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“Not funny. She’s nosey. What are you doing?” She asks when she notices I’m still tugging at the wrinkles in my shirt.
“I didn’t plan ahead when I came here last night This is my only shirt and it’s seen better days,” I shrug.
“Well, here.” She digs through her bag and pulls out a familiar t-shirt, handing it to me. It’s one of mine, perfectly folded still from my closet. I look at her for a second, surprised she has it. “I might have wanted something of yours before I left… I’m sorry I should’ve asked,” she admits sheepishly.
“You never have to ask, baby, I’m glad you wanted it.” I take the clean shirt, tossing the dirty one on the dresser.
“In that case, I guess I can tell you that I also took this…” She bends over and pulls out the flannel she wore two nights ago. I hadn’t even realized it was gone. I laugh, amused that she felt like she had to sneak them out, but glad that she wanted a token of me, even after how we had left things yesterday afternoon. I pull her into me, feeling grateful that I can, having no more barriers between us. Callie could have walked away from me yesterday and never looked back. I could have driven all the way out here and she could have closed the door in my face. I don’t want to imagine how hard it would be to get over her. Hopefully, I never have to. I plan to do everything in my power to make her happy, to keep her.
“Ready to do this?” I ask her, holding her tightly in my arms.
“I’m glad you’re here,” she whispers into my neck, sighing softly.
“Me too,” I admit, honestly.
Chapter Forty-One
Callie
We walk into the kitchen, and I’m expecting an ambush, but both of my parents are seated at the dining room table waiting. My mom’s eyes bulge out when she sees Nathan again. Even though this time he has his shirt on, he’s still an impressive specimen. My dad’s face doesn’t give much away, he’s just calmly waiting for answers. I haven’t gotten to tell him directly what has happened the last few days, only speaking to my mom those few times on the phone. I’m sure he’s worried, but I don’t think this conversation is going to lessen any of it, unfortunately.
“Mom, Dad, this is Nathan,” they exchange niceties, my dad standing to shake Nathan’s hand. The interaction makes me grin, almost seeming normal. We sit down across from them at the kitchen table, but I fidget in my chair, suddenly feeling awkward. It’s hard to know where to start. My mom speaks up, saving me.
“Go ahead, get some food before it gets cold, then just start from the beginning, sweetie. Your father needs to hear it all from you. I’ve been terrible at relaying our conversations, it’s been a lot to process.” She starts pushing plates and bowls around, encouraging everyone to fill their plates. It only takes a few minutes for us all to have pancakes, eggs, and bacon on our plates. Not putting off the conversation long enough, unfortunately.
I take a drink of my orange juice and start from the beginning. I feel strong, my voice hardly wavering as I explain my attack. Only struggling a little when I explain almost being raped. Nathan moves his hand to my knee, grounding me, and helping me move forward with my story. When I get to the part involving Nathan, I can’t help but look at him while I talk. Still, so in awe of him, and how lucky I was to have him as a guardian angel that day. A tear escapes my eye, relaying to my parents how scared I was, and how I really thought I was going to die in those woods. The thought of never seeing them again, or that they’d never know what had happened to me.
Nathan brushes the tear off my cheek, jumping in on the conversation. Explaining to them what he saw and how he decided to help me. I watch him as he talks, admiring the way he speaks, so strong and in control of himself. My mom is also captivated by him, I can tell, and I don’t blame her. My dad looks like stone though, hardly removing his eyes from the table top, he looks grim hearing my story unfold. Nathan explains everything until we arrive back at his cabin, looking to me to continue from there. I know he is wondering how to handle explaining our relationship, effectively putting it on my shoulders now. I squint my eyes at him, mockingly. Coward.
“Nathan rescued me, kept me safe. He took care of me when I was utterly broken that night after everything finally caught up to me. I won’t ever be able to thank him enough for what he did for me.” I look him in the eyes deeply, meaning every word. “Then he continued to take care of me. He helped me with my car and took me to the Sheriff’s department. Then got me the hell out of there when I realized the Sheriff might be one of the bad guys.” I clear my throat, gearing up for the next part. “The Sheriff knows the guys who attacked me, and we think they’re going to try to kill me to keep me from exposing them.”
The silence in the room is heavy, waiting for my parents’ reaction. My mom is speechless, which is not like her. My dad stands up so abruptly that his chair almost topples over. He starts pacing back and forth behind the table. “What the hell type of hell hole did you end up in? The Sheriff of the town you wandered into wants to kill my daughter?” He yells, surprising me, making me and my mom startle. I’ve hardly ever heard him raise his voice in anger.
“I know, I have the worst luck in the world,” I whisper, my earlier bravado all but gone. “That’s why I came home yesterday. Nathan was trying to help get everything sorted, he even called the State Police, but the Sheriff made his threat clear, so I left right away even though I didn’t want to.”
“So, what did the State say?” My dad asks me, but Nathan answers instead, not at all affected by my dad’s distressed state.
“When they talked to the Sheriff, he denied all involvement. Denied knowing who attacked Callie. The State police won’t get involved unless they have evidence that he threatened her, or evidence that he knows the culprits,” Nathan looks at me as he finishes speaking, but I’m stunned. He hadn’t updated me on his latest conversation with them, and now I’m realizing just how screwed I am. He continues, “I hadn’t heard from Callie after she left yesterday, and I was pretty worried after talking to Trooper Malec. That’s why I came here so late last night, I needed to make sure she was alright.”
“You drove all the way here in the middle of the night because you were worried about Callie?” My mom asks Nathan, a softness in her voice, blanketing the room in calmness. My dad sits back down in his seat, affected by the shift in the room.
“Yes ma’am,” Nathan responds, leaving no room for doubt.
“So, what are we going to do? Do I need to contact a lawyer or the FBI?” My dad asks, I see his mind reeling, his focus solely on trying to solve my problems. My mom’s focus is directed right at me and Nathan, her eyes pinging back and forth between us.
“The FBI won’t get involved unless the crime crosses state lines. I don’t think they’re brave enough to do that. That’s why I wanted Callie to come home, I think she’ll be safe here.” The way he avoided the first part of my dad’s question has my mind wandering. He’s not one to sidestep a question, but it’s exactly what he did. What are you going to do, Nathan?
“But there are still men out there that want to kill my baby?” My mom finally rejoins the conversation, realization sinking in for her.
“That won’t happen,” Nathan states boldly.
“How do you know that?” My dad asks, anger lacing his voice, again. I know he’s angry about the situation, but he shouldn’t take it out on Nathan. Luckily, Nathan doesn’t seem fazed at all by my dad’s tone.
“I’m going to find the proof I need to get the State involved. Taking down the Sheriff will lead to the other two,” Nathan states simply, his thumb lightly tapping on my knee is the only indication I have that he’s unsettled by the conversation. His face is still a cool mask of certainty.
It’s also the first time I’ve ever heard him say something and know for a fact that he’s lying. I don’t know how I know for sure, but my gut is telling me that he’s not being honest. There is something he isn’t saying, and I know it. My parents believe him though, both of them visibly relaxing at his response. I stay quiet, not wanting to question him in front of them. I look at him though, making sure he realizes I know he’s full of shit… He’s focused on his plate, taking a bite of his food, fully ignoring me. Mhm definitely hiding something.
“What makes you qualified to handle this?” My dad asks rudely. My fork clanks on the table from my surprise at his tone. Nathan subtly nods his head, stopping my retort.
