Becoming Calder(98)

I let out a breathy laugh. "You kinda did." I was quiet for a second, thinking. "I know how you feel. I know I experienced more up at the main lodge, but I still have a lot to figure out, too." I held out my hand. "We'll figure it out together, okay?"

Calder smiled gently at me. "Yeah." He grasped my hand, brought it up to his lips, kissed it, and then feathered his lips over it softly. Butterflies fluttered between my ribs.

"We better get back with that ice," he whispered.

I nodded. "Okay."

We turned the corner into the small alcove with another sign for ice. There were a few small containers sitting next to it and Calder picked one up and started filling it with ice. I looked behind us and saw the small machine on the wall, holding Tylenol, Advil, feminine protection products, and, I moved closer, reading the last product, Trojan Condoms. I didn't know what those were and so I squinted at the small package. "Ultra thin contraception," I read.

Calder came up behind me. "Oh, lucky. Tylenol."

I laughed softly and then dropped the coins into the machine and retrieved the two small, square packages of pain relief, putting it into my skirt pocket.

I noticed a supply closet. "Let's see if there's something in there to use for bandages for Xander."

Calder opened the door and we looked over the shelves of toilet paper and towels.

"A first aid kit," I said, excitedly, bending down and retrieving it from the lowest shelf. "Perfect. There will be bandages in here."

"Good," Calder said. "Let's go."

As we were walking out, two girls about our age were walking in and I watched as both their eyes lingered on Calder.

I resisted the urge to stick my foot out and trip them both. Instead, I stuck my empty hand in Calder's back pocket and looked back at them and smiled prettily when I saw they were watching his backside as we walked away.

Calder chuckled softly.

I looked down at my ripped skirt, and my dirty feet, barely contained in the broken sandals and sighed. I ran my hand through my tangled hair. "Those girls probably think you rescued me out of some gutter, like some of the women who come to Acadia."

Calder leaned down and whispered in my ear. "I like my women fresh from the gutter."

I rolled my eyes and knocked softly on our hotel room door. A few seconds later, Xander swung it open, standing in only a towel wrapped around his waist. "Hot water comes right out of the faucet," he said excitedly.

I laughed and so did Calder, shutting the door behind him.

"Here," I said, handing Xander one package of Tylenol. "Take this and Calder will get you bandaged up. I'm going to go take a shower."

I headed off to the bathroom as Xander moved toward the bed. I cringed when I saw how bad his back still looked. We're far away from there, I thought. We're safe.

In the bathroom, I stripped out of my clothes, balled them up, and put them in the trash. There was a robe on the back of the door. I'd have to use that until Calder and Xander could get out and buy me something to wear. My clothes were filthy tatters. I dropped my sandals in the garbage, too, and cringed down at my feet. I washed my underwear and bra in the sink with soap and hot water and then hung them to dry.

I turned the shower to as hot as I could stand it and then stepped under the spray, sighing as the warmth cascaded over me. I washed my hair twice and conditioned it, and then sat down on the floor of the tub and used a washcloth and a bar of soap to clean my feet. Once they were clean, the blisters were easier to see, but they still looked a hundred times better.

As I sat there on the floor of the shower tub, a wave of emotion suddenly overtook me. I pictured Hailey and the four little boys I had grown to love. I'd never see them again. As happy as I was to be out of Acadia, a feeling of melancholy swept through me when I realized everything I knew and was familiar with was no longer a part of my life.

When the shower curtain was suddenly pulled aside, I squealed out and startled, scooting backward and hitting my tailbone on the side of the tub.

"Whoa, sorry, sorry," Calder said, stepping into the shower with me. I put one hand on my chest and wiped my tears with the other one. He reached down and pulled me up to him.

"Hey, Morning Glory," he said softly, pulling me into his chest. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head, a new batch of tears rolling down my cheeks. "I don't even know," I squeaked. "I just realized I'd never see Hailey again . . . never see our spring . . . We fell in love there." I gazed up at him sadly.

Calder smiled gently, wiping my tears with his thumb. "We'll fall in love a thousand times again," he whispered, "in all kinds of new places."