Page 45 of It's Going to Be a Chrome Christmas
He slipped out from under her. She didn’t so much as twitch. Cayden went to her small fridge and pulled out a water bottle. He placed it on her nightstand next to a note. While he refrained from writingI love you, he did sign itlove, Cayden. It was as close as he was willing to get without risking upsetting her. She’d given him the silent treatment when she thought he was going to propose. He couldn’t risk worse if he professed his love to her. Not until he wassureshe reciprocated.
Cayden grabbed his boots and his coveralls, taking them outside her apartment before slipping back into his shoes. He put his coveralls in his locker and grabbed his wallet. He made sure to deactivate and then reactivate the alarms as he left the building. Mr. Wynn was sitting in his truck, looking displeased.
Mr. Wynn held out a piece of paper as Cayden hopped into the passenger seat. “She needs to sign this form?—”
“She’s asleep,” Cayden told him shortly. “I’ll get her to sign it tomorrow.”
Mr. Wynn scowled. “That’s not how this works, son.”
Cayden rounded on him. “Do you really want me to go up there and wake her up just so she can sign a fucking form?” He snatched the paper out of Mr. Wynn’s hand. “Because I swear to you, I’d rather go back to jail right now than go back up there and wake her.”
Mr. Wynn, frowning, was quiet for a moment before saying, “What happened? Is it AJ?”
Cayden rested his arm against the door, his head against his hand. “He was stabbed in a riot. He’s in the infirmary, but they say he’ll pull through.”
“Shit.” Mr. Wynn glanced towards the building where Trixie lay asleep. “I hate to leave her alone.”
“You and me both.”
Mr. Wynn rubbed his hand down his face, looking older than Cayden had ever seen him. “We can’t stay, I have to get you back. But,” he paused, “she can sign the form tomorrow. Just…don’t tell anyone I did this for you. Ever. Not even Mrs. Wynn.”
Cayden glanced over at the man. “Thank you,” he said finally. “And, uh, sorry about the cursing.”
Mr. Wynn shrugged it off. “We won’t tell Mrs. Wynn about that either.”
A small, tired smile appeared on his face. “Yes, sir.”
Though Trixie hadn’t touched alcohol in years, she woke up feeling hung over. It took her some time to figure out why she was still dressed in work clothes and on top of her comforter instead of under it. Then the memory of her phone call with the prison doctor came back to her. She felt her eyes well up again,but she fought to keep control this time. She’d cried so much the day before it was a wonder she had any tears left.
She owed Cayden a thank you. He hadn’t pressured her to talk more or even spoken himself. He’d done exactly as she needed him to and simply held her.
The staleness in her mouth forced her to consider getting out of bed. She sat up. She hadn’t expected to find Cayden in her room, but disappointment still swelled when she saw she was alone. It would have been nice if he could have stayed. She vaguely recalled him saying she needed to sign a form so that he could stay as long as he had and wondered how out of it she had been that she couldn’t recall signing it.
She noticed a water bottle next to a folded piece of paper on her nightstand. She reached for the note first, knowing it was from Cayden.
I’m sorry I have to go. I wish I could have held you all night. Get some rest and I’ll come up to see you when I get to work in the morning. Don’t worry about coming down to work. Jeff and I will take care of the shop. Concentrate on taking care of you.
Love, Cayden
She reread the note before gripping the piece of paper to her chest lovingly. She wished he could have held her all night too.
Trixie downed the whole water bottle before journeying to her bathroom. Her stomach was in knots, and not just because of how crappy she felt. She’d missed lunch and dinner the day before. Mind, she didn’t think she’d have been able to keep food down if she’d tried to eat anyway.
She was in the shower when she heard the apartment door open and close. He walked into the bathroom without invitation and pulled back the shower curtain. His mismatched eyes blazed with concern. Trixie nearly lost the tentative hold she had on her control and collapsed back into his arms. He was wearing jeans and a button-up, which got soaked as he reached for her.
Trixie held on and never wanted to let go.
AJ’s injury had been upsetting, but it had brought back all the pain and memories of everyone else she’d lost in her life. The idea of losing him too… Lee, Peggy, and Greg insisted that AJ was already lost to them, but Trixie couldn’t believe that. She couldn’t believe it. But his injury, regardless of how insistent the doctor was that he would be fine, had been too close a call. AJ did not deserve all he’d suffered.
Cayden got her out of the shower and dried her off. Then he got her dressed, though she did notice he put her in lounge pants and a tee instead of her work clothes. He truly intended on her taking today off. Trixie knew she had things to do, people to call. She just didn’t think taking time off work was good either. She had a business to run.
Her protests went in one ear and out the other, though. He plopped her back in bed then sat behind her to comb her hair. Trixie had to admit it did feel good to be cared for so. Cayden informed her that Jeff and the staff believed that she was sick. He didn’t think she wanted anyone to know about AJ and he didn’t want to speak out of turn. He said he told Mr. Wynn the truth because he couldn’t risk being dishonest with the halfway-house owner. Trixie didn’t mind Greg knowing; she was going to have to call Peggy and Greg later, anyway.
After placing a breakfast bar, water bottle, and her phone next to the bed, he told her to get some more rest and he would check in on her around lunch. Trixie leaned up for his kiss and then did as she was told.
She woke back up when she heard him reenter. He had a paper plate in each hand with sandwiches and fixings from the deli. They’d shared enough lunch hours for him to know what she liked and didn’t like.
Cayden scolded her for not drinking the water he’d left for her. Trixie quickly gulped it down. They ate in relative silence on her bed. Cayden seemed to be waiting for her to say something and Trixie wasn’t sure what to say. She knew she couldn’t risk falling back to sleep after lunch, so she got up when he did to walk him to her door. She’d signed the form she should have signed the night before to allow him to stay with her past working hours. She hoped he didn’t get in trouble for turning it in a day late. She made a mental note to tell Greg it was her fault the form was late.
