Forever Awakenings (Awakenings #3)

by Lisa Bilbrey

  “Are you ready?” Callum asked, removing his fingers and pressing the tip of cock against her.

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  Slowly, almost too slow, he pushed himself inside her. Elle groaned, her head falling forward. They started alternating thrusts, filling her completely. Just like the first time they both made love to her, Elle knew they would never stop loving her, always need her, always want her.

  “I’m not going to be able to last much longer,” Derek grunted, his hands tightening on her hips.

  “I’m close,” Elle whimpered, leaning down and pressing her lips against his.

  “Oh, fuck, oh God,” Callum groaned as the new angle caused him to slide further into her. “Come with me. Both of you, come with me.”

  On his command, Derek’s body tensed, and Elle felt him release inside her, which spurred on her own climax, and Callum followed with a growl. The three stayed connected for a moment before Callum pulled himself out of her. Elle climbed off Derek, curling on the bed with her knees and arms against her chest.

  “Are you okay?” Derek asked, rolling so that he was in front of her. “Was it too much?”

  “No,” she whispered. “I mean, no it wasn’t too much. It was perfect. Thank you.”

  “I’m pretty sure we should be thanking you,” Callum said, curling up behind her.

  “I’m kind of jealous,” Sadie admitted, leaning over Derek.

  “Why?” Elle asked with a laugh.

  “Looked hot,” she giggled. “Made me jealous.”

  “Next time, you can be in the middle,” Elle snickered before climbing to the edge of the bed. “I need a shower.”

  “I think we all do,” Derek laughed.

  They were half way to the bathroom when the sound of Elle’s cell phone ringing filled the air. She frowned as she picked her pajama pants off the floor and pulled the phone from her pocket. Her eyes widened when she saw Samuel’s name on the screen.

  She shifted her eyes to Callum as she pressed the green talk button, brought the phone to her ear, and said, “Samuel?”

  Twenty-eight

  “Samuel?” she asked again, ignoring the scowl on Callum’s face. “Samuel, are you there?”

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Why are you sorry?” she asked.

  “I can’t … I’m just sorry. Tell him I’m sorry. Tell him I’ve always loved him, okay? Tell him that I’m proud of the man he is. Make sure he knows how proud I am of him.”

  “Samuel, you can tell him,” Elle said, shifting her eyes to Callum. “Where are you? I’ll bring him to you right now and you can tell him yourself.”

  “I love you, Elle. I’m just sorry I couldn’t be stronger for you,” he murmured before ending the call.

  “Samuel!” Elle screamed into the phone, knowing it was useless. “Oh, my God, no. No, no, no, no.”

  “What’s wrong?” Sadie asked, reaching for Elle’s arm.

  “I think …” Elle shook her head. “I think he’s going to kill himself.”

  “What?” Callum gasped, ripping the phone out of her hand and trying to call him back. “Fucking voicemail. Did he say where he was?”

  Elle shook her head before grabbing her panties off the floor and started putting them on. It was then that she realized she was the only one moving. “What are you waiting for? We have to go find him.”

  “I … We,” Sadie started, gesturing to Derek and Callum, who was calling his father again. “Well, we think maybe you should stay here.”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “No, I won’t stay here. I have to go. I have to find him.”

  “Sweetheart —” Derek started, but when Elle screamed, he closed his mouth.

  “No! I will not abandon him again. He needs me, and if you don’t get that after everything I told you, then, well, I guess that’s just too damn bad.”

  Elle finished dressing and looked back at Derek, Sadie, and Callum, who were still naked. “Guess that says it all.”

  “That’s not fair,” Sadie argued. “We don’t even know where to start looking.”

  “Sure we do,” Elle said with a frown. “Other than Lydia, the only thing he loves is the company. That’s where he’s at.”

  “You think so?” Callum asked, rushing around Derek and grabbing his clothes off the floor. “Are you sure?”

  “That’s where I’d go.”

  Callum nodded as he pulled his shirt on. He looked at Derek and Sadie. “Are you coming?”

  “Yeah, of course, we are,” Derek said, though he didn’t seem as confident as Callum did.

