Shattered (The Protectors 11)

By the time we got Caleb back to the Whidbey Island house, he was barely functional. He hadn’t spoken or cried. Even seeing Willa didn’t have any kind of effect on him. I got him settled in our bed and crawled in with him, hoping like hell I’d get some kind of reaction out of him.

But there was nothing. Just like there was nothing three days later.

He stayed in the same position in bed, no matter how much I begged and pleaded with him to come back to me. He roused from bed only long enough to drink something or go to the bathroom, and nothing more.

It was like I wasn’t even there.

“Caleb,” I whispered as I settled my lips on the back of his neck. We were in the same place we’d been from day one. Lying in the middle of the bed with my arms wrapped around him from behind. Baby had become Caleb’s shadow from the moment we’d gotten back to the house, and I had no doubt the big animal could sense something was very wrong with the young man. He was currently lying along Caleb’s front and while Caleb wasn’t interacting with him, the dog only left his side when Eli took him outside.

I rubbed Caleb’s arm. “I’m here, baby. I’m not going anywhere. So you take as long as you need to, but I will be here when you’re ready to come back to me.” I leaned over him as I spoke and while the sight of the single tear sliding down his cheek hurt like hell, it also brought a certain measure of relief.

Because it was something.

And right now, I’d literally take any proof that he could still hear me.

Wherever he was.

Chapter 24

Caleb

You’re Daddy’s sweet boy, aren’t you, Caleb?

Yes, Dad.

Daddy… say it.

Yes, Daddy.

No one will ever love you like I do, you know that, right?

Yes, Daddy…. but it hurts, Daddy.

It’ll only hurt this first time… Do you believe me, my sweet boy?”

“Yes, Daddy.”

I squeezed my eyes closed even tighter as bile crawled up the back of my throat. I waited for the nausea to pass and tried to take in my surroundings.

I was really warm, almost hot, even. There was a body at my back… and front. The body at my back was long and warm and fit me perfectly. The one at my front was shorter, stocky, smelled a bit and was very, very hairy.

And unlike the body at my back, the one at my front was awake… and could tell I was too because a wet tongue lapped over my face a couple of times before a cold nose pressed against my neck. I stifled a chuckle and ran my hand over Baby’s head.

“Someone’s been feeding you hot dogs,” I said softly. They were the dog’s favorite.

“He wouldn’t eat,” I heard someone say. I lifted my eyes to see Eli sitting in an armchair near the bed. “Neither of them would.”

I knew who he was talking about. I put my hand behind me so I could feel Jace’s body. He stirred a bit and tightened his hold on my waist, but didn’t wake up.

“What day is it?” I asked. Eli looked like shit, so I had no doubt it wasn’t just Jace and Baby who hadn’t left my side for however long I’d been lost in my own little world.

“Saturday.”

Four days.

I’d gone silent for four days.

And I’d hurt myself again.

In front of Jace.

And Eli.

All because I hadn’t had the strength to deal with the idea of spending even a single second in the same room as my father or the thirty minutes that followed in which my father had pretended to watch me lovingly from his seat not ten feet from me. But he’d really sealed the deal by calling me sweet boy.

He hadn’t called me that in a long time, but the second he’d uttered the two words, it was like my body had been once again lying beneath his as I’d sought to escape into the darkness of my mind where there was no pain, no sense of betrayal.

“Where’s Willa?” I asked.

“She’s with Seth and Ronan. They were going to take her to Magnus and Dante’s house today. It’s Leo’s birthday, so Dante and Magnus are going to watch her while Ronan and Seth take their kids to the party.”

“Will you take me to see her?” I asked.

Eli nodded. He didn’t ask why I was making the request.

I figured it was because he probably already knew why.

“I’ll give you two a second,” Eli said. He got up and urged Baby to follow him. I gave the big dog a pat as he got off the bed, then carefully rolled over so I was facing Jace. He looked as exhausted as I felt. I ran my fingers over his face and through the curls of his hair. I smiled as I remembered how often I’d imagined being able to do this very thing. Now he was mine and I could do it to my heart’s content.