Chapter 6
Mateo
I doze off for a while. Maybe a few hours, but I don’t know for sure. It’s still dark so I know it hasn’t been too long. And when I wake up, I actually feel better. Some of the desperation I felt just a few hours ago is gone, but it’s replaced by something completely different.
Chase is still on the lounge chair beside me, but he’s curled in a ball with his arms tucked inside his t-shirt for warmth. I roll to my side and just watch his lips barely move with each breath he takes. His light brown hair is wavy and a little more poufy than it was when I first saw him earlier. His blue eyes are hidden behind his lids, but I know they’re just as pretty as everything else about this man.
Without fear of being judged for checking him out, my gaze wanders across the length of his body. I can’t see much of his torso underneath the thin t-shirt covering his skin, but he has a slim build. Maybe twenty pounds heavier than me, he’s just a few inches taller but with more defined muscle than I have.
Even his feet are perfect.
In my line of work, I’ve seen a lot of bare feet. And sadly, most are not pleasant. Chase’s nails are perfectly manicured, and I don’t see a rough patch at all. Just further proof that this guy is a thousand times more refined and dignified than I could ever dream of being. Just because Tanner took me in and cleaned me up doesn’t mean I’m better than the trash I’ve always been.
With a resigned sigh, I stand up and nudge Chase’s shoulder. His eyes pop open instantly as if he wasn’t really asleep at all. But the catch in his breath is proof that I’m disturbing him from a dream.
The irony that I’m actually waking him into a nightmare is not lost on me.
“It’s cold out here. We should go inside.”
He takes a look around as if getting his bearings before he sits up. “Yeah, guess we picked the wrong night to sleep under the stars.”
I glance up at the black night sky and smile. “Yeah, I guess we did.”
As soon as we’re inside, Chase walks into the kitchen instead of going up to his bedroom.
“Aren’t you going to bed?”
“It’s almost five. That’s usually when I wake up.” Chase pushes some buttons on his coffee maker then rests his hip on the counter with his arms folded over his chest. “I’m going to have a cup of coffee then go for a run.” He raises an eyebrow. “Want to join me?”
There are a lot of things I’d like to join him in but running isn’t one of them. I haven’t run for pleasure since…well, never. “No, thanks. I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“I’ll have someone take over my class today. I only have one class on Fridays, so it’s not a big deal. When you wake up, I’ll make breakfast.” He grins. “Well, I’ll make toast and eggs. That’s about the extent of my morning creativity.”
I feel awkward going back to sleep when he’s staying awake, but I really am tired. I don’t know if it’s just the emotional toll of everything that’s happened tonight or if I’m coming down with something, but I feel like I’m about to fall over. “Thanks again, Chase.”
***
I’m swimming through a pool a razor blades, and every move I make to get to the edge results in fresh slices of flesh and streams of blood mixing with the already pink water surrounding me.
I can’t get out.
There’s nowhere to go.
No path is safe.
So, I close my eyes and sink beneath the surface, holding my breath until I finally gasp for air.
My chest is heaving when I open my eyes and realize I’m in the guest bedroom Chase offered me for the night. Sweat is coating my body, and the shorts he let me borrow to sleep in are sticky and uncomfortable.
As soon as my racing heart slows down, I stand up and shrug out of the shorts, wearing nothing but sweat to the guest bathroom attached to the room.
The cool water feels good on my body, but I don’t linger. I’m a guest in Chase’s house, and I’m sure he’s eager to get rid of me. I fill my palm with body wash I found on his window sill and do a quick pass over my whole body before rinsing off and getting out.
With a towel wrapped around my waist, I go back to the bedroom but stop short of the bed, frozen in place when I see a clean t-shirt and shorts folded neatly at the edge of it.
Did Chase come in while I was in the shower? I didn’t even close the door behind me.
A chill runs down my spine, but not the kind that should. I should be creeped out by the fact that he might have been watching me while I was just a few feet away. But then I remember what he’s already seen. I was naked when I ran out of The Vault and just as naked when he found me on that bridge. There’s nothing I have that he hasn’t already seen, and certainly nothing he would want.
He’s a doctor. He probably looks at me like a mental patient in need of an institution to take care of me.
Because that’s exactly what I am.
I slip into the clothes he left for me and open the bedroom door, stopping long enough to inhale the delicious aroma coming from downstairs. I don’t know what kind of toast and eggs he’s making, but they smell delicious.