Page 15 of Make Me Whole

We hung up, and I ran upstairs. I went into my dad’s room, locked myself in, and got his pistol. Seconds seemed like hours as I waited and waited. Finally, my phone beeped with a message.

Dad: Max is going over there. He has a key. Don’t open the door until you hear his voice, okay?

I typeda quick okay and sat on the floor with my back against the door. Several eternal minutes passed before I heard the front door rattle. I held my breath as the sound of feet racing up the stairs echoed, and then there was a knock at the bedroom door.

“Skylar? Open up, sweetheart. It’s Max.”

I sighed with relief, got up, and opened the door. As soon as I saw Max, I wrapped my arms around him, and after a moment, he did the same. Being wrapped up in Max felt safe and incredible.

He gently ran a hand down my hair and whispered, “Calm down. It’s okay. You’re safe.”

His words made me realize that not only had I jumped on him like he was a raft in the middle of shark-infested waters, but I had also done so with a gun in my hand and without even stopping to think of what he thought about my predicament. Max could think that I was overreacting, as Eli often had, which would make the gun and my shaken state insane.

I pushed away from him and took a step back. To my surprise, he had a hard time releasing me.

Holding his gaze, I said, “I don’t know if he’s still there, but I promise there was a guy out there with binoculars. He’s been there since this morning and was watching the house. I'm not making things up, Max.”

Max’s face scrunched together as if he was having a hard time understanding me. “I know.”

The softness in his voice and the validation finally made the tear I was holding roll down my cheeks. Max reached a finger to wipe it, then reached down to my hand. He first took the gun away and placed it on the bed, then held my hand between both of his.

“You’re shaking.”

“Must be adrenaline.”

“Want to sit down?” he asked, and I nodded.

He smiled kindly and guided me to the bed. We sat side by side, and he returned my father’s firearm to the safe and locked it. “I went over to the black sedan and talked to the man. He’s a deputy in the sheriff’s department sent over to watch a person of interest in the possible kidnapping of a little girl.”

My eyes widened, and my breath caught. “What?”

Max shrugged. “I have no fucking clue. I explained it was probably a mix-up since the only little girl here lives with her mother, and he went away. But if the sheriff is involved, I’m pretty sure that the mayor is as well.”

“I agree, but what do I do?”

He sat down next to me and took my icy hands in his. “Right now, you go take a bath and relax. I talked to Al, and he’s going to pick up the kids from school and come straight home. We’ll order a pizza and figure out what to do, okay?”

“Okay,” I whispered. A bath sounded like exactly what my sore muscles needed. I got up and walked to the door. Before leaving my father’s room, I turned around and said, “You’re always around when I need you. Thank you.”

He licked his lips and held my gaze. “I always will be, Skylar. If it’s up to me, nothing bad will happen to you. I’ll always keep you safe. You can trust me.”

Even though I shouldn’t give in to the feelings that were bubbling inside me and knew that trusting Max would only make it harder, I did trust him. I trusted him more than I trusted myself, to be honest.

7

MAX

After a successful stint of avoiding Skylar, it was ironic that we were alone in a house while she was naked in a bathtub. Trying hard to keep my mind out of the gutter and my body where it had to be, I sat down on the couch and monitored the street.

The deputy’s car was gone, but I knew this wasn’t over. Someone would surely come back to bully Skylar into returning to that asshole Eli. Despite the tears and her clear hatred for the man, I knew it was only a matter of time before the weight of his threats became too much and she caved.

My hands balled into fists at the thought of her in his arms again. The anger deepened my resolve to keep her safe. I had a few ideas already, but none felt safe considering the growing attraction I felt.

I ran a hand through my hair in frustration.

An approaching engine pulled me out of my thoughts. Heart pounding, I got up and walked to the window to see who it was and was relieved when I saw Al’s Jeep approaching.

I opened the front door as Al parked and helped Ella and Aiden out. The kids ran toward the house, laughing and babbling. It was amazing how different Aiden was around Ella. With his other friends, he seemed guarded, but with her, he was the same fun-loving boy he was at home.

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