Page 10 of Inevitable Dream

“Sadie, I should have been back to work last week. I’m not saying I don’t feel a twinge of pain or that it’s easy, but I’ve been wounded before, and the longer I wait, the worse it’ll be to get back in shape,” Rebel says.

Back in shape? Is he nuts? I’ve never seen a man with more pronounced abs in my life. He’s the book boyfriend described to a T in all the girly romance novels.

“You’re perfect,” I blurt out. “I mean, uh, well, you’re already….” I struggle to find the words that don’t have me sounding like a schoolgirl with a crush, or a dork.

He laughs, then his hand snakes into my wet hair, tugging gently and pulling me down until our lips nearly touch. “I’m far from perfect, but I have great taste in sexy nurses with a wicked sense of humor,” he says and does a light lip touch.

“You only like me for my mind.” I feign a huff, and Rebel laughs louder and harder. His laughter is a gift. His eyes sparkle. I could watch him all day.

“Trust me, babe, that isn’t all I like about you.”

As promised, Rebel and I put on Netflix and binge-watchOnly Murders in the Buildingfor the rest of the day, stopping for a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner. My belly is full and I’m feeling really good, but I swear I hear a faint ringing. Rebel hears it too. He scans the room and follows the sound to my backpack. Lucky for me, when I was mugged, I had the cell phone in my pocket, or that too would have been lost.

I guess I should be grateful that I still have my phone. He sees the light blinking and the name flashing on the screen and holds it out to me. “It’s your mom,” he says.

I let out a groan and take it from him. Mentally psyching myself up, I answer as cheerfully as I can. “Hey, Mom.”

“Don’t you ‘Hey, Mom’ me, Sadie Eloise McCowan. I have been calling for days without a call back from you. My next call would have been to the police. Then I would have booked a flight to see if you were okay. Your father has already packed a bag,” she exclaims, not letting me get a word in. “You carry a baby for nine months, through the nausea, the swollen feet, and let’s not forget the twelve hours of intense labor, followed by chicken pox, fevers, the first heartbreak, then my baby moves away, and she doesn’t call us back.”

Yep, she’s not happy.

“Things have been a little hectic. I—I…” I taper off. I want to tell her the truth but know as soon as I do, she’ll want to come and see me, but not when I look like this.

Rebel snatches the phone.

“Hi, I’m Rebel. Sadie’s boyfriend,” he says, followed by a shriek that I can hear from where I’m sitting. Then Mom’s talking a mile a minute, so fast that I can’t quite understand. “No, we’re new. She was going to call and tell you, but there was an unfortunate incident, and Sadie’s been hurt.” There’s a pause, and Rebel comes to sit beside me, putting his arm around my shoulders. “She’s safe now, and she’s going to stay that way.” Another pause, then Rebel says, “Sadie should be the one to tell you.” Pause. “I’ll give her back the phone, but know that I’m with her and looking after her.”

Rebel gives me the phone. “Rip the Band-Aid off and tell them. It’ll be worse the longer you wait.”

I sigh deeply, then put the phone to my ear. “It’s me again, Mom. Could you please put me on speaker so I can talk to both you and Dad?”

“We’re both here, my girl.” Dad’s voice sounds over the phone.

“Okay, I want to start by saying that I’m fine. Last night, I was attacked. The thief was after my purse, and I wouldn’t let him have it. He got, um, physical. I sort of got beat up.” I hear Mom’s sharp intake of breath, and although I can’t see Dad, I can imagine his tormented expression. Dad has always been protective of me.

On my first day of school, not only did he drop me off with Mom, but he stood across the street and watched me at recess to keep an eye on me. When I was older and was bullied, it was Dad who made sure the kid was no longer a nuisance. To this day, I have no idea what he said to that boy’s parents.

“We’ll catch the first flight out,” Dad says.

“Dad, wait. I want to see you and Mom. But let’s give it a few days before you come. I’m at Rebel’s, and he’s taking good care of me,” I tell them.

“Put your man on the line, baby girl,” he orders.

“Dad—”

“Now, Sadie.” His stern voice is loud and clear. There’s no way around it. I give the phone back to Rebel, biting my lower lip, forgetting the cut there and causing myself pain.

“Hello, sir,” Rebel answers. “She’s doing much better.” There’s a hesitation, and then he says, “I wasn’t there, but he will be found and punished. For his sake, he should pray the cops find him first.” I’m not sure what Dad is saying, but Rebel rises from the sofa and begins pacing the room. “I hear you, but with all due respect, she’s not leaving my place. You want to come and visit, then we’ll make room.” Then I hear him say, “Right. I’ll have her call you every day. Give us a week and we’ll make plans. Either way, we’ll work it out. Later, then.”

Rebel hangs up and looks at me. “Your parents aren’t going to be happy until they see you. I promised to make arrangements for them to visit or for us to go to them. You must have heard that they want a daily call. They’re worried about you. I think it’s best they come to you, but whatever you want, babe. I have a den. I can put a bed in it. It ain’t the Ritz, but they’ll be close, and we’ll make do,” he explains, like there’s nothing to it. He sits next to me.

A million things come to mind. Like, when did I move in? I have my own apartment, but Dad will hate it because one look at the neighborhood and he’ll have a fit. And I have to get back to work. I can’t let my boss down. She’s been wonderful to me. Most of all, my parents meeting my boyfriend? Holy shit!

Rebel called himself my boyfriend. We’ve haven’t even had a proper kiss. As much as I loved the light pecks and soft touches, I wouldn’t call any of them a proper first kiss. What if when we do finally kiss, he doesn’t like it? My mind is whirling, so I don’t notice that Rebel has sat his ass down on the coffee table and is watching me have a mini panic attack.

He clasps my icy hands in his. “Sadie, talk to me. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“I like you,” I blurt out.

---