Page 7 of Gypsy's Lady
Hurry
“Clauds?” Doug’s greeting rang through the quiet apartment without an answer. “You home? Hello?”
Silence surrounded him. It was Wednesday, which had become their standard movie night. Doug and Claudia hadn’t missed one for months. She’d already picked out the offering for tonight, some blow ‘em up flick she considered standard holiday fare. It was only twodays until Christmas, and he’d stopped by a boutique down the street from the coffee shop where they sometimes had lunch to grab her present.
He’d had a hard time explaining to the guys at the precinct about Claudia and him. They weren’t romantically involved, at all, the thought of itmadehim grin as he imagined her scathing putdowns for the idea. She had enough to say about seeing his one-nightstands leaving the apartment. Even if he were so inclined, Doug knew there was no way Claudia would go there. They were…friends. Good friends, something he hadn’t realized he’d missed having until she filled the empty slot as if she were made for him in that way. She got him, understood his moods, and accepted how angry he got over the things he saw every day, his rages at the excesses he sawin the people he worked with, and for. She’d let him carry on for hours,healthily unwinding that fury, leaving him better at the end.
So their Wednesday night bonding sessions weren’t dates, but a necessary element in this friendship they’d built.
“Clauds?” He knew in his gut she wasn’t here, but he called out again before making his way to the kitchen to scan the countertops for a note. Shewas as punctual as a former street person could be, but if she were going to be late for something like movie night, she would be courteous at the least. Setting the bag down, he sighed. Nothing.Dammit, Claudia. Where are you?
He stood and considered his options. Checkherroom first, and then…not a lot he could do. She didn’t carry aphoneand didn’t follow a routine with even a passing acquaintanceof repetitive, so if she wasn’t here, he didn’t have a lot of choices to predict where to find her. After ruling out her napping in eitherbedroomand verifying the bathroom was as empty as the rest of thespace,he threw himself onto the couch with a sigh. Facing the door, he sat with boots on the floor, arms folded across his chest, and waited.
He must have dozed off at somepointbecause thesound of a key in the lock woke him. Doug jerked back upright from an awkward and painful slump towards the arm of the couch. It had been bright outside when he sat down, and he hadn’t budged from his vigil as night fell, which meant the apartment was dark and shadowed. Light streaming through the doorway outlined Claudia and Doug found himself evaluating her critically.She’s lost weight. A lotof it, and he hadn’t noticed. Hell, the last time he remembered seeing her look like this was the night he’d rescued her the first time.
She stumbled clumsily, and hefroze,because that wasn’t a trip from exhaustion; it had the tell-tale gait of someone who was inebriated, unsteady on their feet because of disorientation from something.Booze, or worse?
He didn’t want to startle her, so helet her come all the way into the apartment. When the door was closed behind her, and the chain was on the latch, from his position on the couch Doug said only her name, “Claudia.” She didn’t speak, didn’t acknowledge him, but her head and shoulders dropped, an angled sloping to her posture that spoke of painful weight. “Clauds.” He stood and walked the short distance to stand in front of her.No smell of booze, which meant the something was infinitely worse. “What did you take?”
“Not my jailer, Dougie.” She was slurring badly, mouth and tongue rioting against the sounds she tried to force out. “Imma big girl.”
“I know you are.”
Claudia swayed,andhe placed his palms on her shoulders, drawing her closersoshe rested against his chest. She didn’t reach up, didn’t touch him exceptto turn her headuntilher cheek was flat against the fabric of his shirt.
Doug whispered, “I’m worried about you.” She made a noise,andhe cast around for something she might believe. “I missed you. You weren’t here for movie night.”
“I’ll make it up to you.” She shuffled closerandDoug froze at the ice-cold sensation when her fingertips grazed the skin of his thigh. Claudia jerked, liftingone shoulder high as she pushed a hand between them. Doug grunted when her palm encountered his crotch, fingers gripping and cupping his flaccid cock. “Or, not.”
Carefully taking her wrist in his hand, he pulled her arm upsoit was around his waist. “No, baby. That’s not us,Clauds.” She nodded. Circled around by his embrace, she leaned against him, long muscles in her arms and legs tremblingand then she slowly straightened, pushing back. “Want to eat, or sleep it off?”
“Oblivion sounds good.” Still slurring, her motions were less coordinated than before,andhe realized she was drifting down a path to unconsciousness. Doug bent and gripped her behind the knees and back, lifting a now unresponsive Claudia in his arms.
He tucked her into bed, leaving her clothing in place. Afterstudying her sleeping form for a moment, he dragged a chair in from their kitchen. Poised on the uncomfortable wooden seat, he sat guard over her all night, her sleep deep and apparently dreamless, while he imagined all the horrors that normally plagued her.Can I blame her for looking for solace somewhere?
She must have woken while he was showering the nextmorning,because when he came out,ready to wake her with a cup of coffee so they could have the talk delayed from last night, she was already gone.
***
“You haven’t seen her, you’re certain?” Doug held the picture of Claudia up again, waiting until the shelter worker looked at it intently before shaking her head again. “Okay, thanks.” He knew asking her to call him if she saw Claudia was a futile exercise, but he still offeredher his card. “Can you get in touch if she shows?”
The woman stared at him a moment then her expression softened, turning to pity as she nodded. “Sure thing, honey.”
He dipped his head in response and turned to head back out into the snowstorm. It had been snowing for a day and a half, and the temperatures were supposed to drop below zero later tonight. Windchill had been in the sub-zero rangeall day, and the frigid bite of wind on his cheeks burned as he trudged back out to his car.
Waiting for the vehicle to warm up was useless with as cold as it was, so Doug left his gloves on as he drove. Back at theapartment,he stared around the dark interior.Why would she give up this?It was warm and safe, and if she would just walk back through that fuckingdoor,he’d feed her until shewas ready to pop.
He sighed and checked her bedroom, just in case, leaving the door ajar on the empty room when he walked back to the kitchen. Standing at the sink, he rested his hands on the edge of the counter. “God, Ihatefeeling helpless.”
This was how he’d felt a lot of the time while undercover. At least there he’d had Joel to vent to, in those moments when they had privacy. He pulledhis phone out, intending to call Joel and see how things were with him when he saw he’d missed a call from the precinct.Fuck. He’d been scheduledtodaybut had called in sick. Again.The thirdday in a row, because it was the third day Claudia had been gone.
He hit redial and waited through the attendant until he got the switchboard. “Janice, it’s Doug Tatum. I missed a call.”
“Hey, Doug, yeah,let me put you through.” That couldn’t begoodif she knew who had called him and why.
Silence on the line and then he recognized his captain’s voice. “Tatum. Where the fuck are you?”
“Sir, I’m out today. I called in.” He didn’t try to fake anything, didn’t offer any excuses. Sick days were supposed to be used for illness, but since vacations couldn’t be scheduled in anything less than one-weekblocks, they wound up being used for unexpected absences.
