Page 8 of Breathless
“Both,” she said.
“Fix drinks for us while I finish up here,” he said.
“Sure thing,” she said.
She went to the cabinet and got down two glasses, filled them with ice cubes. “Do you want water, soda…” she opened the refrigerator and looked inside. “I guess those are the options right now. There’s only a little milk for cereal in the morning.”
“Soda is fine.” He was silent as put the sandwiches on plates. “Does that mean you aren’t a coffee drinker?”
“Afraid not.”
“Is there a coffee shop close by?” he asked.
“Ask Broderick, my driver. He always has one when he takes me to my appointments with Dr. Saunders. Which I have tomorrow.”
“Good to know,” Rawlins said.
She liked how well they got along. It was nice. It reminded her of the way she and Justus fell in-line as friends when they had first met on campus that first day. They’d been totally lost and thought the other one knew where they were going when they’d asked each other directions. And not wanting to look clueless they’d both tried to fake it until it became obvious, they were both newbies to campus. They’d ended up laughing and going to find someone to help them both. And when there had been a freshman housing shortage, they’d decided to find a place off campus together. It had only forged their bond.
And now look at them? She couldn’t understand why Justus had turned on her the way she did today.
“Is the sandwich that good that you can’t talk or so bad you don’t want to say anything?” Rawlins said.
Chaney jerked her head in his direction, laying the half-eaten sandwich back on her plate. “What?”
“You’ve been staring into space for the last five minutes just holding your food in mid-air.”
“Have I?”
He nodded.
“Sorry. I was thinking about when I met Justus on campus and how easily we became friends and trying to understand how she could say what she did to me today.”
He touched her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I am sure she didn’t mean it. Think about what had just happened and how she reacted in the rotunda,” Rawlins suggested. “You’d just given a deposition, had someone threaten to throw acid in your faces if you testify at trial, found out you’d been assigned protectors, and she was not happy about it.”
He took a breath. “Although I’m not sure why? Asher is one. He’s been with Liberty for months and helped find the two of you. Justus knows what the organization is all about.”
“I know. I’m happy to have you in my corner. I feel so much safer with you here until I go to testify at trial,” Chaney said. “It was one thing to have Broderick watching and driving me everywhere. He is here for my parents. He doesn’t make me feel safe, only watched. But with you here, it’s different.”
She picked up her sandwich. “This is really good. I was not looking forward to another sandwich for a meal, but you make one heck of a hero. Which makes me think I could live on them now.”
“I worked in a deli one summer,” he said. “Thanks for the compliment.”
“I’m glad.” She began eating again.
He chuckled, sitting back and watching her finish. “One thing I didn’t ask you earlier when we were talking about why you decided to come out to Colorado, was why here? I know you said it had a good linguistics program, but was that the only reason other than the distance from your parents?”
She shrugged. “Not really.”
“Have you ever thought that if you hadn’t made that decision and stayed back east, that you’d have not been human trafficked,” he said.
“Something worse could have happened to me instead.” Her matter-of-fact response left him silent.
She stood and cleared away their dishes, putting them in the dishwasher and cleaning up the counter. “Any other questions I can answer for you?”
He shook his head. “None at this time.”
“Good. Because I’m a little tired of thinking about it all. It has been a long day. I’m going to go take a shower and try to fall asleep early if I can. My appointment with Dr. Saunders is at one. Do you want to go to the store before and get the groceries in the morning?”
