Forgotten Awakenings (Awakenings #2) (16 page)

“You what?” Derek asked, scrambling to his feet.

“You heard me,” Elle muttered, leaning back.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” he yelled.

“Probably,” she admitted, leaning her head against the palm of her hand as she propped her elbow on the arm of the couch. “I needed to talk to her.”

“About what?” Callum asked, heatedly. “What could she have to say to you that you needed to hear so badly that you had to sneak out of bed and leave without telling us?”

Elle sighed. “I’ve spent the last seven months wondering if I had done something, said something that made her come after me. I can’t forget what it felt like to feel the bullet slice through my leg, or the fear I felt as I begged for my life. And I needed to ask her why.”

“Why?” Sadie scoffed. “Because she’s a fucking loon, Elle!”

“Why didn’t you tell us you wanted to go see her?” Derek asked. “Do you know how scared we were when we woke up and you were gone? And why didn’t you answer one of our calls? We were fucking scared, Elle!”

“I didn’t tell you because you would have tried to stop me,” she explained as calmly as she could. “And I didn’t answer your calls because it was taking the small amount of strength I had to face her. You were scared? I’ve been scared every day for the last seven months!”

“So have we,” Sadie said, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “You left that morning, too, without telling us, remember? You almost died that morning. Would have, too, if Samuel hadn’t found you.”

“But you weren’t the one who was shot!” Elle quipped. “You were scared because I was lying in a hospital bed? Well, I was scared because I had a hole in my leg and another in my chest. I was scared because you’re having a baby, Sadie, and I didn’t think I was going to be alive to see her be born. And every day since, I’ve hurt. Physically, emotionally hurt.”

“I never meant to make it seem like we’d suffered more than you, but don’t sit there and act like we aren’t her victims, too,” Sadie argued, standing up and walking over to Elle. She sat next to her, taking hold of her hand. “But we can’t have a life together if you’re not going to be open and honest with us.”

“I am,” Elle insisted, but Callum snorted. “I am!”

“No, you’re not,” he said. “We’re married, Elle. We’re having a baby, and you’re taking field trips to the police station to visit the psycho bitch that tried to kill you! That’s not okay!”

“I needed to talk to her,” Elle snarled. “I needed to understand, because there are all these feelings inside me and I don’t know how to handle them. Every morning I wake up and my body hurts, and I find myself expecting her to jump out of the shadows and kill me once and for all.”

“But she can’t, Elle,” Derek groused, kneeling in front of her. “She’s in jail. She can’t get to you again.”

“I know, but I guess I needed to see for myself that she’s really gone.”

Derek brought her hands to his lips. “Do you feel better now that you’ve talked with her?”

“No,” Elle admitted. “No, I can’t say that talking with her did any good.”

“What’d she say?” Callum asked, crawling over so that he was sitting on the floor next to Derek.

“Nothing really. Just kept going on and on about how I stole everything from her. I thought it would help, you know, understand why she came after me that morning, why she broke into the house and wore my clothes, or even why she attacked your father last night. But it didn’t.” Elle slipped her hand out from under Derek’s and wiped the tears off her cheeks. “Guess she just saw me as the person who got in her way.”

“But you know you’re not, right?” Callum asked. “Trixie never had a chance with us. You do know that, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Elle said. “She’s bat-shit crazy and desperate, and a hundred other adjectives, but that doesn’t make the pain lessen, or the fear that someday, someone’s going to finish what she and Leo tried to do.”

“What do you mean?” Derek asked, a look of horror on his face.

Elle shrugged her shoulders. “Leo tried to kill me. Trixie tried to kill me. Who’s to say that there won’t be someone else that sees me as a problem?”

Derek pushed up on his knees and cupped her face between his hands. “That will never happen.”

And when she went to argue with him, he pressed his lips against hers. “That will never happen because I will never let anyone hurt you again, Elle. Never.”

“Promise?” she whimpered, grabbing the front of his T-shirt.

