Recluse (Wolfes of Manhattan 2)

But—

“Tell me more about the elevator, Roy.”46RoyThe elevator.

The elevator that had appeared in the clearing after I’d trudged through the forest.

Hadn’t been real, of course. I’d been under hypnosis, in a deep state of relaxation.

The gray and silver interior. Still had those same elevators. Still had…

“Roy?” Charlie said tentatively.

“I’m okay.” I closed my eyes. “I want to share this with you.”

“Okay.”

“Except that… I didn’t open it. I didn’t use the key.”

“What are you talking about?”

“My session. It went well, I guess.”

“You said you didn’t want to talk about that.”

“And I don’t. Except that I do.”

She walked into my arms and laid her head on my shoulder. She didn’t say anything, but her actions said something far more powerful than words.

She was here for me.

Had anyone ever been there for me in my life? My parents took care of me financially, but they were hardly there for me. My father would kick my ass if I bothered him, at least until I turned sixteen and I got as big as he was. Poor Reid was his sole punching bag after that.

And my mother? She was about as attentive as that polar bear mother at the zoo who rejected her cubs.

Rock had left when I was eleven, and Reid and Riley—though I loved them, I wasn’t overly close to either of them.

As an introvert, I didn’t have many friends. A few dates now and then, and a few one-nighters.

No one who was there for me.

But now? I had a beautiful woman who loved me.

Heaven had sent Charlie to me. Charlie with her silver eyes. Charlie with her good heart.

She didn’t push me to elaborate. She was giving me time. Time to gather my thoughts, if I even could.

Should I tell her about my trek through the imaginary forest? It almost made me sound nuts, though the doc had assured me it was very normal.

I wasn’t nuts, though. I knew that, because of the elevator. Because of the key.

I’d found what I was looking for. Rather, I’d found the key to unlocking it. But at least I knew now that a key existed.

I hadn’t known that before tonight.

I held onto her, relishing the warmth of her body against mine, and then I regarded my painting.

She was right.

It was a fall.

A descent.

Like that elevator had fallen on that fateful day…I smashed my palm onto the red button.

Then the thump when the small cubicle landed. The floor met my body, my stomach lodged in my throat.

I opened my eyes wide, attempting to see in the darkness.

No biggie. The elevator malfunctioned, obviously. Now I just needed to pry the doors open with something. But with what? Plus, I could be stuck between floors. I’d been going to the lowest floor. Had I made it?

I pushed the red button once more, and then again, until I was smashing it with my palm in a quick rhythm.

I wasn’t claustrophobic, but between the darkness and the fall, I was freaking out. My heart beat like a thunderhead and I had to piss like a racehorse.

The cartons that had been on the dolly were now scattered on the floor, files tumbling out of one that had been smashed open.

A scream lodged in my throat, but I suppressed it. I wasn’t going to scream like a sissy girl. My father had called me that name since I started painting, and I would not make his assessment true. For Christ’s sake, he was forcing me to do this stupid internship. If that was really what he thought of me, why would he want me in his sacred office?

I lifted my hand to press the red button once more but then decided against it. Continually pushing the button was the equivalent of screaming. I’d pushed it enough already. Help would come eventually. Only the best for the Wolfes, after all.

The fucking Wolfes.

I inhaled, trying to hold it for a few seconds, and then exhaled. Breathe in, breathe out. That was supposed to relieve stress, right?

Fuck if I knew. My mother practiced a bunch of breathing exercises with her yoga. But really, it was probably just an excuse for her to get together with her other first-wife friends to bitch and whine. She even had a wine glass that had “bitch and wine” etched on it.

Odd. Thoughts of my neurotic mother actually had a calming effect on me. Breathe in, breathe out. My eyes adjusted to the darkness and I shoved the files back into their box. Then I stacked them all back on the dolly. I was ready when that damned door finally—

I squinted as the light came back on.

I stood, hoping I didn’t look like I’d nearly pissed myself waiting for the elevator to move.

But it didn’t move.

Instead, the doors opened.“Roy?”

I jerked out of my thoughts. Charlie had moved slightly away and was looking into my eyes.