Chapter 36

I wake slowly the next morning, as if even my body doesn’t want to wake up and deal with the shitshow that my life is quickly becoming. Or already is. Whatever.

I lay perfectly still, not wanting to alert Caleb to the fact that I am awake. I am not ready for the conversation that needs to happen, not ready to face the fact that Andrew has found me and is apparently hell-bent on me coming back home with him. Well, *his* home. My home is here now. The realization is both welcome and a bit startling, and I refuse to let myself dwell too long on whether this new *home* is a place or a person.

I decide that a steaming hot shower is in order to help me clear my head. I hesitate, wondering if there is any chance that I can slip out of bed without waking Caleb. I slowly turn my head towards his side of the bed, peeking through my barely-open eyelids, just to catch a quick glance of… nothing. He isn’t here.

Crippling self-doubt snakes its way around my heart. Maybe he really did only agree to stay with me last night because he felt bad for me. He said he didn’t, but… he snuck out sometime in the night, which doesn’t exactly scream *thrilled* to be here.

I shove all of those thoughts back to the deepest, darkest corners of my mind. I just need a blistering hot shower, then I can deal with everything else. Not needing to worry about waking anyone else, I roll clumsily out of bed, my feet hitting the floor with a surprisingly loud thump, especially considering how soft the carpets are. I have never been an overly graceful person, but that was rough even for me.

Making my way into the bathroom, I flip on the lights and shut the door behind me before moving across the room. I twist the handle to start the water, then wait a moment for it to heat before stepping beneath the cascade. *God, this was the right decision*. The moment the water is flowing over my skin, my mind clears and the tension leaves my shoulder. I swear, if I could just live in the shower, I would do it. Maybe in my next life, I can just be a jellyfish. No brain, no thoughts, just a blob of jelly floating through the ocean waves. That sounds like heaven.

I try to wait for the water to run cold before I get out, but Caleb must have one of those fancy tankless water heaters, because even after what feels like forever in the shower, the water stays hot. *Good lord, a girl could get used to this*. When my skin is bright pink, and my fingertips are puckered, I finally pry myself out of the shower. I wrap myself in one of the soft, fluffy towels, and run a brush through my hair before I finally decide I can handle facing the real world. Or, at least I hope that I can.

I take a deep breath before stepping out of the now-steamy bathroom, I make it almost all the way to the closet before I catch movement out of the corner of my eye, and I turn to find a man standing there that I have never seen before. Terror seizes me, and a bloodcurdling scream escapes my lips as I reach for the closest thing to me– a lamp–and fling it across the room towards him.

“Oh shit!” The strange man turns away from me, slapping his hands over his eyes. “Shit! I’m so sorry, Bree! I wasn’t expecting you to be naked!”

*What the hell?*

“What are you doing in here?” I screech the words out, my voice a full octave higher than normal.

“Caleb sent me to wait for you! He said he told you I would be here! I swear I didn’t see anything? Shit, I am such an idiot! You can’t tell him about this!”

The fact that this man seems as freaked out as I am actually calms me down slightly. Enough to ask breathlessly, “Caleb sent you?”

“Yes, I swear. He told us we needed to meet with him this morning, and asked me to come show you where to go. He is already down there briefing everyone.”

“So you just decided to waltz right into my room without knocking? And who is *everyone*?”

He sighs, then with pleading in his voice asks me, “Can you please put some clothes on before we continue this conversation? I am rather attached to my eyes and would prefer that Caleb doesn’t gouge them out.”

I stand perfectly still– as if he won’t see me if I don’t move– unsure of what to do next.

“He said he sent you a text letting you know to expect me. Check your phone.” He still isn’t looking at me.

I glance quickly at my phone on the nightstand, then back at him, my eyes narrowing suspiciously. I lunge quickly for my phone, my eyes never leaving the stranger as I move. I open my messages to find one from Caleb, just as the man said.

*Good morning, beautiful. My friend Adam will be up shortly to bring you downstairs. I trust him with my life– and yours. You can trust him too. See you soon. -C*

Reassured, but still uncomfortable, I mutter, “Alright, I’ll go get dressed. Sorry about the lamp.”

A few minutes later, I step out of the closet dressed with my wild, damp hair pulled up into a messy bun. It’s not great, but it’s the best that I could do under the circumstances.

The man– Adam, Caleb called him– is standing near the doorway awkwardly.

“Are you ready for this?” The way he asks me makes my stomach flutter with nerves.

“What,” I ask him, “Exactly, do I need to be ready for it?”

“Damn, he didn’t prep you at all, did he?”

“Prep me for what?” I can’t keep the nerves and annoyance out of my tone, despite my best effort. Okay, maybe not my best effort, but I did try a little.

“You’ll find out soon,” he hedges, then holds out his hand. “I’m Adam, by the way. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

I reach out and take his hand, giving it a quick shake. “Bree,” I respond.

“Alright, let’s get this over with.” He begins walking out the door and down the hallway, and I follow, my steps falling in with his own.

“That’s not super reassuring,” I tell him, hoping for some sort of explanation as to why he is making it sound like I am headed into some sort of trial. He guides me downstairs, but then leads me the opposite way from the living room, down a small side hallway that I haven’t noticed before.

“Just,” he hesitates, “Just try to remember that Caleb is a good man, and he cares about you. Deeply.”

*Oh god, that is somehow the least reassuring thing he could have said.*

I open my mouth to try to get some sort of answer out of him, but his steps halt, and I find myself in front of a set of double doors. Adam reaches across in front of me, and swings them both open to reveal a formal-looking conference room. The cold formality of the room is at sharp odds with the cozy hominess of the rest of the house. Inside there is a long, dark wooden table surrounded by half a dozen high-back leather chairs, most of which are filled. Adam makes his way inside, leaving me standing awkwardly in the doorway.

“Bree,” Caleb approaches me, and gently presses his hand into my lower back. “I’m sorry for not bringing you down here myself.”

“What is this?” I ask nervously, glancing around the room at the less-than-friendly looking faces surrounding the table.

“You’ll understand soon,” he says, then drops his voice to a near-whisper. “Just… try not to hate me after this.” My heart stops.