Page 8 of Rescuing Josiah
As difficult as he made it to feel sorry for him sometimes, she reminded herself that Josiah was hurting. He didn't lash out for fun, or because he was a cruel person, and he didn't push people away because he didn't care about them. It was all self-preservation.
When he was at his least likable, it was when he needed compassion the most.
So she chopped up enough ingredients to make two omelets, and refused to let her hurt feelings push her to retaliate with anger at Josiah ignoring her. He’d accepted her presence in this op only because Eagle and Raven had agreed that her plan was more likely to yield results than his.
Just as she was dishing up their plates, she heard footsteps on the stairs.
Dragging in a deep breath, Chelsea painted on a smile and turned to face the door.
Josiah paused slightly when he spotted her standing in the kitchen, and from the scowl on his otherwise handsome face, she knew he’d been hoping she wouldn't be in there and he could sneak away and get ready, then only have to deal with her when it was time to leave.
“Perfect timing, breakfast is ready,” she said as she carried both plates over to the table.
“I was?—”
“You were what? Going to skip breakfast like you skipped dinner?” she asked, daring him to go ahead and leave this room without having consumed the food she’d cooked for him.
“Didn't skip dinner,” he grumbled, but he opened the fridge, grabbed a carton of orange juice, and brought it to the table.
“Oh? Because I don’t remember you answering me the dozen times I yelled through the door to tell you dinner was ready. I don’t remember you sitting at the table with me to eat, and I don’t remember hearing you come up while I was watching TV.” It wasn't that she wanted him to feel bad, and she wasn't trying to be childish, but he had to understand that while this was hard for him, that didn't make it easy for her. She’d never done anything like this before, and it was scary knowing she was willingly walking into danger. The least she needed right now was a little bit of support from the man who was, for better or worse, her partner for the foreseeable future.
“Had some extra energy I had to work out,” he mumbled as he poured them both juice, returned the carton to the fridge, and then took the seat across from her.
Had some extraemotionsto work out, he meant, but she didn't correct him. At least he was here now, and she intended to take this moment to get a few things straight. This was turningout to be harder than she’d thought it would be, but she wasn't backing down, wasn't giving up.
Maybe she wasn't up to the enormous task before her, but she was going to give it her best shot. She wasn't giving up, and Josiah had to accept that.
“Yeah, we need to talk about your skipping meals to work out. I know you don’t like this, but we’re here together, and I don’t want to be completely ignored. I’d like us to agree on sharing meals. I won't ask anything else from you. If you want to spend the rest of your time in the gym, or on your laptop, or sleeping in your car, that’s up to you. But can we please sit down together to eat our meals?”
Josiah’s brown eyes were wide with surprise. He obviously hadn't expected her to be so upfront about her needs or confront him on ignoring her. Thing was, she might be naïve at times, and she was for sure a romantic at heart. She went out of her way to look for the good in people, but that didn't make her a pushover. She could stand up for herself and she was doing it now.
“I didn't sleep in the car,” he said.
“Well, you didn't sleep upstairs in our room, or in any of the other rooms, or on the couch, and your car door was open when I went down to look for you this morning.”
“Just sat in there to work out some cramps,” he muttered, refusing to look at her as he stabbed his fork into his omelet with more force than was necessary. “Overdid it in the gym.”
“Then don’t do that again,” she said simply, pleased that he’d been honest with her. A teeny tiny little baby step, but at least he’d let her in with that one little thing. Maybe this wasn't as completely hopeless as she’d thought. Josiah was never going to reciprocate her feelings. He wasn't going to magically fall in love with her, but maybe he’d let her be his friend. That wasn't all she wanted from him, but it was better than nothing.
Better than seeing him slowly die inside even as he kept breathing.
Chapter
Three
May 12th
10:22 A.M.
His foot bounced as they waited.
He should stop it, betraying any of his nervousness could be misconstrued by Chelsea as meaning more than it did.
Of course, he was nervous. He was taking a woman into a situation that wasn't only unsafe, but that she was untrained and unprepared for. Chelsea was tough, he wasn't denying that. She handled the things they saw in their line of work without losing her cool, but seeing it on a computer screen and living it were two completely different things.
This wasn't her world, and yet she was about to be thrust into it.
At full speed.
