Page 66 of Lose You to Find Me

“I remember,” I whisper.

My anxiety is still spiked, even when I see headlights in the distance and know exactly who it is pulling up to where my poor car is dying on the side of the empty street.

Caleb climbs out and instantly walks over to the hood of the car, which I’m avoiding like it’ll blow up at any second.

“You can hang up the phone now,” he tells me, which I hear twice since he’s only a few feet away.

It only takes him a few minutes of tinkering under the hood, doing something inside the car, and going back to the front before he wipes his hands off on his shirt, closes the hood, and walks over to me.

“Overheated,” he explains. “Your radiator needs to be replaced or it’s going to burn out the engine. I think there’s a leak in one of the hoses too.”

Great.

“Hey,” he says softly, reaching out and brushing my arm. “It’s okay. I think we should leave it where it is to cool off and we can grab it in the morning. It’s not blocking anybody’s driveway, and vehicles can get by easily. We’ll leave a note on the windshield if you want.”

I don’t know why, but the gentle tone of his voice breaks the barrier I’ve been keeping my emotions behind, and the floodgates open.

He still cares about me even when I put him through hell. That’s more than I ever saw from my parents.

Once the first tear falls, all the others follow suit until I’m bawling in the middle of the sidewalk. Not even a pretty cry. An ugly, snotty kind that has my nose running and my voice hoarse and my body shaking.

And it feelsgood.

Caleb instantly steps closer, then wraps his arms around me in a tight hug. “Why are you crying, baby girl? I can help with the car. My dad knows people who can get you a great deal.”

First a puppy, now car parts?

It only makes me cry harder.

He squeezes me into him, resting his chin on the top of my head and brushing his fingers through my hair. “Talk to me, Raine. Please? I hate seeing you cry. You know that. I know I screwed up tonight, but I didn’t mean any harm by it. I swear.”

The more I try catching my breath, the more I end up hiccupping. I use his chest as a tissue to dry off my face, which he doesn’t seem to mind, before pulling back and running the backs of my hands against my cheeks.

Once I’m able to collect myself enough to speak coherently, I say, “M-my chicken n-nuggets fell on the ground, and I r-really wanted them.”

He stares at me.

Blinks.

And then starts laughing.

“All right,” he tells me, hooking an arm around my shoulder with another chuckle. “Forget about the fish sticks. We’ll go get you some more nuggets and find somewhere to talk.”

I sniff back more tears, doing my best to dry my face and fight off the urge to cry again. “I am not sleeping with you again.”

He opens the passenger side door of his truck for me. “I didn’t ask you to.”

“Just chicken nuggets.”

“With the sweet barbecue sauce if they’re out of the tangy ranch,” he confirms with a half grin tilting one side of his mouth as he watches me climb in. Before he closes the door, he stares at me for a second like he wants to say something. His eyes go back to my car, then to me. Even though I’m sure it’s not what he was going to tell me, he grips the door and says, “Let’s go get you some chicken.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

CALEB

There’s a thicknessin the air between us as Raine and I sit in the cab of my truck and eat the food I bought us in the drive-through. Our view from the parking lot is nothing like at Alden Field, but I know she’s more comfortable here, surrounded by other people getting a late dinner.

“You’re moving your hand a little better,” I note, looking at the injury in question. “How’s it feeling?”

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