Second Chances

by David Horne

  I look away not sure what to say. The answer to everything he just asked me is yes, except for the fact that I didn’t know my bumper had gotten jacked up until now, and the fact that there was so much more to it than what he was probably thinking.

  “Why wouldn’t you just tell me that someone rear-ended you this morning, Caleb?”

  I sigh and finally look back over at him. “That’s not exactly what happened,” I say.

  “So, what? Did you back into something?”

  “No, not that either.”

  Aaron threw his arms up in the air and turned away from me for a minute. When he turned back around, he looked me directly in the eye. “I don’t know why you wanted to hide this from me, but I don’t like secrets, Caleb. No matter how big or small they are, if you’re hiding something from me just tell me now. I don’t want to waste my time on someone who can’t be honest with me.”

  I take a deep breath and tell him what happened. “I said I wasn’t rear-ended because it wasn’t an accident. I’m certain that they hit me on purpose. I just didn’t think it would have caused any damage and I was so shocked I didn’t even check it before heading here.”

  Aaron’s face changed. He no longer looked mad, but he was still clearly upset. “Why would someone hit you on purpose?”

  I shrug. “I don’t have a freakin’ clue why they did it, but I’m sure it was intentional.”

  “Was it someone you know?”

  I shake my head. “I couldn’t see them, but I didn’t recognize the car. It was a black car with dark tinted windows, so there was no way for me to see who was driving.”

  “If it wasn’t someone you know then why do you think they hit you on purpose?”

  I sighed and kicked at my bent bumper. “Because they were following me, riding my ass for miles. I tried switching lanes to let them by and they’d just move over right behind me. I don’t know what I did to piss them off, but I couldn’t get them to back off me until I turned into a full parking lot where there could be witnesses. That’s when they rammed my bumper as I turned in.”

  “Caleb, you need to call the police.”

  “What am I gonna tell them? A black car chased me and rammed my truck? How many people drive black cars around here? There’s nothing they can do at this point.”

  Aaron grabbed my shoulders and made me look at him. “What if this wasn’t random? They might have been after you specifically. If they were, then you don’t know that they won’t show back up. This isn’t something to just dismiss, Caleb. I need you to take this seriously.”

  I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe he was right. Either way it was obvious that he was worried, and knowing the way he lost the last man he was with I couldn’t be the reason for his worry. “Okay, I’ll call them.”

  “Now,” he says. “You need to call them now. You should have called them as soon as this happened.”

  “Fine. I’ll call now.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Aaron

  Turns out the police agreed with me, and the officer that came out to take Caleb’s statement and photograph his truck scolded Caleb for not calling sooner. When Caleb was giving his statement he mentioned he’d barely left my driveway when the car first showed up, and for some reason I couldn’t shake the feeling that it seemed like they may have been waiting for him.

  “Is there anyone who might have a problem with you or wish you harm?” the officer asked Caleb.

  That question caught my attention and pulled me back out of my wandering thoughts. “Not really,” Caleb said. He tried to laugh it off, which infuriated me. “Honestly, I get along pretty well with most people.” He glanced over at me and smiled. “Jim’s the first person I’ve met in years who didn’t find me charming.”

  “Caleb. I don’t think this is the time.”

  “Who’s Jim?” the officer asks.

  “Oh, he’s harmless,” Caleb says. “We aren’t friends, but he doesn’t have a reason to want to run me off the road, besides I know what kind of car he drives and this wasn’t his.”

  “In a lot of these cases the suspect turns out to be someone you wouldn’t suspect,” the officer says. “I think it would be best for me to just talk to this Jim and rule him out. If he’s as harmless as you say then there’s no reason for me to not talk to him.”

  Caleb starts to shake his head, but I speak up faster. “Jim should be at the office until five today. You can talk to him there. Just tell them I sent you and there won’t be any problem with you getting to meet with him.”

  “Thanks. I think that’s all I need for now. If I need anything else I’ll let you know, and if anything like this happens again, please call us right away.”

  He gets in his car and drives away, leaving Caleb and me standing behind his truck. “I really don’t think it’s necessary for him to talk to Jim,” Caleb says. “It wasn’t his car.”

  “I doubt it was him either, but I don’t think the cop was going to rule him out until he spoke with him. It was best just to let him get it over with today.”

  “Yeah, I guess so. He’s really gonna hate me now.” Caleb smiled big and I shook my head laughing.

  “You just love to antagonize him.”

  “He makes it so easy. He’s such a douchebag. I still can’t believe you’re friends with him.”

  I think about that for a minute. “He didn’t used to be so bad. It’s gotten worse since Ben…” I let my words drift off, but Caleb knows what I meant and he wraps his arm around my shoulder and gives me a kiss on the forehead. “He has been extra crazy the past few days, and I still think he was in the house the other night.”

  “Maybe he’s jealous I’m taking up all of his friend’s time, but you got the key back so we don’t have to worry about spying eyes anymore.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I say, but for some reason I am struggling to believe my own words. I don’t know what’s gotten into Jim lately, but he’s been acting less and less like the friend I know and more like a jealous ass. Hell, when I left the house this morning I checked three times to make sure I locked the door when I left.

