He put the phone down and sat back in front of me. “Your mum is going to get some things together and head straight up. It’ll likely be tonight before she gets here.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“Do you want to go and lay down?”
I shuddered. The thought of being cold and alone right now really didn’t appeal to me. “No.”
“You look exhausted, Cat.”
I shook my head. “I…” my voice cracked “…I don’t want to be alone right now.”
“Ok, ok.” He rubbed his hand up and down my arm. “We’ll wait until the funeral home have been and then I’ll take you to bed. I won’t go anywhere, I promise.”
I nodded. I didn’t even have the energy to make a joke about what he just said.
Sometime around eleven a.m., the funeral home came to collect Dad. When they put him in that black bag, something inside me just snapped as they did the zip up. I jumped from my chair, sending my cup of tea flying, and ran to the metal gurney.
“Don’t, don’t, please don’t take him. He belongs here,” I said, looking up at the older gentlemen with a bald head and glasses.
“I know this is hard, sweetheart, but we need to prepare him.”
I started crying then as I knew exactly what he meant—pumping him full of chemicals. “I don’t…I can’t…please.”
Luke wrapped his arms around me from behind and then turned me into his chest. I heard the wheels of the gurney rolling across the floor. I dug my fingers in Luke’s broad back and screamed for all I was worth. He did nothing but hold me tighter. Outside, the crack of lightning and the rumble of thunder helped drown out the noise of the gurney being taken down the steps. By the time the skies quietened again, the funeral home people had gone.
“Come on,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “Let’s get you some sleep.”
He walked me through the kitchen and out to my apartment. As soon as we walked inside, I couldn’t help but feel cold. Suddenly this place didn’t have the charm it once did. I didn’t want to be in here.
“I don’t want to be in here,” I said, burying my head in his chest and shaking my head. “There’s some empty rooms on the top floor.”
He didn’t say a word, just guided me back through the house. When he picked me up to carry me up the stairs, I sighed in relief. I wound my arms around his neck and rested my head on his shoulder.
“Is the suite empty?”
“I think so.”
He took me into the room, which had been Dad’s room at one point, and laid me down on the king size bed. The bright blue and white décor immediately felt cosy and familiar. The fluffy pillows and the soft duvet brought half a smile to my face. The window, which faced the bay, was covered in rain, but even with the miserable weather, it was still a refreshing view of the real world.
Luke tugged at my shoes, taking them off my feet and then said, “Are you sleeping clothed?”
I just wanted to close my eyes and forget about all of this. “I can’t sleep in my jeans.”
He pressed his lips together and then said, “Are you taking them off?”
“Can you? Please?”
He sucked in a deep breath but did as I asked. As he pulled them off my legs, I managed to find the energy to get under the duvet. Luke locked the door then came back to the bed and laid next to me, on top of the quilt.
I looked at him and frowned. “What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t hug me properly through a quilt.”
He let out a breath and slid under the duvet. “I swear to God you’re trying to kill me.”
That did make me smile. With Luke’s arms wrapped around me, I managed to drift off into a peaceful sleep.
***
By the time I woke up, night had fallen outside. Luke’s steady breathing and warm body made me want to stay here forever.
“Hey,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
My head still buried in his chest, I asked, “How did you know I was awake?”
“Your breathing changed.”
I was a little shocked to say the least. “Oh. You pay attention to things like that?”
He held his breath for a few seconds before whispering, “I pay attention to everything when it concerns you.”
I froze. My heart pounded against my ribcage. That had to be one of the sweetest things I’d ever had said to me. I didn’t know what to say so I said nothing.
“Your mum called,” he said. “Hannah wants to come and see you so they’re both going to drive up here tomorrow. Should be here around lunchtime.”
Mentally, I let out a sigh of relief. “Ok. Does that mean I get to stay here for a bit longer?”
He squeezed me tight and rubbed his hands up and down my back. “Yes, just a little bit. I need to go and feed the horses.”
“They’ve got acres of grass.”
“That is true, but they have a routine and I don’t want to upset them by breaking it.”
I moved my head back so I could see his handsome face and said, “Is there something else going on you’re not telling me about?”
He met my eyes and sighed. “Do you really want to hear this?”
“Just tell me, please.”
“I’m going crazy over here, Cat, and I need a break.”
I put my hand over my mouth to stifle a giggle. “Are you being serious?”
He leaned back and said, “Are you being serious? You’re half naked, Caitlyn. There’s only so much willpower a man has.”
I did laugh then. “Ok, fair enough. I can’t see that Marcus would be too happy if he walked in and saw this.”
“Good point,” he said, pulling me back into him. “Maybe I should take my shirt off.”
“Luke,” I said, laughing. “Come on, how would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot?”
He pulled away, untangling our legs and sighed. “I’d be heartbroken. If you were mine, I’d be absolutely heartbroken if you preferred being comforted by someone else.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “But Marcus isn’t here. I don’t have a choice.”
He smirked. “Are you saying you’re slumming it with me because he’s not here?”
