His heart broke, because she didn’t do it.
“Yeah. It’s dehydration, low blood sugar, and stress. I’m getting released soon. But how did you know?”
He rubbed her thigh, looking down at it as if it was difficult to look her in the face. Her skin was dry with smudges of makeup and patchy foundation, and her eyes looked bruised and dull. Her thigh was so much thinner, and the reality of it was hard to accept. She had lostalmost forty-five pounds in those three months, now weighing 170. He kept brushing her thigh as he spoke, “Sarah saw the paramedics at your place and called me immediately. She knew you and I were friends and thought I should know. I’m glad she did.”
“Why do you look so sad?”
The room was quiet and calm save for the random beeping of her monitor and the nurses talking outside. “I um, I don’t know. I guess I just can’t help but feel bad for what I did to you. You never would have done that to me.”
“No, I wouldn’t have. But that’s not the point. You came, and you didn’t have to. I’ve missed you so much.”
Caleb’s hand was dry and cracked from outside work and dusted with a few paint splotches. His palm was rough and raw, most likely from handling some of the horses, so she presumed.
Evie added, “I’m not innocent either. I went to talk to Joshua and Sarah to see if I could see if they were the ones who talked, but they weren’t.” She thought about the cause of the divorce but kept it a secret. She didn’t want him to be mad at Joshua. But it caused her a great deal of sorrow for him. Caleb was so misunderstood that it made her want to rip her hair out.
He looked at her. She sighed, going on, “And so after seeing who Sandy’s Facebook friends were, I even checked my own family members and coworkers and boss. I had no idea who would’ve told her. So, I confronted her and tried to clear the air that you and I weren’t together, and that I was seeing someone.”
He lit up worriedly and asked, “You’re seeing someone? I thought you told me you’d wait for me?”
She softly giggled, “No, I’m not. It was a lie to try to deflect them, you know? But Sandy…” She grew dark in consternation. “She told me that the person who toldhersaw us kissing and you pinning me to my car at O’Malley’s and even kissing in your truck.”
“And you have no idea who it was? Sandy didn’t tell you?” He wasn’t the least bit angry at her for trying to right a wrong. She had good intentions.
“No. She called me a slew of horrible things and then blocked me.” She looked to Caleb. “Is there anyone you may know?”
He thought. “The only person I could possibly think of is if Ashley had Sandy spy on me to try to gain full custody of our kids.” He shrugged and laughed sarcastically, feeling a bit crazy by the idea of it all. His thick, Midwest accent came out full throttle with that darling twang she adored. “As goofy as it sounds, that’s literally the only thing I can think of. And Sandy is making it up that she heard it from someone.”
Evie was released, and Caleb walked her out to his truck and opened the door for her. “Can you get in alright, Miss Morgan?”
She smiled at him. The frigid evening breeze blew through her hair and swept it across her face. He gazed into her eyes, realizing it was a very similar look to when he aired up her tires. That was long ago, before the drama. Before people talked. Before things were hard.
“You sure you should give me a ride home? Won’t that look suspicious?”
“Fuck what people think. Get in. I trust my lawyer will handle it. Someone’s obviously following me anyway. May as well treat you good.”
He helped her inside and was taken aback by how thin she had gotten in such a short time. Not that her weight was unhealthily low at all, but so much in such a short time didn’t look healthy either. She had lost some muscle mass, and her eyes looked a bit sunken in. But had been dehydrated. Maybe it was that.
On the ride home, Evie looked out the window to the wild grasses trying to sprout up through the melted snow. They bled along the interstate into the twilight air that dazzled against the icy plains. The window was a bit cracked, and her eyes were softly narrowed looking out. She pulled a stray chunk of blowing hair behind her ear. Caleb looked at her. He too glanced out and saw the darker skies on his side were already filled with stars that danced like little children at play.
The crescent moon was sharp, jagged, and smiling down upon the starry children. It was about a thirty-minute ride home, and so they had plenty of time to talk together or be quiet. Caleb looked nervously at her again and saw she wasn’t well.
And by not well, she wasn’t looking at him and was quiet. Evie was always smiling, chipper, spunky, lovable. But now she was withdrawn, defeated, and tired.
“Don’t let it get to ya,” he offered. “Remember what I said? Don’t let anyone change that?”
“Do you have horses?” she asked with her eyes still lost in the vast openness of the outside world.
He smiled. “I do. Why do ya ask?”
“I’ve always loved horses.”
“Evie, are you changing the topic on me? I already knew that about you. I know how much you loved the music from Spirit. How you watched Sea Biscuit and Secretariat a hundred times in the theater. How The Black Stallion was where you found your love for them.”
She smiled out the window, leaning her head against it. “I wrote that once a long time ago. That’s sweet you remembered.”
“Why do you ask about horses?”
“Well, if this ever comes to a head and we’re still friends, I would love to ride now that I’m small enough to.”
