Love (Gimme 6)

Chapter Four

Haley

I wake up to the sight of Miss Callahan’s son Elijah staring at me from the edge of the bed. Gasping, I pull the covers up my body, close my eyes, and imagine that I’m somewhere else, but I open them, and he’s still sitting there, eyes glued to me.

His expression softens as he speaks, “You don’t have to hide from me. I’m not going to hurt you, Haley.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” I answer with a half-smile. I’m feeling many things, but being afraid isn’t one of them.

“That’s good because you shouldn’t be afraid of me, ever.” He moves up closer, sitting on the bed just at my waist. I try to control my breathing, so he doesn’t realize his effect on me.

“Where am I? How did I get here?”

“You’re in my mother’s house, and I carried you here after I found you sleeping in the garden. Why were you in the garden?”

“I didn’t mean to trespass.”

“I don’t give a fuck that you were in the garden. I wanted to know why you didn’t ring the doorbell to come into the house.”

“It was late and dark, so I couldn’t just come beating down the door for a place to sleep.”

“What happened to your car?”

“You know about that?”

“Yes.”

“Oh goodness.” I wish the floor could swallow me up. I throw the covers over my head. As I breathe them in, I swear I can smell a manly scent, and it strikes me that I’m lying in his bed.

He tugs the covers, pulling them down until I see him again. “Look at me, Haley.” I lift my gaze and meet his pretty gray eyes. “Much better.” Reaching out for my hand, he takes it in his large ones. “You don’t need to be embarrassed.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one having to sleep outside while being rescued by a handsome man.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but you’re never sleeping outside again unless you nap alongside the pool or while sunbathing.”

“I hate to tell you, it’s not that easy. I work at Walmart and my only home was stolen last night.”

“Someone stole your car.”

“Yes, while I was at work. I walked here because it’s the only place I knew.”

“Well you’re safe and don’t worry. We’ll get your clothes and everything you need. Get some rest, please.”

“I have to be at work.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I do. I start in a little while. I can’t lose my job. I’ve already lost everything else. Oh my goodness.” I tug at the loose fabric of the long-sleeved shirt. “Where are my clothes? How did I get into these? Did you?”

“I didn’t, despite wanting to help make you comfortable. My mother thought it was best if she undressed you alone. You aided her even though you don’t quite remember. You were very sleepy.”

“Could this be any more embarrassing?”

“Look, Haley. I’m not here to judge you at all. I have a question; are you afraid to fly?”

“No?” I say, but it comes out as a question.

“Good. I will need an assistant for the next two weeks, and it will pay much more than you will make for the year at Walmart, so you can accompany me.”

“Really? But I don’t know what you do or how to do it?”

“My mother says you’re a brilliant girl down on her luck. I trust my mother’s opinion and as it happens, I just fired my assistant, and I’m in a bind, so I need someone to help. It won’t be too much, but I’m sure you learned technology in school so checking emails, my schedule, and the like should be simple.”

“I suppose it could be, but I don’t have any nice clothes anymore.”

“Don’t worry about that. I can have someone here to take your measurements and have a wardrobe ready before our trip.”

“This is all too much. I’m not worth all this trouble.”

“Listen, your character has been extremely telling in these short moments that you’ve spoken with my mother and me. However, it’s not just that. You’ve been sleeping for nearly twelve hours, and I took that time to gather some details on you to decide if you would work as my assistant, including your GPA.”

“You looked up all my information?”

“I didn’t do it, but yes, I dug in as much as I could although honestly it’s not hard to find these days. Although, given your stellar grades it surprises me that you’re not in college somewhere nice instead of living in your car and working retail full-time.”

“Life doesn’t work out as planned sometimes.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but sometimes they work out for the right reasons. So how about my offer?” I pause to think about it.

“Look, whether you take the offer or not, I still plan to help you, but I’m leaving in two days because I have to return to work. My mother went out to get you some clothes earlier if you want to change. If not, we can order some dinner. My mom and Troy went out on a date night tonight, so they’re not here.”