Caught by Emma Louise
Chapter Fourteen
Lifting the coffee cup to my lips, I blow away the steam so I can get a much needed hit of caffeine. One sip isn't going to be enough, but I'll take whatever I can get right now. To say the last few nights of no sleep are finally catching up to me would be an understatement. Stifling yet another yawn, I lean over and grab the toast as it jumps from the old toaster. Slathering it with grape jelly, I drop it onto a paper plate before pushing it in front of Cass. She doesn't look away from the cartoon that's playing on her iPad. This is how it's been since she got here yesterday.
She's uncharacteristically quiet. Between the mess that is my face and us staying in a new place with no explanation, we're both struggling to adjust. Cass is torn between being pissed at me for bringing us here and wanting to be attached to my hip at all times. We're both pretty miserable, but I have no idea what to do for the best right now.
A flash of white outside the glass backdoor catches my eye.
Fucking Max Arden.
I assumed he was already gone for the day when I got up this morning. Judging by the way that white shirt is molding itself to his broad chest, he's just been for an early morning run. I watch as he does the same thing he did yesterday. Slowing down, he heads toward the wooden dock that runs right off the end of his lawn. Only this time, he reaches back and yanks on the neck of his shirt, lifting it off in one clean swoop that I feel somewhere low in my belly.
His body is insane. I've never seen anything like it outside of those thirst trap videos on TikTok. The ones that make me feel like a dirty old woman for watching and enjoying so much. Luckily for me, he left not long after Cass arrived yesterday and stayed gone until long after we'd gone to bed. I might have given him that speech about starting over yesterday, but the truth is, I'm more than happy to not be anywhere near him. I'm more than grateful for him allowing us to stay here, there's something about this place that feels safe, but that doesn't mean we're going to become any kind of friends. He might be the most attractive man I've ever seen before, and he might finally be showing some signs of humanity the last few days, but I know better than to let my guard down too far.
"What are you staring at, Mommy?" Cass asks, breaking me out of my little daydream.
"Nothing, my little love bug."
"You was staring out there real hard." Her solemn voice continues right as I hear the back door open.
"Nope, I was just daydreaming," I tell her, hoping like hell she's ready to drop this conversation.
"Morning," Max says as he passes me on the way to the coffee machine. His shirt is still off, and up this close I can see the faintest sheen of sweat coating his hard muscles.
"Dat's the face you had when yous was looking outside. Are you daydreaming again, Mommy?" she asks, loudly, right as Max turns around and catches me staring at his pecs. The coffee I was just about to swallow threatens to come back out of my mouth as I choke.
"Let’s go get you dressed." I ignore my suddenly very chatty child, moving to lift her off the seat. White hot pain shoots through my side as I take her weight, my ribs screaming in protest. My morning painkiller hasn't had time to kick in yet.
"Here. Let me." Max is suddenly at my side, gently taking Cass from me.
"Be careful, she probably has..." The words trail off as he turns to face me, and I see a purple smudge on his chest. "Jelly on her fingers," I finish unnecessarily.
Cass looks at me, the mess she's made, and then finally up at Max who is still holding her in his thick, corded arms. "Oops. Sowwy," she says quietly. Nobody moves for a second, and I have no idea how Max is about to react. I watch him closely, getting ready to take my child from him when the unexpected happens. The left side of his lips quirk, and the shadow of a smile ghosts across his face.
"Don't worry about it, kid," he says softly, and I swear I see Cass relax in his arms. The tension from seconds ago vanishes as she grins up at him. I follow him as he walks her back to where the room we're staying in is. The whole time I'm getting her cleaned up, all through her chattering about the things she wants to do today, I don't give Cass all of my attention for the first time ever. Part of my mind is still lost to that quick smile I saw on Max's face. If I would have blinked, I probably would have missed it. I get the feeling that him smiling isn't a common occurrence.
* * *
A few hours later, Cass is officially done with her earlier good mood. We've been inside for most of the day, and there's only so much time she can spend on her iPad before she starts to get antsy. I'm trying to get her to watch a movie with me so I can rest my aching body, but she's currently trying to perform acrobatics on the other end of the sofa. I thought about taking her for a walk down to the lake, but in all honesty, I'm not ready to be outside on my own. Before Max left this morning, he told me that the alarm would be set and gave me the codes to disarm it if needed.
At some point I'll have to try to get back to some kind of normality, but being here is the first time I've felt any kind of safe in as long as I can remember.
Three loud beeps sound out from the front door, and a second later I hear a key in the lock. Looking at the clock, I see it’s just past noon. Max said he'd be out until late. Sweat forms on my neck as I try to work out my best escape route. Luckily, Cass is close enough for me to grab if I have to run, but with the shape I'm in, I'm not convinced I'll get very far.
“Hello!” I recognize the loud voice that yells from the doorway. It’s just Felix. The pent-up breath I was holding leaves me in a rushed gasp. My hands shake as I lift them to press against my chest as my heart races out of control.
“Where are my two favorite ladies?” Felix asks as he walks into the room. His eyes find mine immediately, his brows pulling low in concern.
“Fewix!” Cass yells as she launches herself at him, causing him to drop the loaded bags he was carrying.
