Chapter Seven

Sophie

“I can have your cell replaced in under an hour,” the man at the phone store announced as he clapped his hands.

“I have groceries in the car,” I objected. “This won’t work.”

“I understand, but that’s how long it takes.” He frowned and looked to Cameron for help.

“Like she said, that won’t work. What are the other options?” Cameron rocked on his heels, his legs spread apart like he was partially standing at ease. Though he wasn’t intentionally trying to intimidate the man, the scowl on his face spoke volumes, and the associate backed up several feet.

“Well, maybe you could order it online and have it overnighted.” He glanced back and forth between us. “It’s a good bit more expensive.”

“Totally worth it. That’s what I’ll do.” I turned on my heels and was ready to leave. I have no idea why I thought I could do this today. I was pushing myself to the limit, and I feared I was about to crumble. The last thing I wanted was to lose it in front of Cam, or in public—period.

“Hold up,” Cam murmured. “Look around. You should grab a case for it. These are easier to select in person.”

I nodded sadly. “You’re right.” Not that his reasoning made it any easier. I felt the panic rising. All I heard in my ears was the thrum of blood rushing through my veins. Currently, my palms were so sweaty, I imagined anything I tried to pick up would slide right through my grasp. I blew out a breath and paced in front of the display. “This one.” I pointed at a two-tone OtterBox, purple on the outside and pink inside, the perfect colors to compliment the varying shades my face so frequently turned.

The salesman grabbed it from the display and rang it up for me. I started to reach for my wallet, but already, Cameron had run his card.

“I’ll pay you back.” I barely managed to choke out the words. I could feel the sales guy studying me with this questioning look.

Cameron’s eyebrow rose as he stared down the man behind the register. “She isn’t feeling well. Her condo went up in flames last night. This has been a trying day, and you’re not helping.” He narrowed his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea,” he choked out.

“Yeah, well, the world should be a more compassionate place. You might wanna try that.” He leaned on the counter.

The man nodded weakly. “I will. Thank you.” He started to pass me the bag, but Cam intercepted. “I’m carrying it, thank you.” Then he wrapped a protective arm around my waist, and I quickly buried my head in his shoulder, even though I knew this was uncharacteristic for me. I wanted my life to be different, and somehow, I had to believe Cameron was going to play a role in the changes. “Let’s go, kitten,” he murmured as he urged me toward the exit.

I nodded and stood straighter as we strode out the door. “Thank you,” I whispered once we were back on the sidewalk.

“That was nothing.” He studied me for a moment before speaking again. “You know, I can go get shoes some other time.” He reached for my keys and gently took them from my shaking hand to unlock the car. “Want me to drive?”

“Yes, thank you.” I wasn’t the kind to let anyone else drive my car, but right now, I had no choice. I felt positively drained. “Get the shoes, Cam. I’ll just wait in the car.”

“You sure?” He looked at me with more than a degree of doubt.

“Yes.” I sighed. “It’s a nice day. I’ll roll down the windows, maybe relax to some music. It’ll be fine.”

“OK.” He kissed the top of my head, then helped me into the passenger side of my vehicle. Once he had me seated and belted in, he closed the door and walked around the back of the SUV to climb in the driver’s side.

Everything about this seemed surreal, and at the same time, ridiculously amazing. I’d long given up on ever having someone to share my life with. Where would I meet a guy anyway? I barely left my condo. Plus, how could I ever have feelings for anyone else when I was still so stuck on C. J.? Of course, as quickly as I’d warmed to Cameron, maybe what I’d felt for C. J. was more of a silly schoolgirl crush. I said that only because being with Cameron made me already feel like this was the real thing.

We drove to the shoe store in silence. I was slowly feeling better. And if I could just survive this last stop, we’d be back at the cottage. I grinned slightly and stopped him before he exited the SUV. “You’re really staying tonight?” I asked carefully.

“I told you I would. I’m not backing out now. We’re going to make a big dinner, and we’ll have a fire. We can talk and relax for the first time all day. Then I’ll tuck you in before I go sleep in the basement.” He chuckled.

“Are you sure you’ll be comfortable on the sofa bed?” I bit my lip feeling suddenly guilty over his accommodations.

