Wake Up Call (21 page)

      I sat down on the curb and nervously tapped my foot on the gravel. "I'm at the diner. I'll be outside waiting." With that, I pulled the phone away, hung up, and shoved it inside of my purse.

      Two minutes later, Caleb pulled up and jumped out of the car. He had to of been just a few blocks away when I'd called.
Lucky me.

      His blond hair looked freshly cut and his amber eyes were full of a certain glow that I hadn't seen in him in a while. It was then that I took notice of just how beautiful he really was. I had so much going on before that I didn't even let myself notice. I was determined to block everyone out of my life, making me blind to everything around me. Jace changed that for me. I was blind to that as well. "Are you alright?" he questioned, while reaching for my hand.

      I shook my head and let him help me to my feet. I didn't even push his hand away as he held onto my arm for support. He walked me over to his car and I looked up and smiled at him before I got into the car. "I'm fine. Thank you." 

      Caleb grinned and shut the door before he walked over to his side of the car and jumped in. He looked at me with wonder in his eyes before he smiled and leaned back into his seat. "It's so good to see you. I've missed you." He looked past me and his smile slightly faded as he shifted the car into drive.

      "What?" I questioned, as I studied his face. I got ready to look out the window, but Caleb quickly reached out and grabbed my face to stop me.  

      He looked me in the eye and smiled. "You just look so beautiful. That's all," he whispered. Then he looked past me
again and slammed his foot on the gas. "Let’s hurry up so that we can grab some of your things."

      I felt my heart stop beating at just the thought of going back to Jace's house. I couldn't stand to be around anything that had to do with Jace at the moment. It just hurt too much and I was so close to giving in to my heart and running back inside to be close to him. I couldn't do that. I wouldn't let myself hurt him anymore.

       "Not right now." I blurted out. I took a deep breath and leaned into the seat. "We can do that a different day." 

      Caleb nodded his head in agreement and gripped onto the steering wheel. "Sure. Maybe tomorrow while that guy is still at work. I'm sure he isn't too happy that you're leaving." 

      "Sure," I whispered. "I'm not so sure if he truly cares." It was the truth. It wasn't as if he attempted to stop me. Maybe Caleb was the only one that would ever care. That still didn't make me want him. Not the way that I wanted Jace.

      I'm doing the right thing. Jace will be safe now...

                              Chapter 11

      I took a deep breath and looked out the window as we turned into a driveway surrounded by a forest of trees. The driveway seemed to go on for at least a mile before we pulled up next to a large white house with tremendous glass windows.

      The green lawn was perfectly kept with white stones that led right up to a huge square fountain that was lit up with bright blue lights. The sight was actually quite breathtaking and like nothing that I had ever seen before. Caleb must've had a lot of money. Something that I hadn't been aware of. I guess I should've known from his nice BMW.

      Caleb peered over his right shoulder and grinned as he pulled up next to a yellow Four Wheeler and placed his car into park. The look on his face was cocky and proud. I didn't like it. It was as if he'd thought he'd won. "What do you think?" he questioned, while pulling the keys out of the ignition, and throwing them down to lay on his lap.

      I leaned back into my seat and stiffly pulled my purse closer to my side for comfort. Then I turned my head to look back out the window. "It's... nice," I mumbled, already starting to regret my decision of calling Caleb. It always ended that way. "I didn't realize that you had such a huge house."

      Caleb blushed as he ran his fingers through his hair. Then he nodded his head toward the front door which was a beautiful shade of powder blue. "Let's get out of here so that you can make yourself at home," he beamed. "Come on."

      Home. My stomach dropped at the thought of Caleb's house being a home to me. I didn't want that and I hated the idea of it.

       I carefully stepped out of the car and closed the door behind me. My eyes wandered over to the huge house and my heart started pounding loudly in my chest. The more I looked at the place the more that I realized that I didn't belong there. Truthfully the only place that I ever felt like home was with Jace.

      Caleb grabbed my arm snapping me out of my thoughts. "I'm sure that you're going to love it here," he breathed. "There is plenty of-"

      "Caleb," I cut him off. "I'm only staying for a few days." I pulled my arm from out of his grip and brushed my arm off. I didn't want him getting any kind of crazy ideas. I was okay with going with him at first, but not now. Not after seeing the victory in his eyes.

      Caleb's jaw clenched as he reached for the brass handle of the door and pushed it open. He silently motioned for me to enter the house before he followed me inside and shut the door behind us.

      The smell of Jasmine surrounded me as I looked around the spotless house and placed my purse on the red oak table that sat next to the door. I pointed over to the white suede couch and nodded my head as Caleb walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. "I'll just sleep here tonight," I said softly, as I made my way over to take a seat on the cozy couch, and  possibly my new bed for a while.

      Caleb glanced over from the kitchen and shook his head. "Oh no. You are taking my room. I won't have you sleeping on that thing." He shut the fridge and held out a small tray full of fruit and yogurt. "Hungry?" he questioned. He leaned against the counter while waiting for my response.

      I silently shook my head and let out a deep breath. I couldn't even think about eating at the moment. I could hardly even find the time to breathe.

      "Okay then," he mumbled, his voice laced with aggravation. "Well tell me about this guy that you've been staying with. Did he do something to hurt you? Did he kick you out?" He paused to
eat some fruit. "What made you decide to call me?" he questioned desperately.

