Page 4 of Inevitable Dream

Falcon opens his mouth to respond when a shriek comes from Sadie’s bedroom. I run to see what’s the matter. Sadie’s wrestling with the sheets, crying out in her sleep, “He’s here! He’s going to get me!”

“Fuck!” I exclaim. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I carefully pull Sadie to me. “It’s okay, baby. I’m here. No one will hurt you again,” I promise her, murmuring until she relaxes in my arms. Her eyes open wide, and I can see her fear in them. “Pack a bag, Sadie. I’m taking you home with me.”

She blinks. “P-Pardon?”

“I’m not leaving you here. I’ve got a perfectly good apartment, and you’ll be safe there. We have security and great people in the building who take care of one another.”

“I thought that was Falcon’s?—”

“We’re not staying with Falcon. This is my place. It’s time we both went home.” I look around the room. “Falcon and I will help you pack what you need.”

“I can’t just leave,” Sadie says.

I place my hands on either side of her cheeks, staring into her beautiful emerald-green eyes. “All right, Sadie, I’m going to say this because we’ve both been dancing around this since the moment we met. There’s something between us. This isn’t the time to get into this because of the drama that just unfolded in your life. But eventually, we’re going to explore it. You may not have gotten this impression from me, but I’m the kind of man who, when he has a woman, takes care of her. I can’t leave you here, and I won’t. So, you need to take a leap of faith and let me look after you.” I press my lips gently to hers, not wanting to hurt her already bruised mouth, and with the slightest touch, I know this woman is mine.

“Where’s your bag, Sadie?” Falcon asks from the doorway. Sadie looks at us and points to her closet.

I caught a glimpse of Sadie while she changed into a pair of soft leggings and a shirt. She has scrapes and bruises on her legs and arms, but the worst of her injuries are to her ribs, which are bandaged. Her lip is split, and she has a cut on her forehead and a black eye to boot, but all in all, these are injuries that will heal. I walk toward Falcon, who’s waiting for me in the other room.

Falcon is standing near the door. “Are you sure you’re ready to go home?” he asks, then adds, “It’s no problem for Sadie to stay with us at my place.”

“Time to go home. You’ve been amazing. And in three days, Sadie wasn’t going to be looking after me anymore anyway. I need to get back to work. I know I have to build up to working in the field again, but I need to get back to work. And Sadie, well…” I can’t finish that thought because I’m not sure what this is, but I do know I can’t let her go.

“If she’s the one, then I’m happy as hell for you,” Falcon says.

“I have no fucking clue what I’m doing,” I confess. “All I know is that I can’t let her go.” I hear Sadie shuffling, then dragging something behind her. It’s her bag.

“Drop it, babe. I got it,” I tell her. I move to pick up the bag and can tell it’s too light. “There can’t be anything in here.”

“There is.”

“What?”

“I have a couple of pairs of pants and tops. That should be enough for a couple of days,” Sadie says. I leave her where she stands and go back into her room, taking the bag with me. I open the bag and stuff it full of clothes. I don’t even know what I’m throwing in, but if I could fit it all, I would.

Sadie pokes her head into the room. “That’s too much.”

“No, it isn’t. You need special shampoo and shit?” I ask. “Women need that sort of stuff.”

“Um…”

“Get it together, Sadie.” To my surprise, she doesn’t question me and goes into the bathroom and sticks more stuff into a travel bag. Before she makes a move to lift it, I say, “I got it.”

Falcon immediately takes the bigger bag from me, and we head into the hallway. After locking her door, I wrap my arm around Sadie’s waist, and she clings to me as I walk her down the three flights of stairs, wincing with every step, and into Falcon’s Escalade.

Sadie

The last person I expected to see at my door was Rebel. I thought for sure it was the property manager coming to collect the rent. He’s a kind, older man and is more like the grandpa I never knew. Since my parents had me much later in life, I never really got to know my grandparents. Dad’s mom and dad were gone before I was born, and I was a baby when my mom’s father passed away, and a year later, her mother died.

Hubert is a sweet older guy who takes care of me and the building. I think he took to me because I don’t throw wild parties, like the guy one floor above me who has the cops turning up almost on a weekly basis, and I pay my rent on time. Hubert’s even added a double lock on my door for my safety. He visits every now and then, and we sit and have coffee and cookies. He reminds me of Santa with his rounded belly and white hair and beard, but it’s the kindness I see in his big brown eyes that melts my heart.

Hubert’s the kind of man who, if you treat him right, will give the love right back twofold. His wife passed away several years ago, and his children have been trying to get him to move closer to them in the suburbs, but he says he isn’t ready to retire yet. His son and daughter have already bought a small bungalow set between the two of them for when Hubert decides he’s ready to join them, and they visit often or have Hubert over almost every weekend. He’s close to his family, and he brags about his children and grandchildren all the time. He’s proud of the family he and his wife built.

It’s not until we’re on the road for over twenty minutes that I realize I should have gone down to Hubert’s apartment to drop off the rent check.

I moan silently, or at least I thought it was silent, until Rebel looks over his shoulder into the back seat. “What’s wrong, babe? Need us to stop?” he asks, his face filled with concern.

“No, I’m fine, but I forgot to pay Hubert.” I sigh, pressing my hand to my head, which is throbbing and has been getting increasingly worse. I should be resting, but I was too scared to close my eyes for too long. I would keep thinking about the man who attacked me. I didn’t get a good look at his face, but I’ll never forget the sound of his voice as he kept shouting at me to shut up and give him my purse. The stench of his cheap cologne is etched in my memory, and the mere thought of it makes me want to hurl.

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