CHAPTER EIGHT - TARA
Music and laughter were coming from Caleb’s apartment when I walked up to the front door. I frowned and raised my fist to knock. When I did, the door flew open, and I was face to face with a man I didn’t know. I looked around to see that Caleb’s apartment was full of men and women having a good time. A few wore firemen T-shirts, so I assumed they’d thrown Caleb a welcome home party.
“Wow,” the man in front of me said. “You’re hotter than your picture.”
“My picture?” I asked.
“Caleb!” the guy screamed, turning toward the couch. “The chick from your wallet is here!”
“What?” Caleb asked, frowning. He turned to face me as I stepped inside. The door swung shut behind me. “Oh. Hey!”
I squeezed through the crowd until I reached the couch. Caleb was sitting down with his leg propped up on the coffee table. His crutches were leaning against the wall beside him, and I was glad to see he looked sober. The painkillers Dr. McGee had him on were powerful.
“Hey,” I said, sinking onto the couch beside him. “Some party.”
“Yeah.” Caleb laughed. “They surprised me when I got home.”
“Good,” I said. “You deserve it.”
“I do?” Caleb asked, raising his eyebrows.
“After what you did,” I said. “Of course you do.”
“You heard about that?” Caleb asked, his cheeks blushing slightly.
“The whole hospital heard,” I said. “Your mom made sure of that.”
“God,” Caleb said, groaning and rubbing his face. “She needs to learn to shut the hell up sometimes.”
“Don’t be a dick,” I said. “She loves you.”
Caleb grinned and settled back against the couch cushions. Someone I didn’t know pressed a beer into my hand, and I nodded my gratitude, suddenly remembering the guy’s comment when I first arrived. Something about my picture?
“Hey,” I said. “What was that guy talking about before? When he said the girl from your wallet was here.”
“Oh,” Caleb said, reaching into his pocket without hesitation. He pulled out my senior picture and handed it to me. “I’ve had it forever.”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “I remember when I gave it to you. I can’t believe you kept this.”
Caleb shrugged and took it back. He tucked it inside his wallet. I stared at him while he put it back in his pocket. My mind was racing, but I didn’t know what to say. After ten years, Caleb still kept a picture of me in his wallet. What did that mean? Did it mean anything at all, or had he just forgotten to take it out?
“Hey there,” the guy from the front door said, sliding onto the couch beside me. “Need a drink?”
“I have one,” I said, raising my beer. “Thanks.”
“God, you really are hotter than your picture,” he said, licking his lips. “Wanna get out of here?”
“Fuck off, Tyler,” Caleb growled and leaned forward, glaring around me at Tyler.
“What?” Tyler asked.
“You’re drunk as shit,” Caleb said. “Get the fuck out of here before I kick your ass.”
“The lady can make up her own mind,” Tyler said, wrapping his arm around me and grinning. I could smell the booze on his breath, and it made my stomach roll.
“The lady says to get your hands off her before she’s forced to do something you’ll regret,” I said, glaring at him.
“Don’t be like that, darlin’,” Tyler said.
“Leave.” Caleb’s voice was deep and dangerous. “Now.”
“All right, all right,” Tyler said, sighing and dropping his hand from my shoulders and stumbling away from us.
When I turned back to face Caleb, his face was red with rage. I frowned but didn’t speak. I had no idea where Caleb’s anger came from. We hadn’t been together in ten years and yet, watching his buddy hit on me, made him downright murderous. That, plus my picture in his wallet, had my head spinning.
Did he still have feelings for me? He hit on me in the hospital, but that didn’t mean anything. Caleb was a flirt. He always had been. He could blink and have any woman he wanted. It wasn’t anything new for him to proposition someone, that much I knew. Still, why would he keep my picture for ten years if he didn’t care about me? And, why would he get so angry with Tyler for hitting on me? And, how exactly did I feel about all of that?
The party slowly began to thin, and soon, Caleb and I were the only ones left. I finished my beer and sat closer to him on the couch, the evening air fueling my attraction to him. It was hard to resist when I had alcohol coursing through my veins and Caleb’s jealous streak was still fresh in my mind.
The only thing that kept me somewhat focused was my building headache. It started in my temples five minutes after Tyler left, but it had grown in strength as the night wore on. I sat beside Caleb, talking and laughing and trying to ignore the pain.