“Stop twisting my words, matey.”
“There she is,” he said, brushing my hair back from my face. “If you were mine and I ever put you in a situation to be comforted by someone else, I’d be heartbroken. Is that better?”
My heart skipped a beat. I knew he meant every word. As much as I was loving this moment right now, I now fully understand why he insisted on boundaries.
“Do you think we’ve crossed a line?” I asked.
“I don’t know anymore, Cat. I’m fed up with fighting my feelings. It physically pains me.”
I looked away and pushed myself further away from him. “Luke, I can’t have this conversation right now.”
“I know,” he said, sighing. “I’m sorry. I think I should go. If you need me, call me.”
I nodded. “Thank you for sorting everything today. I do appreciate it.”
He slipped his boots back on and stood up. “I’ll message you later.”
“Ok.”
As the door clicked shut behind him, I suddenly felt very alone and very trapped. I fought the part of me that wanted to run down the stairs after him and beg him to stay. Clearly our friendship had somehow developed into more without anything really happening. Even so, I still had Marcus and now all this with Dad to deal with. I didn’t need any more complications for a good while yet.
I looked at my phone to see it was seven p.m. Despite my long sleep, I didn’t feel refreshed at all. My eyes felt like golf balls and my stomach was cramping from hunger pains. I decided in a moment of loneliness to call Marcus. He needed to know Dad had gone and maybe hearing his voice would give me some comfort, even if I couldn’t see him.
The line rang, but there was no answer. I tried again. No answer. I tried calling him another three times, e
ach time no different than the last. Panic took hold of me then. Why wasn’t he answering? Maybe he was actually at home and had left his phone somewhere. After all, he wouldn’t have actually gone anywhere. Not at a time like this. The more I thought about him not being there when I needed him, the more I panicked.
I pulled my jeans on and galloped down the stairs. Desperation my only driving force, I grabbed my car keys and sped over to his house. He would be there; I knew he would.
“Please be there, please be there,” I muttered to myself over and over.
I screeched to a halt on the driveway, sending gravel showering over the landscaped grass. Running to the front door, I almost screamed with joy when it opened. He was here, just like I knew he would be. I ran upstairs, shouting his name, and straight to his bedroom. When I opened the door, I nearly fell backwards.
Everything had a dust sheet on it. Even the bed.
“No, no, no, no,” I cried, running from room to room only to find the exact same thing behind every closed door.
He’d done it. He’d gone. I couldn’t believe it. His house, once so warm and cosy, filled with so much of his essence, was nothing but an empty shell. There was no indication he’d ever been here, leaving me wondering if I’d imagined the past few months of my life. Had I lost my heart and soul to a vivid imagination, a fictional boyfriend I’d only ever dreamed could be real?
I ran, throwing all caution to the wind, to the one place he knew I feared, he knew I was terrified of without him by my side—the Abbey. If he sensed that’s where I was going, if he was anywhere nearby, he’d come for me, to save me, to stop me facing those petrifying memories from years ago.
When I reached the curtain wall of the grounds, my lungs burning for oxygen, I paused and glanced at my nemesis in front of me. To see him again, to have him near me, to be the damsel in distress, I would face this damn heap of stones and force him to come back to me.
Leaping over the boundary wall, I stalked towards the historic ruin in front of me, ignoring all the screaming fears in my mind telling me to go back. I scanned over the empty field around me, hoping to see him striding towards me under the lunar light, coming to save me, his face creased into that familiar worry line.
But he didn’t come.
I wandered aimlessly around that old building, my irrational fears of the black wolf gradually calming with each lonely step I took, but rising panic of no Marcus increasing with every second. Eventually, after what felt like hours, I collapsed into a heap and sobbed my heart out.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sunlight burned through my eyelids. I opened my eyes to find myself in bed, surrounded by a soft duvet and a heap of pillows. It wasn’t my bed; I’d somehow ended up back in the suite, but I didn’t care. It was comfy. I realised I was fully clothed as I yawned. Stretching my arms and legs, I revisited yesterday’s memories, only to have them come crashing down on me with the force of a freight train.
An aching empty hole sat in the middle of my chest, searing pain tugging at my heart and soul. He was gone. Marcus had left me. Right when I needed him the most. Anger bit at me. If that was the only emotion I had to help me through this, then so be it. I could only cope with losing one important person at once.
I remembered then, what I’d done last night. I’d gone to the Abbey. The last thing I remembered was being there, breaking down into uncontrollable sobs, and falling asleep. At what point did I get up and come home?
A soft knock rapped against the door.
My breath caught in my throat. Was it Sophie? “Hello?” I said, my voice cracking.
The door opened and when Luke’s handsome face popped through the gap, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Morning,” he said, giving me a warm smile.
“Hey,” I said, offering the best smile I could in return. “You can come in. I’m decent.”
He slid through the half open door, then closed it behind him. “How are you feeling?”
A dull throb had started in the back of my skull, my eyes felt sore and puffy, and my stomach grumbled. I hadn’t eaten at all yesterday.
