Page 137 of Dial L for Lawyer
"That's ridiculous," Dominic says. "Leave the boxes."
"This is my fault?—"
"Stop." Bennett's voice cuts through my spiral. "Unpacking makes you look guilty. Like you're trying to hide evidence of the relationship. You leave everything as is."
My phone buzzes for the fourth time in the last twenty minutes. Caleb's name on the screen. I don't answer.
"Serena," Layla says gently. "You need to talk to him."
"I need to not make things worse." I turn the phone face down. "I'm a witness now right? If they think we're coordinating stories?—"
The apartment door opens, and Caleb stands in my doorway. He's wearing a suit now, and he looks absolutely wrecked. His tie is gone, top buttons undone, hair a mess.
"Everyone out," he says quietly, but there's steel underneath.
"Caleb," Bennett starts. "We should strategize."
"Now."
They file out without argument. Dominic squeezes my shoulder as he passes. Layla gives me a look that says, 'don't you dare run.' Then we're alone.
"Why didn't you answer your phone," he says, still standing by the door.
"I thought?—"
"I know what you thought." He finally moves, crossing to where I'm standing by the boxes. "You thought you were protecting me. You thought distancing yourself would help. You thought—" He stops, jaw clenching. "You thought this was your cue to run."
"But I went to see her. Maya. She asked about you, about how I got you to represent me?—"
"What did you tell her?"
"Nothing! Just that we had history, that it was complicated. But she assumed we were sleeping together and now she's twisted it into?—"
"Stop." He grabs my shoulders, gentle but firm. "Look at me."
I can't. If I look at him, I'll break.
"Serena. Look. At. Me."
I lift my eyes to his, and the raw emotion there steals my breath.
"You didn't do anything wrong," he says. "I did."
"No." The word comes out sharper than I intend. "You didn't do anything wrong. You helped me when no one else would. You?—"
"I made your legal representation dependent on a date. I knew you wouldn’t accept pro bono, and I knew you couldn’t pay. I did what they’re accusing me of." His hands drop from my shoulders. "Jesus, Serena, when I say it out loud like that..."
"I chose that option. You gave me options, Caleb. I wasn’t forced."
"I know that. You know that. But that's not how it looks." He turns away, running both hands through his hair. "And now they're going to examine every moment between us. Every text. Every time you stayed over. They're going to turn what we have into something ugly."
I watch him pace my living room, this man who's always so controlled, so sure of himself, and I see him falling apart in real time. The weight in my chest gets heavier.
"Maybe we should—" I start.
"Don't." He whirls back to face me, his eyes fierce. "Don't say what I think you're about to say."
"You don't know what I was going to say," I protest weakly.