  Caleb turned toward the house. “We should probably get to work now. I’m sorry I cost us half a day when we’re getting so close to having this house done.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about. This wasn’t your fault, Caleb.”

  Jessica and Pete had been working without us, but they were walking outside now that they saw the cop leave. “Everything okay?” Jessica asked.

  “Yeah,” Caleb answers her quickly. “Just some asshole jacked up my bumper before work this morning, so I was filing a report.”

  “Damn, that sucks,” Pete says. “Glad you weren’t hurt.”

  I reach over and take Caleb’s hand in mine and squeeze it. “Yeah, so am I.”

  Jessica looks at our hands and smiles. “So, I guess this really is a thing, huh?” She motions between Caleb and me.

  “Yes,” I say immediately. Caleb quickly looks over at me and the smile on his face makes him deliciously beautiful.

  “Good,” Jessica says and we both look back at her. “I’ve never seen Caleb pine over a guy like I’ve watched him do with you, and I’ve certainly never seen him jealous, but I thought he was gonna take Jim’s head off yesterday. He’s got to really like you to act that way.”

  “Gee thanks, Jess,” Caleb says through gritted teeth. I just smile because I really like the sound of what she said.

  “I really like him too,” I say to make him feel less on the spot. Then I focus back on Jessica and Pete. “Thanks for working so hard by yourselves today while we’ve been out here with the cop. I think we could all use a break after this morning. Take the rest of the day off. We’ll see you in the morning.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” Jessica said.

  “Yeah, me either,” Pete chimed in.

  They both loaded up in Jessica’s truck and headed out of the driveway.

  I turned to Caleb and grabbed his hips to pull him
up close. “I think we should go back to my house. I need to keep an eye on you to keep you out of trouble.”

  He wrapped his arms around my neck. “I think you’re right. I need a lot of attention to make sure I stay away from trouble.”

  “I think I can arrange that.” I lean in and give him a slow kiss. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Caleb

  Aaron and I spent the majority of the day in the bed getting to know each other in all the best ways. Around five we decided we would order take out, so Aaron called for Chinese takeout. We showered and got dressed while we waited for our food to show.

  When the doorbell rang, I answered to pay for our food, while Aaron grabbed plates from the kitchen so we could lounge on the couch and watch a movie while we ate. I heard his phone ringing as the delivery guy was passing me the bags of food, and before I could get the door shut I heard Aaron raising his voice and knew that something was wrong.

  “It’s none of your goddamn business,” he yelled. “How do you know what we’re doing anyway, Jim?” He paused like he was listening to what Jim was saying on the other line, and I set the food down on the coffee table and watched him. I had to cross my arms and tuck my hands under my biceps to keep from snatching the phone away and telling Jim to come on over so we could settle this once and for all. “It’s been two years! You can’t expect me to be alone forever.”

  I had had enough and I snatched the phone out of Aaron’s hand, but I didn’t give Jim the piece of my mind, I wanted to because Aaron shoved the lamp off the end table. I hung up the phone, and when it immediately began ringing again I quickly sent Jim to voicemail and turned the damn thing off. Tossing the phone onto the coffee table I grabbed Aaron and pulled him down onto the couch next to me. He was so upset he was shaking, so I just held his hands until he calmed enough that the shaking stopped.

  “You want to tell me what he said?” I asked him.

  He blew out a long breath and looked up at the ceiling. “I probably shouldn’t,” he said after a minute.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep you from rushing to his house to beat his ass if I tell you.”

  I brought my hand up and lightly gripped his chin between my finger and thumb and moved his face so he was looking at me instead of the popcorn ceiling above us. “I promise not to do that, unless you want me to, so go ahead and tell me.”

  “He wanted to know what I was doing with you. If I’d already moved you into his brother’s house since you keep staying over here.”

  “How’s he know I’ve been here?”

  Aaron met my eyes and I could feel the weight of his thoughts. “He didn’t just know that you’ve stayed over, he knew we ordered in Chinese tonight.”

  My eyes grew wide and I was glad that I was holding Aaron’s hands because it was the only thing keeping me from storming out to find that little weasel, and fixing him so he was no longer capable of spying on us. “The food just got here, and I would have seen his car if he pulled up while the guy was dropping it off. What the hell, was he hiding in the bushes or something?”

  “I have no idea,” Aaron said. He dropped his head and buried his face in his hands. “I just don’t know what to do. I’ve been trying to give him the benefit of the doubt because of Ben, but he’s really taking his antics too far.”

  I pulled at his hands until he looked at me again. “I know I kind of joked about this before, but I think it might be time to seriously consider that he might be really stalking you, Aaron.”

  “It doesn’t make any sense. There is no reason for him to stalk me. We’ve been a part of each other’s lives for years. Isn’t the whole point of stalking to insert yourself into someone’s life who really doesn’t know you exist?”

  “I don’t know why he would do this to you, but whatever his deal is it’s not healthy. I’m worried he’s only going to keep getting worse with this behavior.” Aaron jumped up from the couch and covered his mouth, his eyebrows drew together, and he sucked in a deep breath like he was afraid to say anything. I stood and went to him, running my hands up and down his arms, trying to offer him whatever comfort I could. This was a seriously jacked up situation, and it had to be even worse for Aaron because Jim was his friend. “It’s going to be okay, babe. We’ll find a way to get through this.”

