Page 89 of The Scars We Heal

“You’re perfect to me. Flaws, scars, and all. Let’s get cleaned up.”

I carried her to the bathroom and carefully wiped the inside of her thighs with a warm towel. When we finally crawled into bed together, wrapped around each other, it didn’t take long for me to fall into a deep slumber.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

caitlin

Mottled light covered the bedroom as the morning rays of the sun peeked through the curtains. An incessant buzzing pulled me out of my slumber, and a heavy weight settled over my body.

Blinking my eyes to adjust to the brightness in the room, I slipped out from under Jake’s arm to reach for my phone.

*Ten Missed Calls*

“Holy shit,” I muttered as I unlocked my phone, navigating to my call log. My mom, Colter, and Ellison had all called me several times.

Ellison

Call your mom right now! It’s urgent!

Mom

Please call me as soon as you get this.

Adam is here.

Those three words were all I needed to propel myself out of bed, frantically searching for my clothes when I remembered they were out in the living room after our game of spicy Uno. I quickly grabbed them then came back into the bedroom to get dressed and gather the rest of my belongings, like this was just a one-night stand and I was about to make the walk of shame.

Jake groaned, squinting in the morning light. “Cait? What’s going on?”

“Adam is apparently here,” I muttered. “My mom has Whitley, and I guess he’s at her house? I don’t know what’s going on, but my mom, Colter, and Ellison all called and texted me.”

A new fear rose inside my chest, one I was scared to admit out loud. What if he was trying to take her back to Washington as some sort of sick punishment? A way to keep me under his thumb even after our relationship ended. He didn’t care about having custody of her when the divorce was finalized, but Adam was unpredictable and at the end of the day, Whitley was still his daughter.

Jake rolled out of bed at lightning speed, tugging on a pair of sweatpants. “I’m coming with you.”

“No.” I lifted a hand. “That’ll only make it worse, Jake. You know it will.”

“Fuck.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Cait, you can’t go talk to him alone. He’s looking for a fight. You know he is. He’s trying to scare you by showing up here.”

“That might be true, but what else am I supposed to do? What if he’s here to take…” Unable to finish my sentence for fear of speaking the worst-case scenario out loud, I closed my eyes, inhaling a long breath.

“I know you don’t want me to go with you, but⁠—”

“I need to do this alone. Please don’t fight me on this.”

His jaw ticked like he wanted to protest.

“Jake. I mean it. Don’t follow me.”

Neither of us said a word, engaged in a standoff of sorts.

He eventually gave in with a nod. “Call me if you need me. Okay? Please.”

“I will,” I promised.

When I pulled up to the house, Adam was standing outside, as though he had been waiting for me. My mom and Whitley were nowhere to be found, Mom’s car absent from the driveway.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I yelled the moment I stepped out of the car.