One Step Closer(77)

He didn’t see her inside but decided to check anyway. He turned the handle, and gently pulled open the right door. The cool central air conditioning contrasted sharply with the night air as it hit his skin; the soft sheen of perspiration still lingering on his skin made it more pronounced. When Caleb stepped inside, the last time they were there together struck him. It had been the night before he left for college. His heart constricted at the painful memory.

He saw her then; her lithe silhouette stood by the far window. Wren’s back was to him as she peered outside. The baggy pajama pants she was wearing didn’t hide how small she was because of her close-fitting top. One arm hung at her side, and the other was bent up to her chest. The long blonde curls he was so fond of were twisted up into a knot on top of her head. The contrast between the bottoms and shirt made the pants look like they could literally fall off of her.

“Are you okay, honey?” Caleb called softly, moving slowly toward her. “What are you doing out here so late?”

Wren glanced over her shoulder, half turning toward him. Caleb could now see that her arm was bent because her right hand was fiddling with the locket that nestled on her chest. His heart stilled for a second and swelled to bursting. She still wore it.

She sniffed and then turned back to the window. “I’m fine.” Her voice sounded thick, like she’d been crying. She didn’t turn around, which was another tell tale sign that she didn’t want him to see her face. “I’m just thinking about a few things.”

He walked the rest of the way toward her and then put his hands on her shoulders, sliding them down her upper arms and then back up again. Wren’s head cocked to one side, but she didn’t protest. Caleb wished he could bend and run his nose along the graceful chord of her neck to get even closer. She smelled freshly sweet, like spring flowers and something distinctly feminine. He knew that scent and he savored it. His body remembered it as much as his mind, and his heart started to pound and blood started to flow like raging rapids through his veins. His head fell forward in surrender, as he silently acknowledged the hold she still had over him. His heart and body remembered her only too well. There wasn’t a day he didn’t think about her or remember how she came to life in his arms. It was bittersweet torture.

The estate was in the foothills, elevated above downtown Denver and there was a nice view of the city from the windows. Wren continued to gaze out at it, her fingers lovingly protective of the delicate gold and diamond pendant hanging on the fine, sparkling chain around her neck. The goosebumps breaking out on her skin were the only indication that he was affecting her in any way.

“Remember the last time we were in here? I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much or as hard as I did that night.”

Caleb closed his eyes for a beat, but then he continued his soft caresses of her arms and shoulders. “Yeah. It was a bitch.”

“I felt like my whole world was ending. The only person I loved was leaving me.” Wren’s voice was soft and introspective, and he could hear a slight catch on the last word. His heart squeezed inside his chest. She loved him, then. He loved her, still. “I never really understood why you had to go.”

His left hand continued down her arm until his fingers closed around hers.

Caleb knew Wren remembered it with as much pain as he did, but without the answer about why it happened. The memory was sharp.

That whole summer he’d let her think he was going to School of Mines, mostly because he’d been wracking his brain on a way to change his father’s mind. Edison had put his blackmail plan in motion months before, but Caleb didn’t want the cloud of sadness hanging over them for months before it actually happened. Wren had a recital in June, and then he and Dex had a road trip to Seattle planned for July. So when mid-August came, Caleb had no choice but to tell her he was leaving. Not just leaving; going halfway across the country.

He’d spent the day packing up the few clothes he planned on taking with him, and when he was done, he went to find Wren. She’d gone to the pool for a late evening swim after Jonesy had made dinner for them both. Veronica had been away on a photoshoot for Lux in New York, which allowed Wren to feel at ease hanging out by the pool, or making herself at home around the house. Even though Caleb’s presence had stopped Veronica’s blatant abuse, she was still mean and insulting enough to prevent Wren doing anything daring unless Caleb was with her.

Caleb had been a bit short with Wren when she’d asked him if he wanted to join her for a swim earlier in the evening. The hurt in her eyes was a foreshadowing for what was coming, and his pissy attitude was his own anger regarding what he knew he had to do, and the reaction that he was sure was coming.

He didn’t want to tell her he was leaving. He knew she’d be afraid of Veronica if he weren’t around to protect her, and all he had was his father’s word that he’d keep Veronica in check. Shit, he couldn’t expect Wren to be brave when he was terrified himself.

When he couldn’t put it off any longer, he’d wandered down to the pool house with his mother’s locket in the front pocket of his shorts. It was a beautiful night; the sun had already set behind the mountains, though it’s rays left the sky many hues of blue, gold and purple. Wren was inside and had fallen asleep on one of the sofas.

Caleb could remember how small and innocent she’d looked lying there curled onto her side, hugging a towel to her chest as she slept. Her long blonde curls were still slightly damp from swimming, and there was a pink blush to her cheeks. Her lashes were long and dark on her high cheekbones. He’d managed to enter without waking her and he must have stood there staring down on her for five minutes or more, fighting his own emotions before he’d swallowed hard and sat down on the edge of the cushion next to her.