily’s place and head to my car, unlocking it and then making my way back to Caleb’s. As I drive through the neighbourhood, it hits me just how much I don’t want to move, but I really don’t want Charlie and I to overstay our welcome when Caleb was so nice to offer us a place to stay. I pulled up some house listings in my neighbourhood so I could get an idea of what I could list mine for. Charlie and I can move into an apartment while we wait for the sale to close, and then I’ll see what I can buy from the proceeds.

Pulling into Caleb’s driveway, I turn off the car and sit for a minute. Going inside and talking to Caleb has the possibility to change everything. Taking a deep breath, I open the door and make my way inside. As soon as I step inside, the sound of heart-wrenching sobs fills the air.

Oh, my poor Caleb.

Rounding the corner into the living room, I see the state of it and gasp. Caleb sits on the edge of the couch with his head in his hands as he cries. Papers are scattered over the floor in front of him, takeout containers litter the coffee table, and a partial bottle of Jack sits near him.

Caleb’s head flies up, and when our eyes meet, I see the absolute torment in his. I rush to his side, cupping his face and brushing his tears away the same way he’s done for me on so many occasions. He cries harder, and I move to straddle his lap and hold him as best as I can. When his arms come around me, he holds me so tightly it’s like he thinks if he holds me any looser, I’ll somehow disappear. This man doesn’t seem to know that I’m not going anywhere.

He has become my home.

He is the one place I always want to be.

He is the light in the darkness that had become my life, and I never want to give that up.

When his sobs subside and he pulls back, his words come out barely above a whisper. “What are you doing here?” His words are like a slap, but I still smile at him because if he truly didn’t want me here he wouldn’t have held me like I was his lifeline.

“I live here.”

I’m pulled from my thoughts as I feel Caleb’s hand run through my hair, and I smile up at him.

“What are you thinking about so intently?” he asks.

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