Sinful Purity (Sinful Series) (28 page)

“No, not yet. Just that one message at Christmas. Why?”

“Well, he said he might be coming back a couple of days early. I just wondered if you had heard for sure,” Caleb explained casually.

My excitement bubbled up. “He’s coming back early?”

“Hold on there, Liz. I don’t know for sure. It was just something he mentioned in his message,” Caleb said calmly, trying to gently bring me back down to earth.

“Why didn’t he tell me?” I pouted.

“Probably because he didn’t want to get your hopes up. Like they are right now,” Caleb laughed.

“Then why did you tell me?” I huffed.

“I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have. It’s just that I have to leave again. I didn’t want to leave you alone. What with your phantom stalkers.” He chuckled nervously, not with humor the way he usually did.

“Oh, that’s right. I called you back early from out of town last night. I’m so sorry. Where were you, anyway?” I felt bad for making Caleb put his life on hold for my hallucinations.

“It’s no big deal, Liz. You actually did me a favor. I was with my family at our cabin up in New Hampshire.”

The thought of the Prices having a cabin made me laugh. No doubt it was just a small country estate, no more than five hundred acres. Then I realized where he said he was. “New Hampshire! Isn’t that like a twenty hour drive?”

“Seventeen, actually. But I enjoy the time to myself.” He chuckled with self-deprecation.

Just like Caleb to act like it was no big deal. “You must have been driving all night. I am so sorry.” I felt horrible that my craziness created such a hassle for Caleb.

Caleb grinned, “Well, I am a little tired.”

“Do you have to go back?” I politely continued the conversation after taking a moment for my mental side trip.

“Yeah, I do. My family is having some important guests for dinner day after tomorrow. It’s one of those Price family responsibilities my dad and grandfather are always talking about. But this time I’m flying.” Caleb laughed. “Are you sure you’ll be all right? I won’t be back for a couple of days.”

“I’ll be fine, Caleb. What could happen in two days?” I asked flippantly.

“Great, Liz. Now you’ve done it. Haven’t you ever watched any scary movies before?”

“Yeah, of course. Why?” I asked with a superior tone, affronted by Caleb’s ridiculous behavior.

“You
never
say, ‘What could go wrong?’ You just don’t. It’s like asking for it.” Caleb sounded all worked up. I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

“Oh, Caleb. This is absurd. I can take care of myself for a couple of days. I’ll see you Sunday at church, okay? Thanks for tonight. I’ll see you.” I got out the Judge and shut the door.

He leaned over and rolled down the passenger window to call after me. “Liz, you’ll call me if you need anything, right?”

“Yes, Caleb. I’ll call you. Now go home get some sleep and have a nice weekend.” I waved as I entered St. Augustine.

Once inside, I wished Caleb hadn’t brought to mind all those scary movies. You know, the ones where the stupid young girl goes off on her own. So sure of herself that she doesn’t heed her friends’ warning.

“Great, Caleb. Just great. Thanks so much,” I complained to myself as I opened the door leading to the three flights of desolate stairs. As I reached the second flight, I had worked myself into such a tizzy that I started taking two stairs at a time. By the time I reached the door to my floor, I was completely out of breath. I chastised myself for my ill-conceived plan.

“Good going, Liz. Exhaust yourself first, make it easy for the hooded stalker to overtake you.” All I kept seeing was images of me being dragged down the hall by my cloaked attacker. I was never so happy as when I safely reached my room and locked the door behind me.

Regardless of Caleb’s fears and my own demented visions, I survived till the weekend perfectly unscathed. That was, if you discounted near-fatal boredom. Friday I went back to the library and exchanged my books for some new ones. I was trying modern fiction this week. Having very little
knowledge of the books except for what their back covers said, I had few to no preexisting expectations. I visited Mildred twice a day both Friday and Saturday. Each time she packed me enough leftovers to last me a week. I enjoyed the company so I kept up the formality of going to the dining hall for mealtimes. She was very sweet and after a while she even became more talkative. I was certain that after another week of this I would know all about Mildred’s life.

