Rescue Me(16)

“Here, put this on,” I tell her, handing her one of my work sweatshirts that I retrieve from the back seat. She slips it over her head and knowing that just about every inch of her is covered in my clothes makes my dick twitch in my jeans. But there is so much more to this courageous woman than an incredible body. I want to know every part of this woman right down to the mind sitting behind those deep blue eyes of hers. She’s remarkable and all I want to do is spend the rest of the night letting her know.

I help Erin get into my truck, then I climb in. When I turn to reach into the back seat to grab my phone out of my bag, Erin lets out a soft scream and throws herself up against the side of the door. She starts crying hysterically and I have no clue what is going on.

“Erin, what is going on? You’re scaring me here,” I say, turning to her with concern. When she doesn’t answer me right away I instantly go into panic mode. I have no clue what happened. She was fine a minute ago and now she is shaking and bawling uncontrollably. Undoing my seatbelt, I hop out of the truck and sprint to her side. I pull open the door and she looks up at me with bloodshot eyes. I hurriedly take a step back as I see fear and anger all over her face.

“Erin, sweetheart, I don’t know what is happening here, but whatever it is, let me help you. Please.”

As if a light bulb has gone off in her head I see her demeanor change from fear to humiliation. Slowly I make my way to her and place my hands on her thighs. She slightly winces from my touch.

“Erin? It’s me, Adam. Whatever happened, I am not going to hurt you. Let’s just get home, okay? If you want to talk about it we can, and if not, then that’s okay, too.”

Without saying a word, she retreats back into her seat, withdrawing my hands from her legs. I make my way back around and settle myself into my seat, wondering what could have set her off as I pull out and drive us towards home. I have no clue what to do or what to say and with Shayne and Luke being gone, the only other person I feel comfortable talking to is Antonio. I glance at the clock on my dash and see that it is still fairly early, and I pray like hell that he is home.

We finally pull into the garage, but before I can even get the truck into park Erin is jumping down and running into the house. I sit there for several long minutes before reaching back and getting my phone. Swiping my finger across the screen, I dial Antonio’s number.

“Adam Payne! How the fuck are you, man?”

“I was doing okay up until about a half hour ago.”

“What the hell man, is everything all right? Is it Luke and Shayne?” he asks with a slight edge of panic.

“Yeah, sorry, man. They’re fine. No one is hurt or anything, I just needed someone to talk to.”

“Well, lay it on me, man. What’s up?”

“I had a date tonight with Erin,” I say as all the memories of our perfect night come flashing back.

“I heard that. Mom told me she was keeping the girls. So why the hell are you on the phone with me at eleven o’clock at night and not with her?”

“That’s why I’m calling. You see, everything was going fine. Better than fine, it was perfect and I finally thought I was breaking through to her. I have never seen her laugh so much as she did tonight, but then when we went to leave, she lost it, man. She just... fuck. She just started bawling and I have no fucking clue why!”

“Jesus, dude. I don’t know what to say, man. Where is she now?”

I run my hands through my hair and let out a deep breath. “The minute we pulled into the garage she jumped out of the truck and ran into the house like she couldn’t get away from me fast enough. I have no clue what set her off or what to say or do next. I don’t expect you to have all the answers, Antonio. I just needed someone to talk to because as of right now I am nervous as hell to even walk into my own house.”



“Man, just go in there and make sure she is all right. Let her know if she wants to talk about it, you are there and if she doesn’t, just give her the time and the space she needs. Hell, I have no clue about this kind of stuff but I know how much you care about her, Adam, so that’s the best I got for ya, my friend.”

“You got it man, and thanks for listening.”

“Any time, pal and keep me posted, would you?”

“You got it. Later, man.”

Retrieving my bag from the back seat, I hit the button to close the garage door and enter the house. The house is completely dark so I just toss my stuff on the table, but as I go to pass Erin’s bedroom, her door is slightly ajar. I peer inside and notice she is lying on top of the covers with her clothes still on. Pushing the door open and stepping into her room, I grab a blanket that is folded up on a chair and place it over her. I can just barely see a glimpse of her face in the moonlight shining in through the windows, so I reach out and gently push the hair back away from her face.