“I’m ok,” I said, sitting up. “What are you doing here?”
“I…I kind of found you…last night…at the Abbey. I brought you home.”
I gasped. How embarrassing. He’d found me? In the middle of the field, distraught because my vampire boyfriend had abandoned me at the most crucial point in my life?
“Oh my…I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “I never meant to…” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I don’t know what happened.”
“It’s ok. The main thing is you’re safe.”
“Thanks…for bringing me home.”
“No need to thank me. Is there anything I can get you? A drink, some breakfast?”
My tummy rumbled, reminding me it was empty, but the upsetting mix of simmering fury and despair squashed my appetite right down. I didn’t feel like doing anything.
I shook my head. “No, thank you.”
He gave me a look, one of ‘you should know better’, and said, “Are you sure?”
I hesitated for the slightest of moments. “Yes, thank you. I think I just want to sleep…”
I wanted to sleep to ignore the pain, hide from the aching chasm yawning deep inside me, growing wider and more profound with every second I stayed awake.
“Well, I have some things to finish off outside so I’ll be around most of the day. If you need me, just yell, ok? Don’t forget your mum and Hannah will be here at lunchtime.”
“What time is it?”
“A little after eight.”
“You don’t have to work today, Luke.”
He chuckled. “Honestly, it’s ok. Besides, I’ve got some other things lined up for the next few days so if I don’t get finished up today, I don’t know when I can get them done.”
I waved a hand through the air dismissively. “Whenever is fine. There’s no rush.”
“Look,” he said, lowering his voice. “If I’m being honest, I don’t want to leave you alone today.”
“I won’t be alone. Sophie and Joanna will be wandering around somewhere.”
As I said Joanna’s name, I remembered the whole mess with the witches. More fury rose inside me and I found myself gritting my teeth.
“Don’t say anything,” Luke said, lowering his voice. “You need to play this clever, Cat.”
“They tricked me into killing my dad,” I said, scrunching up the duvet. “You’ve no idea what I’m feeling right now.”
“I think I have a good idea. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. At the moment, you have the upper hand. Don’t lose it.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and counted to ten, then let out a long breath. “I’m not sure I can keep my mouth shut, Luke.”
“Maybe it’s a good thing if I stick around then.”
I nodded. “I’m not going to argue with that.”
“How about we clear your head for the morning before your mum arrives? Keep you out of the way of Joanna?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Riding, of course.”
I jumped out of bed like a spring chicken. “Ok, let’s go.”
He chuckled and held the door open for me. I trotted down the stairs, managing a smile at least, until I heard the twins giggling in the kitchen. I stopped on the first-floor landing and looked at Luke.
“It’s ok,” he said. “You got this.”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t. I want to kill her.”
“Cat, remember what I said.”
I took a deep breath and counted to twenty. By the time I let it out, I felt no different. Not in the slightest. If anything, her cheery voice did nothing but irritate me more.
“Do I need to kiss you again to distract you?”
I rolled my eyes and gave him a withering look. “No.”
He gestured towards the stairs. “Then let’s move.”
“I’m going to downgrade you to pal again if you’re no
t careful.”
He chuckled. “So long as you’re doing the right thing, I couldn’t care less. Put me in a skirt and call me Linda if you like, hell I’ll even wear high heels.”
“That might be a sight to see actually.”
“You’re braver than me then.”
I giggled but as we hit the bottom step and I saw my Dad’s closed bedroom door, all traces of happiness vanished. How could I be laughing and joking and debating going for a ride when my dad had died a day ago?
Without thinking, I opened the bedroom door. Joanna was inside, stripping the bed.
“Hey, Cat,” she said, her voice soft. “I’m so sorry.” She came towards me with her arms outstretched. “He was a lovely man.”
Shocked, stunned, I didn’t have words to describe how I felt. This was my dad’s room, now a sacred space. What the hell was she of all people doing in here?
I stepped back and held my arm out to stop her getting any closer. “What are you doing in here?”
“I thought I’d change the bed,” she replied, her eyes filling with unease. She looked at Luke briefly then back at me and said, “I thought I’d make the room nice again so you could spend as much time in here as you wanted.”
My anger towards her simmered inside me. I wanted nothing more than to wrap my hands around her skinny little throat and throttle her. “Well don’t!” I yelled. “No one told you that you could even come in here. Just because you work here it doesn’t mean you have free rein of the place.”
“Ok, ok,” she said, holding her hands up and backing away from the bed. “I’m sorry. I clearly made a mistake.”
Loud banging on the window made me jump. I looked out to see hail pelting at the windows. The blue sky had turned almost black. I turned back to her and said, “I think you’ve done that alright. Just get out. Don’t ever come in here again! Do you understand?”
She glanced down at the floor and nodded.
“Cat,” Luke said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Calm down.”
I whirled around and glared at him. “Like hell I’ll calm down. Nobody touches my dad’s stuff. Nobody.”
Love, Lies and Blood Ties: A young adult paranormal romance (Love, Lies and Ties Book 2) Page 17