I shake my head. “I want to help.”
Dan’s eyes meet mine. “You’re the one who needs help, Callie. Go. I’ve got him.”
Josie wraps her arm around my shoulders. “Come on.”
I watch as Dan helps Paul to his feet and walks him back toward the house.
My house.
And now, it’s no longer a home.
A soft knock on the door draws my attention away from the window.
“Come in.”
Josie sticks her head inside the guest bedroom. “Mind if I join you?”
“Of course not.” I turn my head to gaze back out the window overlooking her backyard. “It’s your house.”
Josie sighs and lowers herself onto the corner of the mattress, the down comforter puffing up around her. “It’s yours for as long as you need it to be.”
“I don’t deserve your hospitality.”
“Hey.” Josie places her hand on my shoulder. “Look at me, Cal.”
I shift on the bed and set my watery eyes on my best friend. “I’m so sorry, Josie. I’m sorry I lied to you. I’m sorry I didn’t call you after our fight. I just ... I’m so lost and scared. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Josie wraps her arms around me and pulls me into an embrace. “You have nothing to be sorry about. Just because we had a fight doesn’t mean we aren’t friends.”
Quiet sobs rack my body, wave after wave of emotion consuming me, and Josie holds me while it all floods out.
“I don’t know how I got here. Things weren’t supposed to go this way.”
“I know,” Josie whispers. “Life doesn’t always go along with the plans we make for ourselves.”
“I don’t know that I’d blame life.” I sniffle and edge back to look into Josie’s eyes. “I made these choices. I was in the driver’s seat. I did this.”
Josie’s head tilts. “I have to ask … how long has this been going on?”
I look down at my hands in my lap. “In college, he’d get mad and punch a hole through the wall or throw his phone across the room.” I shrug. “I chalked it up to him being a typical guy with a temper. Guess I should’ve seen this coming.”
Josie squeezes my hand. “There’s a big difference between hitting a wall and hitting a person.”
I nod. “We started fighting a lot after we realized that we couldn’t have a child. Sometime around the third miscarriage. There was so much tension between us, and I was depressed.” I shrug. “He’d grab my arm or shove me, and that escalated into hitting. It comes out when he drinks, but tonight was the first time he put his hands on me while he was sober. I just kept hoping that he’d turn back into the person he used to be when I fell in love with him. Like somehow, I’d be able to control it. Maybe if I tried harder, if I didn’t make him angry, if I did what he said ...” I offer a pathetic shrug.
“This is Paul’s issue.” She grips my shoulders and dips her head, leaning in. “There was nothing you could’ve done to stop it. You didn’t cause this.”
I run my fingers through my hair. “Are you sure you’re okay with me staying here?”
“Of course. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I don’t want to involve your kids in this or cause any issues for you guys.”
She shakes her head vehemently. “You are family, Callie. You will stay here for as long as you need to. There’s no timeframe.”
Tears spring into my eyes again as panic tightens in my chest. “What am I going to do, Josie? Where do I go from here?”
“You don’t have to figure it all out tonight. Or tomorrow, for that matter. We’ll take it day by day. Together.”
I know I’m lucky to have a friend like Josie. I know many people go through this alone. Still, it feels like I am alone. The idea of navigating a divorce, finding a new place to live, figuring out how I’ll earn an income ... it’s all making my head spin.
Maverick.
California king bed.
Walk-in closet.
Dream kitchen.
Yard with a pool.
Mercedes.
But the things that once calmed me no longer belong to me.
I just lost everything.
Sixteen
Cole
“Cole! Oh my God! Cole!”
I flung off the covers and bolted out of bed as fast as my disoriented body would move. “Penny, what’s wrong?”
Penny’s agonizing cry amplified as I skidded to a stop in the nursery doorway. She was curled up in a ball on the floor beside the crib.
Dread pooled in my stomach, filling me up with every step I took. “Penny.” My voice was a hoarse whisper. “What’s wrong?”
My body jerks awake, and my eyes flutter open, darting around the darkened pool house.
Swallowing hard, I stretch my T-shirt up to dab the mixture of sweat and tears from my face. My head drops as I lean my elbows onto my knees, sucking in a few deep breaths until my heart rate slows.
Will these nightmares ever end?
I head to the fridge and chug a bottle of water before popping off the top of a beer. My knuckles are still throbbing from beating the piss out of Paul earlier. I open and close my fist a few times, stretching my fingers. Hand might be broken. That’ll be a pain in the ass at work tomorrow.
Fucking worth it, though.
My stomach contracts, followed by a low rumble. I skipped dinner at Josie’s, wanting to give Callie some space. I’ve been wondering how she’s doing. Not sure if I should check up on her or if she’d even want to see me.
The way she looked when she ran out in front of my truck, her eyes wide with terror ... I can’t get that look out of my head. No one should have to go through something like this. No one should live in fear of their spouse.
Definitely not Callie.
I swipe an ice pack from the freezer and wrap it around my hand as I head out into the backyard. Hopefully, Josie has leftovers. But when I make my way across the lawn, blond hair catches my eye.
Callie is sitting at the edge of the pool in an oversized T-shirt with her bare legs dangling into the water. Her hair falls in messy, matted waves around her shoulders. She’s so damn beautiful, even with tears brimming from her puffy and red-rimmed eyes.
But it’s the purple marks around her delicate, pale neck that have my insides twisting.
The bastard choked her?
She lifts those penetrating green eyes of hers as I approach. “What are you doing up?”
I arch a brow. “I could ask you the same question.”
She drops her gaze to my hand. “Are you okay?”
This woman.
I huff out a laugh. “You’re seriously asking me if I’m okay?”
She hikes a shoulder and shifts her attention to the still water. “It’s easier to focus on someone else.”
I lift my bruised hand. “Even easier to take it out on them.”
The corner of her mouth twitches, but she bites her bottom lip to stop the smile from fully blooming.
Makes me want to try for another.
“You hungry?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t really feel anything right now.”