“Yeah. I can stretch out better than if I slept on the couch upstairs. It’ll be perfect.” He shrugged. “Don’t worry about me.” Cam jerked a thumb over his shoulders. “Worry about the groceries. I saw you picked up vanilla bean ice cream. I’ll be back as quick as I can. Keep the doors locked.” Then he leaned over the console and kissed my temple before hopping out of the vehicle.

I watched him as he practically jogged to the store, flung open the door, and disappeared inside. Reaching over, I turned up the radio to distract me. “Say You Won’t Let Go” began to play, and soon I was lost in the lyrics and apparently belting out the tune. This is what happens when I’m used to being alone. Singing aloud is my thing.

So I was leaning back in the seat, truly enjoying myself when someone suddenly hit the hood of my SUV so quickly, I jumped and was shocked completely silent.

Then a woman leaned in the open window. “You like singing, whore?”

I squinted at her, wondering why a stranger would confront me for no good reason. Was singing loudly and possibly slightly off-key such a terrible offense I needed to be called out? Why the hell would some woman go out of her way to make me uncomfortable?

“I thought that was you, skank.” The young woman leaned in through the open window while squinting at me. “Sophie Malloy.” She practically cackled with glee.

At first my mouth gaped open, but then her words hit a nerve, and I realized who was attacking me. “Liz,” I began calmly, even though my hands shook and my eyes watered. “Great seeing you again.” I tried sarcasm, but it fell flat since my nerves were on edge and she was a moron.

“Well, it’s nice seeing you too,” she sneered. “Still living with Mommy and Daddy, or did they kill themselves due to the disappointment of having you for a daughter? I’d stick a gun in my mouth if I had given birth to the likes of you.”

I sucked in a breath. I wanted to be strong. I wanted to have a smart retort, even if I could never pull off the hateful words she seemed to keep at the ready. At the moment, I couldn’t even manage to form a single syllable. The sound caught in my throat as I shuddered and tried to hold back a sob. Leaning forward, I struggled to fill my lungs with air. The edges of my vision were growing dark. I needed to block her out, but with her leaning through the window, that seemed impossible. Still, I reached for the button to raise the glass. She slapped at my hand, trying to prevent me from closing her out.

“You stupid skank! We’re not done catching up yet!” she shouted.

The louder she grew, the more I remembered why I hated being around people, why I couldn’t handle the public or crowds, why I stayed shut in my home where it was safe and quiet. I covered my mouth with the back of my hand before swiping at my nose, which had started running. ”Go away.” I’d hoped to sound reasonably fierce, but naturally, my voice came out more Iike a whimper. My eyes searched the SUV for some way to remove her from my vehicle. Without considering the consequences, I yanked the keys from the ignition and laced them through my fingers to slice at her hands. Though I drew blood, she only grew angrier.

“You think you can hurt me with no repercussions? I’ll show you!” Liz grabbed at my door handle with one hand while reaching for the lock button with the other.

My head pounded, and my heart raced. I didn’t have much fight left in me. Due to the smoke inhalation, my lungs hurt, and breathing seemed more challenging. The darkness started to overtake me, and I slouched forward in my seat.

Cameron

 

I checked my watch as I raced out of the store with bag in hand. I’d barely been gone for more than four minutes. That had to be a new record. Of course, it helped that I didn’t bother trying them on. As I walked out into the fading light, I grinned and looked to the car, hoping to catch Sophie’s eyes as I strode toward her.

Instead, I saw her slumped over in her seat and a woman reaching into the vehicle. At first I thought something had happened and the woman was trying to help her, but then I heard the vile words she shouted at Sophie, and I knew she had caused this mess. Without hesitation, I raced across the parking lot to the SUV.

Hearing the sound of my feet on the pavement, the woman yanked her hand out of the window and whipped around to face me, a snarl on her face. I recognized her immediately, but I could tell she had no idea who I was. “Get the fuck out of here, Liz,” I growled as I stared down at Sophie and willed her to acknowledge my presence. The last thing I needed to do was make her appear weaker in front of her middle-school bully. What were the chances? I’d never get her out of the house again. From my peripheral vision, I saw a flicker of surprise but not enough to cause her to back down. She still stood blocking the door as I tried to open it, but it was locked and Liz wasn’t moving.