Sunday morning I woke at six thirty, showered, dressed and headed off to MIQ. By seven fifty-five I was strolling through the protective gates. My morning had rushed by. I was lost in a blissfully happy mood. My mind was light with the thought that in only six more days I would be back in Zack’s arms—maybe even sooner if Caleb was right.

“Good morning, Sister Laverne.”

She acknowledged me with a nod. “Mary Elizabeth.”

As she made her way to me, I was struck by the oddity. Usually it was Sister Christine who met me Sunday morning to give me my orders for the day.

“Sister, is Mother Superior all right?” I asked, concerned. I feared that in her ailing state, maybe she had taken a turn for the worse. While I had never been fond of Sister Christine, I didn’t wish her harm, either.

“Mother had to go up north for some official diocese business. Don’t worry your mind about her. There are children to watch over right here,” Sister Laverne scolded.

“Yes, Sister. I understand, Sister.” I bowed my head apologetically.

As the hours passed I watched the parishioners come and go between the Masses. By the time the final Mass let out at noon, I was expecting to see Caleb exit the church with his family. But they were nowhere to be found. My mind started to race. I hoped the Prices were all right, especially Caleb. Then there was Sister Christine. In all my thirteen years at the orphanage, never had Sister Christine missed a Sunday Mass. What business could have been so important for her to leave the grounds on a Sunday? I didn’t even think the diocesan offices were open on Sunday. My mind continued its demented ride. Could Sister Christine be with the Prices? That was a ridiculous thought.

I waited for the sisters to return to relieve me from my duties. When they did, I said my goodbyes and started down Enoch Street. Before I had even walked a mile, I heard the roar of the familiar engine. I turned to look
and there was Caleb. It wasn’t some elaborate elimination plot. He was just running late, which made total sense given that he was just getting back from New Hampshire. I felt silly and ashamed for letting my mind jump to conclusions, just as Zack always accused.

“Liz, get in,” Caleb called, pulling over to the side of the road. “Sorry I’m late. I overslept.” I opened the door and slid comfortably into the Judge’s black leather seat.

Predicament

I stood with my heart racing, my palms sweaty, and my mouth as dry as the Sahara Desert. Anticipation and anxiety had hijacked my body and mind. The dizziness was powerful, overtaking my senses and blurring my vision. As both my blood sugar and pressure plummeted, I became woozy, my footing unstable. Then I heard it.

“Flight 459 now arriving at Gate 8,” the lady’s voice from the overhead speakers called.

“Quick, Caleb, we’re at the wrong gate. Zack’s flight in coming in at the next one!” I exclaimed, pulling Caleb’s arm and trying to hurry him.

“Liz, relax. We are at the right gate. He’s going to be coming through that door in just a couple of minutes.” Caleb pried me off his arm. Then he patted my hand gently as if to say, “It’s okay.”

I couldn’t believe I was standing here, knowing that in mere moments I’d be back in Zack’s arms. The last six days had flown by. Caleb checked on
me every day, and we went out to the Tripping Donkey nearly every night. I spent the rest of my mealtimes with Mildred at the cafeteria. In the little time I had left, I read more books than I had in the last two years of school. I had traded in my sappy Victorian romances for Tolkien’s fanciful world of elves, hobbits, and humans. I couldn’t bear to read of love and longing, not when I was waiting for Zack. Now my wait was over.

One of the flight attendants working the boarding desk walked over and propped open the door.

“Get ready, Liz.” Caleb stood behind me, rubbing my shoulders like I was getting ready for an Olympic qualifying sprint.

People began exiting the plane and entering the terminal, slowly at first and then in a crowd. Then there he was, towering above most of his fellow passengers, wearing my favorite pair of faded blue jeans and a purple-and-green plaid flannel shirt. He stopped for a second, scanning the crowd. I started to jump up and down, waving frantically. Then his smile shot wide across his face, showing off his pearly whites. His eyes twinkled with happiness. In fact, his whole face lit up when he saw us, from his dimpled chin to his perfectly spiked hair. He was happy to see us.

