I nod, moving past him without looking at him. I hear him move quickly, reaching for the bathroom door and opening it. I walk through and pause, waiting for him to lead the way and then the two of us walk silently out of the station.
I feel the judging eyes of a million strangers as I walk past with my head down, as though I’m already admitting my guilt. I’m not sure how I could possibly deny it anyway. I know what I did. People saw me do it. A man is beaten to shit because of me.
I pause as soon as I think it, because I still don’t know what the hell happened to that asshole.
“Ed,” I say quietly.
Ed turns to me, a questioning look on his face.
“The um, the guy I—” I stop at the look he gives me, his eyes quickly flicking around the room.
“He’ll be fine,” he says quietly before turning and walking toward the front reception area.
I exhale a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding and follow him out, nervous about seeing my sister, my best friend and Ruby.
As soon as I walk out though, Sienna jumps up and runs to me, throwing her arms around me, her mouth at my ear as she whispers apologies and reassurances that I don’t deserve. I see Reid watching us as he walks over, a soft smile on his face as he steps up and wraps his arms around the two of us, just like he did back at the safe house in Rhode Island.
“Are you okay?” he asks quietly.
“No,” I choke out.
I feel his hand on my back, hear his voice as he says, “We’ll get through this, Caleb, just like we always do. The three of us, we’re not going anywhere okay, we have your back.”
I have to squeeze my eyes shut just so I don’t start sobbing as he and my sister hold me.
Eventually they slowly pull back, moving to the side as I turn and face the one person whose reaction I can’t predict, but who I so desperately want to wrap me in her arms.
Ruby.
Chapter Three
Ruby
We stand staring at each other, suspended in a moment that should be private, but has the prying eyes of what feels like the world on us. Caleb is a wholly private person to begin with and this exposure has to be completely ruining him. The police now know what happened in Rhode Island, they know what happened here, and with a lawyer involved, he has access to everything Caleb has kept as a well-guarded secret.
My heart is shattering in my chest, but it’s nothing in comparison to what he’s going through and I know he needs me. Without thinking about what anyone will say or how anyone else will react, I walk over to him.
It feels like the world is moving in slow motion, and despite the small distance between us, reaching him feels miles away. When I finally do, I don’t wait, I don’t stop and ask, but instead, I wrap him in my arms, pulling him close. My body is small and my arms thin, but I cover him with everything I have and he melts into me. With his face buried in my neck, I can feel the wetness of his tears and as much I want to leave, he’s clinging to me with a fierce desperation.
“It’s okay,” I whisper, shushing him a little, but it does nothing to calm the chaos I can feel radiating from him. I need to get him home and out of this environment.
As much as I don’t want to pull away from him, we can’t stand here outside the station trying to cope with what happened, and this is not the place to ask how it all transpired.
“We need to go,” I tell him, my hand resting against his cheek. His eyes are swollen and bloodshot, almost sunken in and unresponsive. He’s lost.
I look over at Reid and without words he goes to retrieve the truck, leaving Sie, Caleb and me waiting. I turn to Ed and give him a grateful smile. I don’t know him, but he knows who I am and he knows my father. It’s the reason he dropped everything to come and help us.
Sie guides Caleb over to the curb as they wait for Reid and I walk over to talk to Ed. I have no idea what to say to him, but I need to say something. He’s come here in the middle of the night to help us when he didn’t have to.
“Ed, I’m Ruby. You went to law school with my dad,” I say, my approach casual, but my words are laced with apprehension.
“Of course, I recognize you, Ruby,” he replies with a jovial quality to his tone and it makes a weak smile pull at my lips. “Your dad talks nonstop about you and your sister.”
I have no idea what it is about what he’s just said, but it causes me to break down, tears now streaming down my cheeks. I cover my face with my hands, sobbing into them as Ed rests a heavy hand on my back.
“It’s going to be okay, Ruby,” Ed says. “This isn’t the first time I’ve seen something like this on a college campus. It happens more often than you would think.”
Ed has no idea what led to any of this and how far this sets Caleb back in his recovery. This isn’t just a drunken college kid taking something too far. What came out in Caleb when he saw Professor Keller in our alley was an act of vengeance; something he firmly believed would end his emotional pain. Something he hoped would validate everything he’s been through, but in reality, all it did was add to his wounds.
Seeing Professor Keller outside out my bedroom window was the epic trigger that caused Caleb’s overreaction to the situation. He isn’t equipped with the ability to separate out what happened to him with Reid’s dad and what he believes will continue to happen if he isn’t always on the defensive. While what Professor Keller was doing was gross and wrong and disgusting on so many levels, Caleb’s handling of it was something he’s now going to have to live with.
He firmly believed my life was in danger, that Professor Keller would’ve taken things to the next level if he hadn’t been there. And while no one can possibly know the answer to the what-if scenario that played out in Caleb’s mind, he was firmly rooted in a place that told him to defend.
“Caleb has PTSD,” I admit quietly behind the comfort of my hands, my words muffled.
“Combat?” Ed asks, with a bit of confusion as we both now look over at Caleb.
“No. He was attacked in his house…” I stop, pausing to gather my thoughts, but Ed picks up in my silence.
“That changes quite a bit about this situation. It explains his reaction to finding someone outside your home.” He purses his lips and gives his tongue a click before rifling through the leather bag he’s holding. He pulls out a card and hands it to me. “Help him get in touch with this woman. She’s a therapist I recommend to my clients. It will be easier for us to get the whole thing dropped if he…” His words take a brief pause, searching for what to say without it sounding like going to a therapist is the easy way to get his charges dropped. “Just have him get started,” Ed now says with certainty and all I can do is agree.
It feels like it takes forever to get home, the traffic is heavy, but the air in the car is heavier. The silence weighs on all of us, no one knowing exactly what to say and Caleb stares out the window almost catatonic. Reid pulls the truck up in front of the house and with my hand resting on Caleb’s arm, I whisper that it’s time to get out.
“What?” he says, finally saying something more than muttered apologies and garbled thoughts.
“We’re home,” I respond, keeping my voice low and my words comforting. I push a smile to my lips, but it’s obviously forced. Everything about this interaction feels fake. I’m trying too hard to make Caleb think that being home will now end this nightmare.