Chapter 20
Callie
Thankfully, my mom and the Seals give us the space we need at the beach. We swim, come home, eat, and make love. For the first time since the bombing, I fall sound asleep, spooned in my husband’s arms. Somehow, we’ll figure everything out.
“Fook! Get down!” His voice jolts me wide awake.Are the terrorists back?
Heart racing, I fall out of bed and slide under the mattress while it rocks from my husband’s erratic movements. He shouts in a weird mutter, thrashing wildly.
With adrenaline coursing through my veins, I poke my head up. In the dim dawn light, I find nothing amiss in my childhood bedroom but him.
His handsome face contorts in pain and real tears run down his cheeks as he tosses his head back and forth on the pillow. “No, no, no.”
He’s warned me to be careful not to wake him in the throes of a bad dream but I can’t just let him suffer. Carefully, the bed between us, I reach over and poke.
Lightning fast, he grabs my wrist, and lifts his other hand as if to strike. Instinctively, from my self-defense training, I block and elbow him in the chin.
Eyes wild, he takes in the situation, and scoots away. “Shit. Did I hurt you, honey?”
“No. What? Nothing happened. You had a bad dream.” I shoot him a weak smile which he doesn’t believe, not for a second.
“Fuck. How bad? Be honest.”
“You were crying and I felt so bad, I tried to wake you. It’s my fault. I should’ve known better.”
He pulls me over to him, caressing my head, arms, and back. “Did I hit you?”
“No, you grabbed me. Really, it was nothing.”
“Show me your wrist.” I don’t want him to feel bad but when I hesitate, he gently pulls it from where I’ve hidden it under the pillow.
Angry red marks give my lies away.
“Shit.”
Since we’ve been married, he’s only had one or two bad dreams. This one seemed worse than those. He looks so miserable, I’m at a loss for words and when I try to kiss him, he jumps out of bed and throws on his trunks.
“I, ah. Need some air, luv.” He brushes the wetness off his face with the back of an arm then rushes out of the bedroom.
Then, the front door slams, and his sneakers sound on the pavement, setting off a flock of crows. They complain with their cawing and if I could, I’d join them. I thought we’d start the day with another round of sweet lovemaking, not like this.
I go downstairs, make coffee, and am joined by my mother who’s been pointedly absent since Lucky arrived yesterday morning.
“Mother, we need to talk.”
“Yes dear, just a moment.” While she types, I run upstairs, grab my husband’s cell phone, and place it on the granite island next to her.
“Would you mind explaining this?” A gulp of strong brew gives me much-needed fortitude.
“He’s not right for you. I was merely trying to help.” When her stony face doesn’t flinch, something inside me snaps and I can’t hold back.
“None of this is any of your damn business! You had no right to poison him against me. I want you to go home. Leave us be or I swear, you’ll be cut out of our lives forever. Forget ever seeing your grandchild.”
Her perfectly sculptured brows raise. “This is my house. You can’t possibly expect me to go. I have-”
“Arggh! Your audacity is beyond belief.” Voice low and controlled, I speak slowly so she doesn’t miss a word. “The next ferry leaves in an hour. Either you go or we do. If it’s us, don’t bother to stay in touch. I’m beginning to see why Father chose to put an ocean between you two. This was beyond despicable, even for you.”
She glares, slaps her laptop closed, and departs without a word. A few minutes later, the front door slams and she’s gone.