“I promise,” he murmured, and kissed her again.

Elle hoped like hell that he would never have to keep his promise.

Fifteen

Elle sat in the driver’s seat of her car, anxiously tapping her finger tips against the steering wheel. A glance out the window had her groaning. She’d been stuck in traffic for almost an hour and from the look of the flashing lights fifty yards in front of her, she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

She’d spent all afternoon inspecting the progress of Alvarez Park. They were just weeks away from finishing the project, only a few last minute details left to throw together. The Asciari Brothers and their crews had done an amazing job, meeting every deadline, often working ahead of schedule. Even more important, they took great pride in their work, and it showed. But all she wanted now was a glass of ice tea and something to eat.

A series of three dings echoed throughout the car, alerting Elle to a new text message. She reached into her briefcase and pulled out her cell phone, finding a message from Derek:
Getting worried. Where are you?

Sighing, Elle replied:
Stuck on the 280. Nasty accident.

She had barely sent the message when her phone started ringing and Derek’s name flashed over a picture of him flexing his muscles. Smiling, she accepted the call. “Hello, lover.”

“Hey, beautiful, are you okay?” he asked.

“Just tired of being in the car,” she replied, glancing out the window again. “Doesn’t look good for whoever was in the wreck, though. Anyway, doesn’t look like I’m going to make it to dinner tonight.”

“We’ll wait,” Derek insisted.

“I could be stuck for hours,” she argued. “You know how bad it gets on here.”

“I do,” he grumbled. “I should have gone with you.”

“You had your own work to do.” Elle leaned her head aback against the headrest. “I’m not running, you know? I know that’s you think. That I’m running away, hiding from life, or whatever.”

“I don’t think you’re running, Elle, but I don’t think you’re here, either. Not really.”

Elle sighed, but didn’t say anything. He was right, of course. She had been distant with all of them and had thrown herself in her work. Two weeks had passed since she found herself sitting across from Trixie Maxwell. The judge had denied her bail, stating that not only was she a flight risk, but she was a danger to society. Her lawyers were arguing that she was insane, that the stress of losing her job, her home, and her livelihood had caused a mental breakdown; therefore she was not guilty by reason of mental defect.

Sonia assured her that Trixie’s defense would not hold up in court, that it was just the defense’s lame attempt to draw sympathy for their client, but Elle still worried that they would be successful and she would find herself in danger once more.  Trixie hadn’t behaved like a sane person, after all.

Of course, neither had Elle, had she? Ever since her visit, she had been plagued by nightmares, struggling to keep from screaming out in the middle of the night. More than once, Derek or Callum held her in their arms as she sobbed, reliving the moment the bullets sliced through her skin over and over.

“I’m sorry,” Derek murmured. “I just worry.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“Look, I’ll text Nick and tell him you’re stuck in traffic. We can order in. Chinese, or maybe pizza, and when you get here, we can all eat together. Okay?”

“You’re not going to drop it if I argue with you, so I guess that’s a plan.”

Derek laughed. “Finally, you’re learning just how stubborn I can be.”

“Oh, lover, I learned that when I watched Callum fuck your ass for the first time,” Elle teased.

He moaned. “I didn’t know it could be so enjoyable!”

“The first time you and I made love, you were so gentle with me,” Elle murmured, tracing her lips with the tips of her fingers. “I’d been so scared to tell you about Leo, afraid that you’d see me a weak and pathetic, but you didn’t. You never have.”

“And I never will,” he promised.

Elle sniffed back her tears, trying but failing to keep her voice even. “I’m scared, Derek.”

“Of what?” he asked, softly. “Of me?”

“No, of course not!” she cried. “I’m angry, and I feel like it’s consuming me. So, I work because at least at the office, I’m not the pathetic and weak women I thought you’d see. But then I go home and . . .”

“And what?” he prompted.

“I find myself worrying that I’m letting you down,” she admitted, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth.