“I still can’t believe we did that,” I said, laughing as Caleb reminded me of the time we snuck into our high school gym at midnight. “We were idiots.”
“That wasn’t even the worst thing I ever did,” Caleb said. “That was so fucking tame compared to everything else.”
“It was a big deal for me,” I said. “That was the first time I ever broke the rules.”
“You were such a good girl back then,” Caleb said smirking. “What the hell happened to you?”
“You.” I laughed. “You were a terrible influence.”
“I just taught you how to live,” Caleb said. “Got you out of your shell a little bit.”
“Yeah,” I nodded, my eyes locking on his. Caleb’s face was inches from my own. I could smell his sweet breath, and it was more intoxicating than the beer.
“God, I missed you,” Caleb said his voice low.
I leaned forward without thinking. Caleb cupped my cheek and kissed me. His lips were magical as they danced over mine. Everything faded. My headache disappeared. The only thing that existed was that one kiss. I moved closer, sliding my body against his and sighing against his lips.
When his tongue traced my bottom lip, I moaned and shivered, my entire body silently begging him to take me. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.
Then, I came back to my senses, and I pulled away quickly. My head swam, and soon, my headache was back in full force. I stared at Caleb, shock and disappointment on his face. I sighed and shook my head.
“Tara,” Caleb said.
“I should go.” I jumped to my feet and flew out the door before Caleb could say another word. My head was pounding as I ran toward my car.
I cranked the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, desperate to put as much distance between Caleb and me as possible. While I drove, I knew I needed advice. Being around Caleb again was fucking with my mind. I had no idea how to handle this, so I called my best friend and hoped she would know what to tell me.
“Stephanie,” I said when she answered. “I just kissed Caleb.”
“What the fuck, Tara?” Stephanie said, frustration in her voice. “Are you kidding?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t know how it happened. I went to his apartment to go over his at-home treatment, and there was a party, and then everyone left, and it happened.”
Stephanie groaned into the phone. She and I had been best friends most of our lives. She was around when I first met Caleb, so she knew everything about our relationship. More than anyone, Stephanie knew how badly Caleb had broken my heart.
“I thought you were going to keep your distance,” Stephanie said. “Isn’t that what you told me?”
“That was the plan,” I said weakly. “I don’t know what happened, Steph.”
“You two just can’t be trusted together.” Stephanie sighed. “How do you feel about it? Do you want it to happen again?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “He’s my patient. It can’t happen again.”
“Patient my ass,” Stephanie said. “You didn’t care that he was your step brother, so why should patient matter?”
“This is my job,” I said. “It’s serious.”
“I know,” Stephanie said. “Which is why you need to pull yourself together and get a fucking grip. You can’t do this, Tara. You can’t lose yourself in this boy all over again. You just can’t.”
“I know,” I said. She was right. Her advice was harsh but also exactly what I needed to hear. No matter what happened with Caleb, I’d worked hard to get where I was. My career was just getting started, and I couldn’t let my feelings for Caleb cloud my judgment.
“It’s going to be okay,” Stephanie said. “I know how much he means to you. If things keep going like this, maybe you should have someone else take over his case.”
“I tried that,” I said.
“Try again,” Stephanie insisted.
“I will,” I said.
We hung up, and my head was pounding worse than ever. As I pulled up to my apartment, my phone rang sharply. It hurt my ears, so I answered quickly to quiet the ringing.
“Hello?” I asked, my voice soft.
“Are you okay?” My dad’s voice sounded through the phone. “You don’t sound good.”
“My head hurts,” I said.
“Again?” Dad asked. “How bad this time?”
“Pretty bad,” I said honestly. “I just got home, so I’m going to lie down for a while.”
“Have you made an appointment yet?” he asked. “You need to get that checked out, Tara. Headaches like that shouldn’t keep happening.”
“It’s probably just stress.”
“You don’t know that,” Dad said. “I’m serious, Tara. Call and make an appointment.”
“You’re right,” I said. “I’ll call first thing in the morning.”
My dad was relieved. We hung up, and I hurried inside, shutting all the blinds and falling into bed. I told myself the headaches were nothing. Despite my dad’s worries, I was sure they didn’t mean anything. I decided to call in the morning, just to be sure.