Shadows (24 page)

"I love you, too." Softly placing a kiss to my
forehead, he pulls me into his arms. His embrace swaddles me,
capturing me in the moment, and making wanting to stay there
forever. "I was wondering if you were ever going to wake. You were
sleeping so soundly, I thought you might sleep through the
night."

"I can't help it, you wore me out."

"I noticed. It wasn't my idea, but how can I
say no to you?"

Looking up into his eyes, I give him my best
come-hither look. "You can't."

Theron tilts his head back, releasing a
booming laugh. "You amaze me. Are you hungry? I was thinking we
could eat some dinner. I kind of worked up an appetite."

"I could eat."

"Great. Your mom called a couple of times
looking for you, so you may want to give her a call."

"Okay." I take a step back to give him some
room and he jumps down. Our bodies are standing so close together,
the electricity between us is undeniable. He holds his hand out for
me, a tingling sensation ripples across my skin as I place my hand
in his. I follow him as he leads me through the kitchen to the
couch in front of the fireplace.

"Sit." My body complies with his demands
without thought.

He hands me my phone. "Call your
mom."

I have three text messages and they are all
from Kayla. Deciding to check them later, I give my mom a
call.

"Hey, sweetie. Everything okay? How's your
hand? What did they say? I talked to Robert a little bit this
morning and he assured me Theron was taking good care of you, but
if you need me I'll come there, or maybe you could come here. When
do you see the doctor? What kind of medicine did they give you for
pain?"

Who knew my mom was an interrogator for the
FBI? She has to be some kind of mutant human, I don't think she is
breathing between questions. Holding my phone away from me, I look
over at Theron. He gives me a confused look. I tap the hold icon on
the phone and start laughing.

"Can't you hear her? She hasn't taken one
breath since she answered the phone. I'm adding this to my list of
'Things that are not a thing'. Number one hundred two; having a
normal phone conversation with my mother."

"Wait, there's an actual list?"

"Well, I've never actually written them down,
but it exists." Theron laughs at me as I tap the mute button once
more and put the phone back to my ear. "Mom. Are you done?" She
doesn't answer me, she just continues with her barrage of
questions. "How can I answer or explain anything if you won't give
me a chance?"

"Fine. What happened?"

"I broke my hand. Theron had Evan take us to
the hospital. I had an x-ray taken and it turns out I have a
boxer's break in my hand. They gave me some Vicodin and an
anti-inflammatory. Everything is fine now."

"Everything is not fine, Evelyn. Did you get a
cast?"

"No, just a splint."

"Robert told me you hit Theron's father. Is
this true?"

"It's complicated." I know this answer won't
pacify her detective side, but I can hope.

"No it isn't. You either hit him or you
didn't. Which is it?"

"Yes, I hit him. There now you have all the
information." Twirling my hair in my fingers, I stand and start
pacing around the room.

"Why?"

"Why, what?"

"Why did you hit him? Quit playing games with
me. You will not avoid this conversation young lady, now answer
me."

"Fine, he insulted Theron's grandma. For some
reason, I decided the best way to defend her was hitting him in the
jaw. Unfortunately, I don't know how to hit and I ended up breaking
my hand. I do believe I got my point across, though. Theron made
him leave and then took me to the hospital. I don't know what my
reasoning was. It was just an automatic reaction."

"I see. What I don't understand is why his
father would be over there causing problems. It's his family. I
would think he would want the best for them."

"I thought so too, but I was wrong. Listen,
Mom, I'm okay, but I'm really hungry. We are going to eat some
dinner and head to bed. I have work in the morning."

"How do you expect to work?"

"Theron already helped me with tomorrow's
logs, so I'll have a head start. It will be fine. I'm sure my boss
will understand."

"Alright, if you think that's best, than I
won't argue with you. I love you, Eve. Now go enjoy your
dinner."

"Okay. I love you too. Bye mom." I hit end
call and look over at Theron in shock.

"What happened? You look like you have seen a
ghost."

"No, not a ghost, but I'm in shock. My mom
just told me she won't argue with me. Get a pen and write that down
with the date and time. We need to record that as a
first."

Laughing Theron says, "I'll get right on
that."

I look back down on my phone as Theron gets up
and walks into the kitchen. "I have three texts from
Kayla."

"About what?"

"I don't know. I guess I'll find
out."

"I know it's snowing out, but I thought maybe
we could grill some chicken."

"It's snowing?"

"It's more of a rain snow mix. It's raining
slush." He shrugs his shoulder as I turn to look at him. It’s
typical Chicago region weather. I'm really starting to despise
winter, or is it spring? Whatever it is, I hate it.

"Babe, please don't mention the 'S'
word."

"What should I call it then? Because that's
exactly what it is."

"Weather that shall not be named."

"I'm pretty sure that's Lord
Voldemort."

"No, Voldemort is he that shall not be
named."

"Right." Rolling his eyes he turns around and
starts prepping dinner. "So, what did Kayla have to
say?"

I look down at my screen and glance at the
three rather long texts. At first, she's asking about my hand and
seeing if I need any help with work. I love her. She really is my
best friend. As I'm reading her text messages, my mood quickly
changes from happy to confused. What the hell is she going on
about? She's saying, I sent Anne a message in the work chat telling
her not to come in tomorrow and she won't be needed back. What the
hell? I haven't talked to Anne since I saw her at the meeting,
besides I'm not management. I can’t let people go. Something is
definitely off. I send her a quick text explaining I have no clue
what she's talking about and another one to Anne to see what is
going on.

"This can't be right." Chewing the inside of
my cheek, I start trying to recall my last conversation with Anne.
The last thing I knew was she was passed over for the management
position that Bridgette took.

