Page 68 of Moonstruck at Midnight
I kept frantically looking for it, which caused Caleb to come inside and dart in my direction after I didn’t answer.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“The key, I can’t find thefuckingkey!” Tears kept streaming down my face.
“Hey, it’s okay.” He placed a hand on my shoulder and looked for my eyes. “I’ll help you find it.” He must’ve thought I was PMSing or something, because who cries for losing a key?
He dropped to his knees before I could tell him not to. I didn’t want him to see what I’d seen, but it was too late. Caleb peeked under the bed, then glanced back at me with a fiery gaze. He could obviously put two and two together.
I crouched on the floor and cried my eyes out while Caleb searched for the key.
“I found it,” he said a minute later. “Now, let’s get the fuck out of here.” Caleb grabbed my arm and pulled me up. I stood there like an ice statue, staring out the window as Caleb grabbed the documents. “Come on, Red, let’s go.Now.”
We walked out, and Caleb locked the apartment door behind us, placing the key back on the lockbox afterward.
They can’t be his,I kept wishing.
“I fucking knew it,” he uttered a few times while we made our way to the car. “And you wonder why I hate the guy? He’s a cynic and a—”
“Caleb, stop. Please, just stop.” I begged with a stuffy nose. I couldn’t pull any air in. “This is his father’s apartment. He often comes for work and stays here. Your assumptions are not helping.” I couldn’t deal with my thoughtsandCaleb’s contagious speculations. It was making me anxious, and I needed to think straight.
“When’s the last time his father came to New York?” he mused.
“I don’t know, okay! I’ll figure it out. It’smyproblem. And you better not say a word of this to anyone. Especially to my father. I’mbeggingyou to stay out of it.” Caleb’s hands shaped into fists so hard that his knuckles turned white. If he could, I’m sure he’d go to D.C. in this very instant and track Thomas down.
I stepped into the car, forwarded the D.C. address to the security group chat, and asked David to find the nearest FedEx.
“You’re still going to send—”
“Stop!” I shouted. David kept a straight face, but I could see the confusion in his eyes as he probably tried to understand what had happened. “David, FedEx. Please.”
I wished we were in Paris so I could put the car divider up. The SUV didn’t have the option to do so, and I wanted to keep Caleb as far away from me as possible. I knew he was worried and trying to protect me, but I didn’t need his wrath right now. I needed silence.
We arrived home after sending the documents, and I changed into my gym clothes. Running always helped with clearing my thoughts. It had to.
Something as simple as going for a freaking run on my own—that’s all I wanted! But it wasn’t a possibility in my world. I needed to be alone, and the apartment building’s gym was the closest I would get to such a prized commodity.
Pathetic.
Forty-five minutes into my run, a tall, dark-brown skinned muscular guy wearing a neon green sleeveless shirt came walking in carrying a large duffel bag. He had short dreadlocks on top and shaved sides that made him look like a real badass.
He looked friendly and immediately waved his hand to say hello to me with a smile. I waved back at him and continued running.
Boxing gloves, pads, and bandages came out of the guy’s bag. I’d never seen him before, but I was entertained watching as he got his stuff ready to work out—anything to distract me from thinking was welcome at this point.
There were five minutes left on the treadmill when Joel walked into the gym. He waved hello to me, then greeted the friendly stranger. They shook hands and patted their backs with grins on their faces.
The stranger bandaged Joel’s hands, and a few minutes later, William waltzed into the gym precisely when my treadmill went into cool down mode.Shit.
He greeted the stranger which I assumed was their personal trainer, and placed his hands on the treadmill’s handrail. I spotted my green hair tie with the two cute golden stars around his wrist. He pulled an earphone off my ear and said, “Hey Guille. You’re looking a little pale, are you okay?” I wasn’t.
A heartbeat later, my knees buckled, and William pushed on the emergency stop button, making the treadmill come to a complete stop. I fell on my knees and took a deep breath. I had pushed myself too hard.
“Grant, could you—exactly!” William said to his trainer, who brought a paper cone with water. William squatted beside me and offered it to me. “Just like in your dream,” he whispered with an annoying wink that made me scowl at him. I took the water anyway because I needed it so badly. “Do you need help standing up?”
“No, thanks.”
Attempting to stand up was foolish—my knees were still weak, and my last meal had been at noon, which wasn’t helpful either. I took a deep breath and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My bloodless lips were fading out by the second.