“Hey there.” He greets her with a smile, swinging her up onto his hip. “Are you being good for your momma?” Cassidy has the decency to look guilty as she looks from him to me and then back to Felix.
“It’s been a day,” I tell him, not hiding the tiredness from my voice. “Someone is more than a little bored, being cooped up indoors all day.”
“It’s a good job I brought supplies then, isn’t it?” he announces, dropping to the floor and emptying the bags at his feet. Toys, books, crayons, they all tumble to the ground, my daughter’s eyes getting impossibly wide at the sight.
“Wow!” she breathes out reverentially. “Are dees for me?”
“Yep. As long as you’re a good girl and help me look after Mommy, you can have all of these.” He leans down to whisper closer to her ear, but I still hear every word. “I even brought us some candy.”
“What do you say to Felix, Cassidy?”
“Oh thank you, Fewix. Thank you so much,” she says, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing. He doesn’t get the chance to respond before she’s digging her way through the pile of toys.
“Why don’t you go lay down for a while. I can watch her.”
“Is that your way of telling me I look like crap?” I try to joke, but it falls flat when he glares down at me.
“No, it’s my way of saying you need rest, so take the offer of help when it’s being offered.”
I chew on my lip, trying to decide if I should leave them or not. It isn't that I don't trust him. I just don't feel safe being away from her right now.
"Let me go grab you a blanket, and you can lay here on the sofa. That better for you?" Felix asks on a sigh, sensing my hesitation.
"That sounds perfect." My body sags gratefully at the idea of getting to lay down for a while.
It doesn't take long for the pain tablet Felix dropped in my hand along with a bottle of water to kick in. I try to read a book that he bought for me, but the sight of Cassidy giggling at something Felix says holds my attention instead. Eventually sleep wins, and my eyes start to droop. Before long, I’m sliding into a deep sleep.
* * *
"What the hell is going on here?" The loud voice startles me awake, and I jump up from the prone position I was just in.
"Holy shit!" I gasp as the pain fires through my rib cage.
"Really, man. You couldn't just come in like a normal person?" Felix growls, and my eyes fly over to look at who he's speaking to. Max stands at the edge of the room, arms crossed over his chest as he shoots daggers from his eyes at Felix who is moving toward me now.
"I asked you to deliver some bags, not make yourself at home in my house," Max says, his voice dangerously low.
"You okay?" Felix asks, bravely ignoring Max.
"I'm good. I just need to catch my breath."
"You sure? Should I get you another pill?" He holds my arm, gently helping me to sit upright.
"Max!" Cass ignores the arctic atmosphere in the room as she runs to where he stands. I'm not sure which of us is more shocked when he opens his arms and catches her right as she launches herself at him. "Fewix bringed me a doll," she announces happily, shoving the Barbie in his face. “And books, and all different crayons!”
"He brought it, not bringed it, sweet pea." He finally drags his eyes from Felix to look at Cassidy so he can correct her sweetly. His easy way of speaking to her, not to mention that nickname, has something squeezing inside my chest.
"Is there a reason you're still here almost four hours after you were due back at work?" Max asks. My eyes fly to the clock on the wall, seeing it's almost five pm. I can't believe I slept that long.
"Darcey needs sleep if she's going to heal. Unless you forgot, she has bruised ribs.” Max doesn't answer, but something about Felix saying that has him pissed, judging by the way his jaw clenches tightly. Luckily, Cass is here to break the suffocating tension. She happily chatters away to Max as he moves further into the room. He doesn't pay any attention to the mess of toys that are strewn from one end of the space to the other. I must have been really out of it not to hear how much noise they had to have been making.
"You can go now." Max dismisses Felix without even looking in his direction.
"I was going to stay and make something for the girls to eat. Thought you had plans tonight," Felix replies, and for some reason I get the feeling he's trying to push Max's buttons.
"My meeting," he starts, placing an emphasis on that one word, "was cancelled. I've already made plans for dinner for the three of us. You can go." Instead of arguing, Felix turns back to me.
"You good?" he asks softly, crouching down so he can get a real look at me.
"I'm good. Thank you for today." I smile, not bothering to get up. My body has decided that it's quite happy where it is. The thought of standing just yet is too much.
"You have my number; call me. Any time, okay?" Leaning over, he presses a kiss to the top of my head.
Well, that's new. Felix has been a great friend over the last few weeks, and yes, he might flirt with me shamelessly at times, but that's always been a joke. Hasn't it? My mind races back over all our conversations. Sure, he's asked me out a few times, but we laugh about it when I turn him down. It's become a running joke between us. Deciding that I don't have the mental capacity to think about this right now, I push all of those thoughts clean out of my mind.
"You be a good girl for Mommy, right Miss Sassy Cassy," he says, reaching out to bump fists with my daughter. I swear that I see Max shift her just out of his reach.
"I pwomise," she says sweetly, reaching out so that they can touch fists.
And then Felix is gone, leaving me to deal with a situation I’m not ready for. I expect there to be some of the usual uncomfortable silence when the front door closes, but Cass and Max seem perfectly fine to chatter away as he carries her into the kitchen, like they’re lifelong friends who do this stuff all the time.
"We're getting the plates ready. Do not answer the door when it rings; it's just the pizza guy," Max shouts over his shoulder as they disappear from view.
What the hell just happened here?