  Aaron shook his head back and forth almost violently. “No, no, Caleb. It’s not okay. It was him. Had to be. He was here watching us again. That’s why he knew you’d stayed here, and that tonight wasn’t the only night you were here.”

  “Aaron, calm down. Look at me.” I waited for him to look me in the eyes. “You’re rambling. Tell me what you’re talking about.”

  “The person who hit your truck. It was Jim, I know it.”

  “No, it couldn’t have been. I know what car he drives and this wasn’t his.”

  Aaron brushed me off and paced in front of the coffee table. “He must have gotten another car, Caleb. Hell, maybe it was a rental. I don’t know, but I know it was him in that car. I can feel it in my gut. You said they were on your ass shortly after you left my place. He must have been here, somewhere, spying on us that night. Waiting for you to leave.”

  As much as I hated to believe it, I hated it for Aaron’s sake, I couldn’t deny that the thought had also crossed my mind, but I’d waved it away even after Aaron gave Jim’s information to that cop. Now, knowing that Jim has apparently been watching us based on the things he just revealed to Aaron over the phone, I cannot deny his logic. It does seem more likely that whoever was trying to run me off the road wasn’t a stranger, but instead someone with Aaron. I did not want to cost him any friends because of this new thing between us, but I’d be willing to bet that Jim would be acting this way, no matter who the guy was that Aaron chose to be with…unless that guy happened to be him.

  I grabbed Aaron’s arm to stop his pacing. “Do you think he’s jealous?” I asked him.

  Aaron rolled his eyes. “Obviously he’s jealous I’m hanging out with you and not him. I think that’s pretty clear, don’t you?”

  I shake my head. “No, not just jealous that you’re spending more time with me. I mean, jealous that he isn’t the one you’ve chosen to, uh, to move on with.”

  Aaron shrank back, his face contorted as he looked at me like I’d just proposed the most impossible idea ever conceived. “You think he wants to date me…sleep with me? But I was married to his brother. Why would he think that could ever be a possibility?”

  “I don’t know. You just never know what people are thinking, and his behavior, well, it’s the behavior of a scorned lover, not just a pissed off friend.”

  Aaron slowly walked over to the couch and sat back down. Once again, he dropped his head into his hands, clearly overwhelmed by everything going on with Jim, and all the implications that came along with it. I sat down beside him and slowly ran my hand up and down his back, trying to offer him any comfort possible. I could only imagine what was going through his head: anger, betrayal, and maybe even loss.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Aaron

  I jerked my head up and looked at Caleb. “Do you have that cop’s number?”

  Caleb looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. “Um, I think he gave me his card. Why?”

  “We need to let him know it was Jim who hit you this morning.”

  “Are you sure you want to do that?” Caleb asked. “I mean, sure, we suspect him, more now than we did earlier today, but can we really be one hundred percent sure?”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “Don’t be dense, Caleb, besides you never liked him.”

  “Of course I don’t like him, but he’s your friend. I just want to be sure this isn’t something you’d regret later if we’re wrong.”

  Shaking my head I stand up and hold my hand out to him for the cop’s card. “I’m not mistaken, Caleb. You didn’t hear him on the phone. He really hates you, and I’m honestly afraid that what happened this morning
won’t be the last time. If he was willing to ram your truck, who knows what he’s capable of doing to you next time.”

  Caleb stood up and pulled me into a hug. I stood with my arms at my side refusing to hug him back. He was pissing me off. He needed to take this more seriously. “Aaron, trust me, I’m not opposed to turning the guy in, I’m just more concerned about you. I don’t want you to lose a friend over me. I really like you, and I hope that we can continue getting to know one another, but we did just meet. I need to be sure you really want to turn him in, knowing you’re probably losing him as a friend.”

  I pulled back and looked at him. “If someone had tried to run me off the road, how would you feel?”

  Caleb’s eyes immediately went hard and I felt him stiffen. “I’d probably break their neck.”

  I nodded, then I brought my hands up and held his face to make sure he stayed there looking at me. “I feel the same way. It is because Jim has been my friend so long that I’m not knocking his door down and beating his ass right this minute. Believe me, I’m itching to give him a taste of his own medicine, but he’s Ben’s brother, so instead I’m willing to let the police deal with him. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Caleb agreed.

  “And for the record, I really like you too, so don’t think that you’re so easily expendable to me anymore.” Caleb smiled and leaned his head in to kiss me. Before he could deepen the kiss, I stepped back and held my hand out again. “Now, give me that number. We are calling him in right now.”

  ***

  Bam! Bam! Bam!

  I woke up to the sound of something pounding down my front door, or at least it was so loud I figured the door would be coming down any moment.

  “What the hell!” Caleb yelled when the banging woke us up, and we were both on our feet in a moment’s time.

  We nearly ran for the front door, the sound of the banging against the wood becoming louder, faster, and more persistent with every footstep we made.