I ran toward him, attempting to avoid a head-on collision with an elderly man using a walker, the kind with the tennis balls on the feet so that he could just slide it across the floor as he shuffled his feet. An image of me tackling the feeble geriatric to the ground in my pursuit to get past him to my lover’s arms overtook my mind. I let out a small laugh at the absurdity and then shook my head in an attempt to clear my mind like an Etch A Sketch. When I looked up again, Zack was standing in front of me. He dropped his duffle bag, picked me up in his arms, and twirled me around. For a split second it didn’t feel like Zack at all. My mind rushed back to the orphanage and Brett twirling Kelly and me the same way. Then I felt his warm full lips firmly seeking mine. Right then, it felt like Zack. No one in my life had the passion he did. In that second, I fell in love with him all over again.

“Oh, Zack. I have missed you so much,” I gushed, kissing him fiercely several times more.

“I hope not too much. I hope you didn’t have a miserable time without me.” Zack grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me again. I felt the air leave my lungs and not return. I had forgotten the feel of his large, powerful hands on my skin. A shiver went through me, a good shiver.

“No, Caleb’s been taking really good care of me.” I turned and smiled at Caleb thankfully.

“Hey, man, thanks for doing that,” Zack said, slugging Caleb in the shoulder.

Caleb smiled. “No problem. Liz and I get along really well. It was nice to have her around.”

“So, how was your trip?” I asked, turning my attention back to Zack.

“It was good, but we have plenty of time to talk about me. What did you guys do?” Zack’s words were kind, but I sensed a hint of jealousy concealed underneath.

“We hung out at the Tripping Donkey for the most part.” Caleb shrugged like it was no big deal.

“Yeah, and Caleb took me to his house and introduced me to his family,” I added excitedly.

“He did?” The jealousy in Zack’s tone was now very apparent.

“It wasn’t like that, man,” Caleb assured.

“What? No, not at all,” I interjected, realizing what Zack thought.

“My family was throwing a luncheon for St. Matthew’s priest,” Caleb explained. “I dragged Liz along so she could talk to him. Work things out, you know?”

“Why was your family throwing a party for that jerk?” Zack’s tone was harsh.

“Zack!” I scolded, slapping him on the arm.

“Well, Liz, he hasn’t been very nice to you,” Zack reminded.

“I know, but Caleb worked it out so Father will never be able to revoke my scholarship. Caleb is very ingenious that way.” I smiled appreciatively.

“That’s great, man, thanks.” That was Zack’s way of apologizing to Caleb, all jealousy long forgotten.

“Yeah, he made sure that everyone at the party knew that Monsignor Brennigan had granted me a scholarship,” I went on. “It became the talk of the party. Now, with it out in the open, he can’t take it back. All thanks to Caleb.”

“Wait—Monsignor?” Zack questioned.

Caleb nodded. “Yeah, man, that’s why my parents threw the party. He got sort of a spiritual promotion.” He chuckled at his description.

By the time we reached Caleb’s car, we had told Zack about our whole two weeks. Zack was tightlipped about his own vacation and summed it
up as fishing and guy time. Zack’s mom had died a few years back, when he was first in high school. I imagined that visits home were hard. I never pressed for details. I understood how someone might not want to share their home life or past.

Having Zack back was wonderful. I felt truly safe and secure for the first time in weeks. I never told Zack about my shadow stalkers. I hoped Caleb wouldn’t either, but having not explicitly told him not to, I didn’t know if he would or not. It didn’t matter, at least not right now. I was in Zack’s arms, and we were making up for lost time.

Monday started the new semester. All my classes were different. I did share three with Zack this term. That was a definite plus. Caleb shared one of the classes with us, psychology. Then Caleb and I shared one more alone, Christian ideologies. I was sad that I didn’t have any classes with Lucy this term. I knew I would still see her at lunch and out with Caleb, though, so I accepted the deficiency in my schedule.