“Her singing caught my attention,” she grumbled by way of explanation.

“So what? Go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under. Leave us alone.” I narrowed my eyes at her, but she only puffed out her chest. Then I ignored her altogether and tried to angle my body so I could block Liz while reaching through the open window to unlock the door. My forearm was too big to fit through the opening, and my heart sank.

“You just wait until my boyfriend comes out. When he hears how your whore was trying to wake our baby . . .” Liz gestured to the car she’d abandoned so quickly, she’d left the door open, a good fifteen feet away.

I shook my head. “I’m not fighting your boyfriend. I’m not arguing with you,” I began as calmly as I could muster, since every time I glanced at Sophie, she seemed to be unconscious. “But if you’re so worried about your baby, then you should probably be over there caring for it instead of picking a fight here for no good reason. You’re not too old to develop some people skills.”

Her face turned three shades of red while her hands balled into fists. I pulled my phone from my pocket and began to dial 911 while preparing to block any blow Liz might send my way. The phone rang twice before the dispatcher picked up, and I hit the speaker button.

“911, what is your emergency?”

Liz inhaled sharply, and her eyes widened upon hearing the woman’s voice. “You’re calling the police on me! You’re too scared to handle me yourself, you coward?”

I stiffened. I’d been called many things in my life, but coward had never been one of them. I was a motherfucking marine. We’re the first in, last out. Every marine is a rifleman, no matter whether he’s infantry or not. And though I worked side by side with women who were definitely my equals, this one was not. “Go. Now.” My voice was low and menacing.

Finally she rushed back to the car, sliding in behind the wheel, slamming the door, and quickly driving to the store entrance. She leaned on her horn until a man rushed out and hopped in the vehicle with her, cursing loudly the whole time.

“I need someone to unlock this vehicle,” I began.

“Sir, this is a job for the nonemergency police line,” the dispatcher replied with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

“Not if there’s a woman passed out inside,” I explained. I gave the address of our location. “Hurry, please.”

“You’ll need EMTs too.” The woman had been jolted into action.

While I was an EMT as well, I didn’t have any equipment at the moment, so I definitely needed the backup. “Yes, thank you.”

“Stay on the line.” The phone went silent, and I knew she was working to send people our way.

I watched Sophie, only the seatbelt holding her upright. Laying my hand on the window, I murmured, “Soph, you OK? Soph, wake up, please.”

She didn’t respond exactly. Her breathing changed. I heard her inhale sharply, and I suspected her body was struggling to protect her the only way it knew how, which meant shutting down when the stimulation became too much. I couldn’t blame her. I napped for the very same reasons.

“Soph? Come on, kitten. I need you to open your eyes,” I urged.

In the distance, I heard sirens screaming toward us. I recognized the wail of the police car and knew the ambulance wouldn’t be far behind. While she had a spare vehicle, I didn’t necessarily want this one to be ruined. They’d break the glass if they couldn’t get the lock open within a minute or two.

“Please, kitten!” I could feel my heart absolutely pounding as I watched her, feelings of helplessness filling me with a growing dread. This time, I heard a moan, so I tried harder to get her attention as the police car pulled up in front of ours. “Sophie, come on. Open your eyes.”

The officer emerged from his vehicle while speaking on his radio. “On the scene,” he announced before looking at me.

“The police are here,” I told the dispatcher. “I’m going to let you go.” Then without waiting for her response, I hung up.

“What happened here?” the young scrawny officer asked as he moved closer to me. I’m sure he’d been sizing me up, realizing I was taller than him by a good six inches and had a significantly larger build.

I shook my head. “I don’t exactly know. I left her to go buy shoes.” I glanced around and realized I’d dropped the bag of shoes in the road and gestured weakly toward them. The officer nodded. “Everything was fine. When I exited the store, I found this woman yelling at her through the window. I think she had a panic attack and passed out, but last night she was in that condo fire in uptown Charlotte. She was released from the hospital earlier today after being treated for smoke inhalation.”