  Less than a minute later, the four of them were dressed and rushing downstairs, out the house, and to Callum’s car. Elle sat in the front seat while Derek and Sadie took the back and Callum drove.

  “I can’t lose him,” Elle whispered. “I can’t.”

  Twenty minutes later, Callum slammed on the brakes outside of the office. He had managed to get hold of Lydia, who was frantic. Apparently, Samuel locked her in the bathroom and took off. By the time she got herself out, Samuel was gone and refusing to answer her calls. She had been driving around the city looking for him, but Elle had to wonder why she wouldn’t check the company first. It seemed obvious.

  Elle jumped out of the car and was halfway to the front doors before they had as much as taken off their seatbelts. George, the night security guard, was perched behind his desk, a foam cup of coffee in his hands when they walked in.

  “Samuel Davis? Have you seen him?” Elle demanded.

  “He headed upstairs about an hour ago,” George said. “Is everything okay?”

  “No,” Elle murmured, hurrying to the stairs.

  “When Lydia Davis shows up, you let her in,” Callum added.

  Elle had barely managed to take two steps when Callum swept her off her feet, holding her against his chest.

  “Your thigh,” was all he said.

  He carried Elle up the ten flights of stairs with Derek and Sadie following. Once they were there, he placed her back on her feet and they followed her down the hallway to her office, but before they could follow her inside, Elle closed the door and locked it.

  “Elle!” Callum yelled, beating on the thick wood. “Open the fucking door.”

  But Elle didn’t. While Callum, Derek, and Sadie continued to scream at her to open the door, she turned and looked at the man curled into the corner of the room with a silver gun clutched in his hands. His blond hair was messy, sticking out in every direction. He wore a pair of worn jeans and a ratty T-shirt. His hands were shaking, and his eyes red.

  “Hey,” she said, walking over and sitting in front of him.

  “Why are you here?” he asked, his eyes shifting to hers. “Why, Elle?”

  “Because you need me,” she murmured, shifting so that she was seated next to him. “You can’t leave me, Samuel. Not like this.”

  “Why can’t I?” he asked, pressing the gun under his chin.

  “Because I need you,” Elle whimpered, wrapping her hands around his arm. “I told them.”

  Samuel’s eyes widened and the hand with the gun dropped to his lap. “You told them everything?”

  Elle bit her lip as she nodded. “I had to. I’m tired of trying to be stronger than I am.”

  “What’d they say?” he asked.

  “The usual bullshit,” Elle scoffed. “It’s not our fault, we did what we had to in order to survive.”

  “Yeah,” he whispered.

  “But I feel better,” she admitted.

  The door to the office burst open, and Samuel raised the gun again, placing it under his chin. Elle tightened her grip on his arm. Callum, Derek, Sadie, and Lydia rushed into the room, stopping when they saw Elle and Samuel in the corner.

  “Honey, don’t do this,” Lydia cried, dropping to her knees as she crawled across the office to them. “Please, don’t leave me like this.”

  “You deserve better than me,” Samuel cried. “I’m not the ma
n you deserve. Not anymore.”

  Lydia gasped. “Yes, you are.”

  “No, I’m not,” Samuel snarled. “She … she made me touch her, made me do things to her. When I refused, she forced me onto my hands and knees and fucked me like a bitch, Ly.”

  Elle laid her head on Samuel’s shoulder. “She said he belonged to her now. He was her little bitch and nobody was ever going to want him again.”

  “You think I don’t want you anymore?” Lydia asked, sorrow filling her words.

  Samuel nodded.

  “Oh, my love, that’s not true.” Lydia inched closer and reached for him, but Samuel pulled away. “I’ve been in love with you for almost fifty years. Ever since you spilled tea on me.”

  Samuel shook his head, tears rolling down his face. “I’m not that guy anymore.”

  “No, you’re not,” Lydia admitted. “We’ve been through a lot, Sam. I let you go once and I’m not doing it again.”

  “Then why can’t you believe me when I tell you that Elle and I never had sex?” he asked. “Hmm?”

