Steal My Breath (Elixir 1)

I grip the phone hard as my eyes bore into Callie’s. “Why are you calling this phone, Jolene?”

Silence.

“Luke?” Her voice is a strangled mess of confusion and hesitation.

“Yes. Answer me. Why are you calling Callie?” I barely contain my anger and bewilderment.

Callie’s eyes widen in horror and she freezes. Her hand covers her mouth as she sucks in a breath.

“How do you know her?” Jolene asks.

“Answer me!” I roar into the phone.

“She’s a newspaper reporter who’s been helping me with my case.”

“What fucking case?”

“Luke…” Callie finally moves and reaches out as if she wants the phone. Her hand lands on my arm and I flinch away from her touch.

With one shake of my head, I send her a warning and she shrinks back.

“She’s helping me prove my innocence.” Jolene’s voice has also shrunk. I can hear the confusion there too. “Why is she with you? Did she come and see you to try and convince you?”

“No, she didn’t come and see me. I had no idea she was even doing this,” I snap.

Silence.

“I don’t understand. Why is she there?” Realisation hits her and she gasps. “You know her?”

I force out a harsh breath. “Yes, I fucking know her. I’ve been dating her for months.”

Silence.

All I can hear are Jolene’s heavy breaths and then she ends the call.

I don’t loosen my grip on Callie’s phone as I move it from my ear. Holding it by my side, I take a moment to gather my thoughts. Problem with that is they’re in a mess of epic proportions and I don’t know where to start.

“Luke, I can explain—”

I hold up my hand. “There is no fucking way you can even begin to explain this, Callie.” With that, I smash her phone down onto the table and stalk out of the room.

My legs are like heavy slabs of concrete as I stride out to the deck and down the back stairs. My fists clench by my side, ready to punch the first thing I find. Unfortunately for me, that happens to be a tree. However, I don’t feel the pain as it ricochets through my hand and up my arm. All I feel is the suffocating anger that has lodged itself in my chest.

I was moving away from the anger and resentment I’d been bottling up for years. Now it’s all rushing back at me. Hearing her voice cracked my wound wide open again and I don’t know what to do with this torment.

I can’t breathe.

I fight against it because I know it will destroy me if I don’t. But fuck, it’s too much. The anger keeps punching through me. My skin feels like it’s about to split open.

Just like my heart.

“Luke!” Callie’s voice floats down the stairs and I turn to find her running down them towards me.

I shake my head, swallowing like fuck.

I can’t breathe.

“Luke, you need to let me explain.” She crosses the grass and just keeps coming at me.