“I see. The ambulance will be here soon. Let’s get that door open.” He marched back to his vehicle and found the tool he sought before coming to Sophie’s window to slide it in between the glass and the door. He moved it around and tugged a few times but couldn’t quite grab the latch.

I backed away from the window to give him space, standing near the hood, hoping to be in Sophie’s line of sight when she woke. Her eyelids fluttered slightly, and I leaned closer to the windshield. “Sophie, wake up. It’s me, Cameron. Come on, kitten.”

This time, she finally opened her eyes, but rather than focusing on me, the movement of the officer beside her window caught her attention, and she shrank back from the door.

“Stop,” I urged the officer. “She’s awake.” Then I moved over to the door and laid my hand on the glass. “Can you unlock the door, kitten?” I smiled and hoped it hid my fear enough.

Sophie slowly nodded and reached for the latch. As soon as she unlocked, I flung the door open and squatted in front of her. Really, I wanted to hold her tightly in my arms. Then, and only then, would I believe she was OK. Behind me, I heard the familiar sound of air brakes as the ambulance pulled up and parked.

“You called the police?” She peeked around me. “And an ambulance?” Her brows rose. Her already-pink nose now matched her crimson face. “I’m completely humiliated,” she whispered.

“No, you’re not. I had to know you were safe. Let’s get you checked out.” I reached around her to unbuckle her seatbelt, then held out my hand to help her out of the vehicle.

She hesitated for a second, staring at my open palm. She slowly placed her hand in mine even as her other hand clenched the keys even tighter. After a light tug, Sophie finally stood in front of me.

“Keys, please.” I gently pried her fingers off them and dropped them into my pocket.

The EMTs were at our side, ready to take over. Knowing what they needed, I shared the critical information again as they walked her to the back of the ambulance. “Twenty-three-year-old female, released from Novant Health on Hawthorne roughly six hours ago after being treated for smoke inhalation. Seems to have suffered a panic attack. Unconscious for an unknown length of time.”

The guy nodded at me. “Nice. Where do you work?”

“I’m with CFD,” I explained, while never taking my eyes from Sophie. “But I was trained for fire and EMT in the marines.”

The female EMT had Sophie settled on the stretcher, and though my girl tried to appear calm, I could read the fear in her eyes. If that wasn’t proof enough, her blood pressure helped confirm it. “Lay on your left side, kitten,” I murmured.

Staring at me, she nodded slightly as she complied. “I hate this. I feel so weak.”

I frowned as I moved closer, standing just outside the ambulance. “Like you may pass out again?”

Her head hung in shame. “No, like I’m a weakling who can’t handle life.” She blew out a breath.

“Have you been to a doctor?” I stared at her even as I suspected I knew the answer.

Biting her cheek, Sophie shook her head. “They have this stupid rule about seeing a patient before prescribing meds, if that’s what you’re getting at.” She inhaled deeply as the EMT put an oxygen mask over her face. “I know what I should do, but I can’t bring myself to do it.”

“I’ll help you,” I murmured. “I mean it. We’ll go tomorrow.”

Sophie stared at me, her big brown eyes almost the only visible part of her face due to the mask. She closed her eyes a moment, and I guessed she was thinking. “We’ll see,” she responded. Then her attention turned to breathing.

“We’ll talk later.” I hoped to comfort her.

For a second, Sophie settled onto the gurney. I watched as her heartbeat finally slowed. I saw her blood pressure return to normal. Then the EMT removed the mask, and the numbers wobbled a little before evening out and staying where they needed to be. Even her oxygen saturation returned to normal.

“Ready to go home, kitten?” I asked quietly.

A smile spread across her face. “Drive me, Cam?” Sophie glanced at me shyly.

“Anything for you.” I held out my arms and waited for her to come close enough for me to help her down. Instead, she hopped into them, and I started imagining carrying her over a threshold.

“Anything?” Sophie twisted in my arms and lowered herself to the ground.

“For you? Of course.” I grinned.

“Help me make dinner?” Her brows rose, as if her request was almost too much to hope for.

“I was born to assist.” I chuckled. For the first time in a long time, I began to believe everything I’d ever wanted was finally within my grasp.