“What? Why would you think that?” Derek demanded.

“I . . .” Elle shook her head, grabbing the bottom of the steering wheel with her free hand. “We’re having a baby in eight weeks, Derek. I don’t know how to be a mom.”

“You think we’re not scared about being parents?” he asked, laughing softly. “I’m terrified, Elle.”

“Yeah, but you have a little sister,” she argued. “You were nine when Lucia was born. I’m the baby of my family, and Sadie and Callum are only children. At least you’ve been around a baby.”

Derek snorted. “Lucia screamed like a banshee when I came near her. I’ve never changed a diaper, or feed a baby. I don’t even remember holding Lucia.”

Elle bit the inside of her lip, shifting her eyes back down the road. “I’d better go. Save my cell’s battery power and all.”

“Yeah, okay,” he groused. “Be safe, all right?”

“Aren’t I always?” she teased, but when he sighed, she said, “I’ll be home before you’ve had time to miss me.”

“I’ve been missing you since you left this morning,” he said, quickly. “Love you.”

“Love y—” But a click in her ear alerted her to the fact that Derek had ended their call. “Yeah, I love you, too,” she mumbled to herself and tossed her phone on the passenger seat.

—FA—

Four hours later, Elle parked her car behind Sadie’s in the driveway and climbed out, stifling a moan. Her body protested the expectation of moving after sitting in the same position for the last five hours. Well after ten o’clock, Elle was surprised to see Nick and Ivy’s car parked in front of the house, along with Aaron’s. Elle sighed, unsure she had the energy to deal with company after a long day, but in the end, she knew she would have to face them.

When she walked into the house, she found them scattered around the living room. Sadie was lying across the larger of the two sofas, her head on Derek’s lap while Callum was massaging her feet. Nick and Ivy were sitting on the small sofa, Aaron and Lucia were perched on the hearth to the fireplace, while Jonas and Abe were on the floor, in front of the television.

“Hey, you,” Sadie cheered, struggling to sit up as everyone turned and looked at Elle. “We were getting worried.”

“Don’t get up,” she said, putting her hand up to stop her pregnant wife. “I’m just going to change. I’ll be right back.”

“Yeah, okay. We’ll reheat the food,” Sadie offered with a smile. “Hurry.”

“I will.”

Elle turned and walked upstairs. Upon entering their bedroom, she paused when she saw the white box with a large red bow sitting on the bed. She walked over, smiling when she saw her name scribbled across the note attached to the bow.

“What is this?”

“Talking to yourself now?” Callum asked, startling her. Elle looked over her shoulder, glaring at him. “Sorry, I thought you heard me.”

“Is this from you?”

Callum smiled. “Maybe. Why don’t you open it?”

Elle bit the inside of her lip as she turned and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning her cane next to her before she picked up the box. She toyed with the edge of the lid.

“Open it,” he urged again, pushing off the doorframe and walking over to the bed, sitting next to Elle. His arm slipped around her waist, his fingers curving around her hip. “You know you’re curious.”

“Very,” she murmured. “But I’m enjoying the suspense, too.”

Callum snickered as he leaned over and kissed the side of her head. “Please open it.”

Elle slipped her fingers under the lid and pried it off, placing it on the bed behind her. Then, peeling the tissue paper apart, she gasped. Nestled inside the box was a leather sketchbook with a large ‘E’ pressed into it. Carefully, she lifted it out of the box and flipped it open, finding every page blank but they first one. Scribbled across the first page were the words:
Art is part of you. Don’t be afraid to let it shine.

“It’s beautiful,” Elle murmured, dragging her fingers over the words.

“There’s more,” Callum said, pulling the box into his lap. “I wasn’t sure what you liked to sketch with so I got you some colored pencils and some regular pencils.”