  “I do,” Lydia wept. “I do, but I don’t like that you’d rather be with her than with me.”

  “He doesn’t,” Elle murmured, drawing everyone’s attention to her.

  “He asks about you every day. How you’re doing, says he needs to talk to you, to see you. Every day, Elle.”

  “That doesn’t mean I want her over you,” Samuel muttered. “I promised to keep her safe. Promised that I’d save her. I’m just trying to keep my promise.”

  “You did,” Elle whispered, curling her body against him even more.

  “I didn’t,” Samuel denied. “I was supposed to kill him, but I wasn’t strong enough. I should be the one with blood on my hands.”

  “You got her out of the house, didn’t you, Dad?” Callum asked, sitting on the floor next to his mother. “You kept her safe while you were walking, made sure the police knew where you were, right?”

  “I … I guess,” he stammered.

  “See, you did save her,” Sadie added, sitting between Lydia and Elle. “She said he was going to … going to rape her again, but that you stopped him. That you jumped on him. If you hadn’t done that, Elle wouldn’t have made it out of that room. She might have died.”

  “He was done playing,” Samuel muttered to himself.

  “Yeah, yeah, he was done playing. He was going to hurt her, but you, Samuel, you stopped him,” Derek said, kneeling behind Callum. “You’re her hero, right Elle?”

  Samuel looked down at Elle, who nodded. “Always have been, always will be, but if you kill yourself, I’ll never forgive you. Never.”

  “I just want it to stop hurting,” he cried, leaning his forehead against hers.

  “Me too,” she wept with him. “Please don’t leave me, Samuel. Please? I need you. Lydia needs you. Callum, Derek, and Sadie needs you. My daughters need you. Don’t leave Flora and Willow without their Pappy.”

  Samuel began to cry harder as the gun slipped from his hand and fell into his lap. Callum snatched it up, and held it back to Derek, who removed the bullets before placing the gun on the floor behind him. For several minutes, Elle and Samuel cried together, cried with their lovers, cried over a life that had been shattered to pieces. Eventually, they settled into a peaceful silence.

  “I went and talked to Jo Tyler this morning,” Elle whispered to Samuel, but knew Lydia could hear her. “Or yesterday morning, I guess. I don’t know what time it is.”

  “Did she help?” Samuel asked, threading his fingers in with hers and bringing them up to his lips.

  “Yes, and no,” Elle admitted. “I’m just tired of being this Elle, you know?”

  “Yeah, I do,” he whispered. “Are you going to talk to her again?”

  Elle nodded. “Think so. She said she’d be waiting for me every morning at eight. It might be stupid, but maybe she can help?”

  “Yeah, maybe,” he mumbled.

  “Um, not to cause trouble, but it’s almost one in the morning,” Lydia said, drawing their attention to her. “We should probably get out of here.”

  Elle tensed, but nodded. She scrambled to her feet, but before she could reach for Samuel, Lydia wrapped her arms around her, hugging her for the first time since they were taken.

  “I am so sorry, Elle,” she wept. “I know I’ve treated you awful.”

  “It’s okay,” she whispered.

  Lydia pulled back and brought her hands to Elle’s face. “No, it’s not. Instead of being understanding, of being there for you and Samuel, I let my fears and insecurities hurt you. I never meant to take him away from you.”

  “I know,” she said, softly. “Just know that I would never hurt you like that, Lydia. You and Samuel were the first ones to tell us that it was okay for us to be together. You gave me the strength to forgive my mom, to try and rebuild my relationship with her. And I’m going to need that strength again, because I’ve fucked some shit up over the last few months.”

  “We’ll always be right here beside you, sweet …” When Elle tensed, Lydia shook her head. “Sorry, I forgot.”

  “It’s okay. Just one more thing I need to work on.”

  “Can I call you tomorrow?” she asked.

  “I’d like that.”

  Samuel wrapped his arm around Elle as they followed Lydia, Callum, Derek, and Sadie out of the office. While they stopped in front of the elevator, Elle knew there was no way she could tackle that obstacle yet.

  “Um,” she stammered. “We’ll meet you in the lobby.”