      Just the thought of being around Caleb was making me exhausted. I just didn't have the energy to keep up a conversation with Caleb and the last thing that I wanted to do was tell Caleb about Jace and my personal life. Jace never asked about Caleb so why did Caleb always have so many damn questions?

       "I don't want to talk about it," I whispered, trying not to sound rude. "Also, I would rather sleep in a spare room."

      Caleb's face hardened as he walked over and took a seat next to me on the spacious couch. He slammed the tray of fruit down on the table in front of us and leaned into the arm of the couch. "That's not surprising. You never talk to me about shit," he snapped. "How do you expect me to help you when you can't even tell me shit about your life?"

      I stood up from the couch and stomped over to the door. I didn't have to take crap from Caleb. I just couldn't handle it. I grabbed for my purse and threw it over my right shoulder as I reached for the door handle. "I'm leaving. This was a bad idea."

      Caleb jumped up from the couch and threw his arms up in defeat. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just happy to have you here." He pointed down at the couch and smiled. "Please come back. I won't make you tell me anything that you don't want to." He nervously played with the tray of fruit as he watched me set my purse back down. "I promise."

      I stared at the floor as I crossed my arms over my chest. I needed to get out of there as soon as possible. "I will stay here for a few days and then I plan on getting a cheap car and looking for a little apartment," I said, being sure that he understood. "Can we just get through this without any more fighting? I really can't handle this right now. I mean it. I have a lot on my mind."

      Caleb quickly took a bite of a strawberry and shook his head. "I already said I would leave you alone," he grunted. "Can I ask you one question though?"

      I rolled my eyes in aggravation and nodded my head. All that I wanted to do was run away and go to bed even though it was too early. I just needed to be alone. "I guess."

      He ran his hands over his face and studied my every move. "Are you going to keep working at that diner?" he asked, his voice slightly angry.

      The thought of leaving the diner killed me. I had no other choice though. My parents would do anything and everything in their power to ruin not only me, but Jace as well. I had to protect him. "No. I will figure something out," I whispered, pain in my voice.

      A grin crossed Caleb's once hard face, before he pushed himself to his feet, and strolled across the room and over to a closed door that stood right at the beginning of the long hallway. He slowly trailed his hand over the wooden door before he pushed it open and pointed inside. "This is my room, but I want you to take it while you're here." He smiled as I stepped inside. "The spare bedrooms aren't quite set up for guest. I've been a very busy man."

      I nodded my head in understanding and looked around the expensive home. "I've noticed," I mumbled. "I never knew that you had so much...money." I stepped into the master bedroom and took a quick glance around. It was quite spacious and filled with endless expensive crap. It had a king size bed, a large oak dresser with a mirror on top, a hot tub, a gamer area and a very large computer desk. The computer that sat on the desk looked brand new and barely out of the package. A hot tub. Who lives like this? "Wow!"

      Caleb leaned against the doorframe and playfully bit his lip as he played with his nails. I could tell he was enjoying every moment and basking in it. "I try not to talk about the money. There are too many people out there that like to take advantage of people." He stopped playing with his nails to look up at me. "You're different. I don't think that I have to worry about that with you." A smile crossed his face as he looked me in the eye. "All of this is yours. Enjoy."

      I turned my head away from his gaze. I didn't like the way that it made me feel. He didn't have to worry about anything with me because I wouldn't be around for long. I just needed a few days to get my money and things together and I would be gone. I didn't need anyone to take care of me. I didn't want that. Especially from Caleb.

      "You're right," I said stiffly. "You don't have to worry about me. Can I get a little rest before I go looking for work?"

      Caleb crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head away from my view. Then he reached for the door and looked up at me. "Whatever you want. That's how it's always worked," he muttered, as he backed out into the hall and shut the door behind him.

      The tone of his voice and looking at his face just made me want to scream. He always had a way of making me feel as if I could explode. Maybe that's why I could never stand to be around him for more than a few hours at a time. He would never understand me and I didn't expect him to.

      I threw myself down onto the king size bed and squeezed my eyes shut. I hated the feeling of being there with Caleb. I hated hurting Jace, but I only did it because it felt like the right thing to do at the moment. Jace had done nothing but good things for me. This was the only thing good that I could do to repay him. Leaving was the best thing that I could do for anyone. I knew that and had accepted that long ago.

                                                     ~•~

      Despite being exhausted, I couldn't manage to take a nap. My mind spun with unwanted thoughts and all I could manage to do was toss and turn the whole time. The constant sound of Caleb's light footsteps pacing up and down the hallway didn't do much to help that situation either. The more that I tried to sleep the more exhausted that I felt, and the more that I grew annoyed of Caleb.
Go sit down for crying out loud.

      Feeling defeated, I hopped out of bed and ran my hands over my face. I didn't really feel up to doing anything, but I knew that if I wanted to get out of Caleb's place that I would have to start my job hunting right away. I didn't have time to waste just sitting around and moping, although that was what I felt like doing.

       After working at Jace's diner for a few weeks I now had enough experience waiting tables that it would probably be easy to just apply at a few local diners. To be honest, I think that I even somewhat enjoyed waiting tables.