"What's not right?"

"Kayla said Anne got let go, and that I'm the
one that sent the message, but I didn't. I sent them both a text
trying to figure out what's going on." The light bulb above my head
turns on. If it's a work chat, than I can view the message. Sitting
down at the dining room table, I turn my laptop on and login to my
work program. It takes a couple minutes for everything to load up
so, I run my hands through my hair as I wait. I need to figure this
out quick. The chat box pops up on the screen and I open my
messages folder. It's empty besides a few I sent to Bridgette
regarding some accounts, and the random messages I sent to Kayla.
There's nothing here from or to Anne. Grabbing my phone, I send
Kayla another message explaining how there's nothing in my
chat.

Worry is now eating away at my thoughts. I'm
using my fork to move my food around on my plate. Theron was sweet
enough to stand in the slush to grill us some chicken, but I can't
bring myself to eat much of it.

"I'm not sure what's going on, but you have to
eat, beautiful. I'm sure there an explanation. When you get to work
tomorrow talk to your boss and find out what's happening." He
doesn't look up from his plate, not even when he calls me
beautiful. Is he doubting me or is he hiding his eyes from me? Not
saying anything, I take a bite of my chicken. It's delicious, but
I'm not getting the full enjoyment from it. I check my phone for
what's probably the fourth time, still no reply from Kayla or Anne.
I have service so I don't understand what the issue is.

I'm clearing the table after dinner, when
Theron stops me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Stop." He
takes the plates from my hands, setting them in the sink. "Chewing
on your cheek and worrying about this isn't going to help. I want
you to go take a hot shower and relax for a little bit. Gram has
some work I need to tend to, but it shouldn’t take me too
long."

"Okay."

Spinning me in his arms, he gently takes a
hold of my broken hand. "Do you need me to wrap this for
you?"

"No, I'll be fine. I'll keep it out of the
water, I promise."

He places a soft kiss on my forehead before he
returns to clearing up our mess.

Chapter 14

I
t's dark and I reach
my hand out to feel for Theron, but his side of the bed hasn't been
touched. I grab my phone, swiping the screen to see what time it
is. It's a little after midnight. I can't imagine what kind of work
with his gram would keep him this late, maybe she's hurt again, but
I quickly dismiss the thought. I don't want the idea to take root
and cause me anymore worry. Beside my phone, I notice some pills
lying next to a glass of water, so I know he's at least been here
to check on me. It offers me a little comfort, but not much. I take
the pills gulping them down with the water. I try wiggling my
fingers, they feel better, but they are still very sore. I lay my
head back on the pillow staring up at the ceiling. It doesn't take
long for the medicine to kick in and I drift back to
sleep.

I wake up to the sound of my alarm. I sit up
and grab my phone shutting off the annoying sound. Theron's pillow
is smashed down and wrinkled along with the blankets on his side of
the bed. He's definitely came to bed at some point, but I wish he
would have stayed a little while longer. I don't like going to bed
alone and waking up by myself. Knowing, he's been here and left
already here isn't helping. My feet drop to the floor, looking over
to the nightstand I notice a note on it.

Beautiful,

I will do my best to be back
before you leave for work. I'm sorry I wasn't here when you fell
asleep last night. Even though you were sleeping, I still pulled
your body close to mine. I needed your touch to breathe. I had to
help Gram out again this morning. She's come across some
information on a business she's interested in. There seems to be
some kind of issue locating the actual owner. As soon as I'm done
helping her fill out some paperwork with her signatures, I will be
back home. If you're gone before I get there, please know I love
you. I programmed my number into your cell. It's under handsome
follower. I hope you are able to work things out with Kayla today.
Please don't forget to make an appointment with your doctor for
your hand.

I love you, beautiful, to the end
of time and back again.

Theron

Saddened I only had a note to greet me and not
Theron, I get ready for work. I've showered, dressed, and had some
fruit for breakfast. I'm just about to leave when I have sudden
feeling I've forgotten something. Heading to our bedroom to take a
quick look around, I notice the note. It brings a soft smile to my
lips. I quickly grab it and drop it into my purse. I'm forgetting
to say goodbye to Theron. I scroll through the contacts in my phone
as I walk outside to my car. Slipping into my car, I find his name
and send him a quick text.

Babe, I missed you. The note was
beautiful, I love it. Text me later and lmk what's going on. Love
you xxoo

Dropping my phone into my purse, I start the
car and head to work. I get to work about fifteen minutes early,
the parking lot all but empty. It's just Ben's and Bridgette's car
today. If I can clock in and make it back to my desk before Kayla
gets here, I might be able to pull Bridgette aside and let her in
on what's going on. I'm sure it's just some kind of mix up. Anne is
a great employee and friend. I don't want to lose her over a
miscommunication.

The office is eerily quiet this morning. I
feel like I'm the only one here. Setting my purse under my desk, I
slide into my chair and turn on the computer. It only takes a few
seconds before I'm logged into the program. I check my work chat
messages again, and there's still nothing to or from Anne. I hear
my phone vibrating in my purse. Making a quick glance outside of my
cubicle, checking for anyone else who may be around, I open my
phone. It's a text from Theron.

Beautiful, Sorry I wasn't there.
Please keep your phone on you today. I may need to get a hold of
you depending on the reports I'm waiting on. Did you call your
doctor? Love you. Xo

I always have my phone on me. It lives in my
purse. What kind of reports is he waiting on and more importantly,
why would it concern me? I send him a quick reply.

Babe. My phone will not leave my
purse today. I'm waiting for the office to open. I promise I'll let
you know once I hear something from them. Love you. Xxoo