  Callum, Derek, Sadie, and Lydia frowned, but nodded. She knew they were still nervous about them being alone together, but she could only worry about herself, not them.

  “I shouldn’t have called you,” Samuel said once they were in the stairwell. “It was selfish of me.”

  “I’m glad you called,” Elle admitted. “To be honest, I was kind of freaking out.”

  “Why?”

  “Um, well, because I kind of had sex with Callum, Derek, and Sadie,” she mumbled.

  Samuel pulled her to a stop in between the seventh and eighth floors. “You what?”

  “It felt right,” she said. “I had told them everything. Or mostly everything, anyway. I just needed to be with them again.”

  “Wow,” he said, as they started walking down stairs again. “Are you okay?”

  “No,” Elle admitted. “But when they were touching me, when they were inside me, I didn’t feel scared. So, that’s progress, right?”

  “I guess. Lydia and I … I don’t know that we’ll ever be back there again.”

  “You will. When you’re ready.” Once they were on the bottom floor, Elle turned to Samuel. “Jo will be in the cafeteria in University Medical Center at eight. I’ll be there, too, if you want to come. If not, I’ll call you after, okay?”

  Samuel nodded and leaned down, pressing his lips to the top of her head. “Love you, Elle.”

  “I love you, too,” she whispered, fisting the front of his shirt. “Don’t leave me, okay? Promise?”

  “I promise,” he murmured. “For now.”

  Knowing that was as much as she would get, Elle let it go. Callum, Derek, Sadie, and Lydia were waiting for them outside the stairwell. George stood as they walked by, clearly worried about their midnight meeting. There would be talk, Elle was sure. There always would be, but for now, they were okay, and that’s all that mattered.

  Twenty-nine

  Elle nervously tapped her nails on the top of the table in the cafeteria, her eyes glued to the door. She wasn’t sure who she was hoping to see more: Jo or Samuel. After talking him off the ledge, so to speak, the night before, Elle had spent the rest of the night worrying about him.

  A sigh of relief left her lips when she spotted him walk into the cafeteria. His eyes darted around the room, landing on hers. He smiled, and Elle knew he was okay. Not perfect, but okay. He tilted his head toward the coffee and motioned that he’d be right there.

  Elle picked up her
cup and took a sip while she watched him make one for himself. He paid for the cashier and walked over to her, taking the seat next to her. Unlike the night before, his hair had been combed and his eyes weren’t as red.

  “Hey,” she said, reaching out and taking his hand. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

  “I sat in my car for twenty minutes trying to get the courage to come in,” he admitted, his other hand covering hers.

  “Me too,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “Lydia was okay with you coming by yourself?”

  “No,” he chuckled. “She’s waiting in the car, but at least she’s trying, right?”

  Elle nodded and turned her attention back to the front of the cafeteria. Jo had just walked in. She saw Elle and Samuel seated in the back of the room, smiled, and grabbed herself a cup of coffee before joining them.

  “Well, this is a surprise,” she said, sitting across from Samuel. “I wasn’t expecting you, Samuel.”

  “Is it okay if he’s here?” Elle asked, nervously.

  “Of course it is. We’re just enjoying some coffee, right?” Jo took a sip of hers before placing the foam cup on the table. “So, how are you, Samuel?”

  “Been better,” he replied with honesty.

  “I’m sure that’s true.”

  “I don’t know how this works,” he said, leaning forward, his hands still covering Elle’s.

  “You talk, I listen. I give my educated advice. It’s pretty simple.”

  Samuel frowned. “How do I let go of the fear?”

  “You don’t,” Jo said, picking up her coffee again. “You and Elle went through a horrible, traumatic experience, one that will always effect how you live your lives.”

  “So, we’re just fucked?” Elle asked, scowling. “What are we supposed to do? Put a fake smile on and pretend that we’re not falling apart?”

  “If that’s what gets you through the day,” Jo admitted before taking a sip of her beverage. “Sometimes it will work, and other times that won’t be enough. Sometimes, you’ll scream or cry, or be angry, and that’s okay. That’s expected. It’s how you deal with those times that matters.”