“That’s very kind of you,” she whimpered, unable to keep her tears from falling.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he fretted, reaching for the book, but Elle pulled it to her chest. “I thought if you had a sketchbook, you could draw anywhere you wanted. Give you an outlet for your feelings. Guess it was a stupid idea.”

“No, no, it’s perfect,” she insisted. “Thank you. I love it.”

“Oh, good,” he said, chuckling. “The tears threw me for a minute.”

Elle smiled and looked at him. “I’m just tired. Been a long —”

“Few months?” he supplied, interrupting her.

“Yeah,” she murmured and looked back down at the book. “Do you feel like I don’t love you anymore?”

“What? Of course not!” he exclaimed. “Why do you ask?”

Elle shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”

“Have I made you doubt yourself somehow?”

“No,” she said, slowly.

“I have, haven’t I?” he asked, groaning as he fell back on the bed. “Ugh, I’m a failure at this husband thing.”

“No, you’re not.” Elle shifted so she was straddling him. “You’re an amazing husband, Cal. I’m just being silly.”

He gripped her hips, rotating their position on the bed so that he was hovering over her. “I know how much you love me, Elle. And how much you love Sadie and Derek, too. I see it in the way you look at us, the way you force yourself to get through each day and pretend that you’re not struggling. I’ll never doubt that everything you do, you do for us, because you love us. Just like everything I do is for you, Derek, and Sadie, and them for us.”

Elle placed her hands on his chest. “I wish everyone wasn’t downstairs so you could fuck me silly. I want you so deep inside of me, that you have me screaming your name.”

Callum fell onto the bed laughing. “Oh, you tease me, baby.”

“I’m serious!” Elle laughed.

“I know, which makes it that much harder to get off this bed and leave you to change into something more comfortable and hell-of-a-lot less sexy,” he quipped, climbing off the bed. He reached for her, helping her back onto her feet and making sure she had her cane before releasing her. “The faster you join us, the quicker they’ll leave and then I can bury myself inside you.”

“That does not make me want to let you out of this room!” Elle groused, reaching for him again.

“Sorry, love,” he laughed, walking backward toward the door. “Hurry.”

And like that, he was gone, and Elle was left feeling frustrated. Shedding her skirt and blouse, Elle slipped into a pair of cotton shorts and a T-shirt. She brushed her hair before tugging it up into a messy bun on the top of her head. Unable to keep from stalling any longer, Elle tightened her grip on her cane and headed downstairs, where she found everyone gathered around the dining room table with a couple dozen cartons of chinse from Wang’s.

“About time!” Nick barked, grabbing what looked like a carton of sesame chicken. “Your wife wouldn’t let us eat until you came home. I’m fucking starving.”

“You ate like six eggrolls while we waited!” Sadie laughed. “We had to call and order more!”

“Whatever,” Nick grumbled, but when he winked at Elle, she knew he was just messing around. “Is it all right with you if we eat now, Mrs. Davis?”

“Hmm.” Sadie tapped her lips with her fingers. “I suppose.”

“Thank God!” Ivy laughed. “I’m about to gnaw off an arm.”

“Told Derek that you could eat without me,” Elle said, sliding into the empty chair between Callum and Sadie.

“And I said we’d wait,” Derek countered, making it clear he wasn’t going to discuss the matter anymore.

Elle pressed her lips together and waited while everyone filled their plates before she reached for the last of the Chow Mein. Adding it to her plate, she helped herself to the last of the chicken dumplings, cashew chicken, and beef broccoli.

“So, um, there’s no real subtle way of saying this,” Nick started, sharing a look with Lucia, Aaron, Jonas, and Abe. “But, Taj has been offered a record deal with Sin Records.”

A small moment of silence filled the room as Elle, Sadie, Derek, and Callum looked up from their plates and eyed the members of Taj, who were smiling like it was Christmas morning.

“Seriously?” Derek asked. “Luc?”

“Yeah,” she said, quietly. “You know how we were worried that we’d blown our audition because we hadn’t heard anything?”

The four of them nodded.