Broken Wings (A Romantic Suspense)(40)

“I know, honey. Go to sleep. I’ve got you.”

“Don’t let go.”

“I won’t.”

As exhausted as I am, I stay awake until her breathing softens, and she finally starts to snore. Only then do I close my eyes, and let sleep grab me and drag me down.

I wake up to agonized screaming.

Ellie thrashes in my arms. Her eye is open, unseeing, the other a blank white glass ball. She’s almost on the floor before I drag her back to me, her fist and burned hand pounding and clawing at my chest.

“Ellie!”

It’s like she can’t hear me. I can barely make out what she’s saying, and then it’s only no no no no, over and over. Finally she blinks and tries to sit up. I move with her and she crawls into my lap, shaking like a leaf, covered in sweat.

“You’re okay? You’re okay right? Right?”

“I’m fine. What the hell happened?”

Ellie pants for a good minute, struggling to breathe. Christ, I’m going to have to call her an ambulance, she’s…

“Wait,” she grabs my arm, gasping for breath. “I’m okay. I’m okay, I’m okay!”

I take my hand away from the phone and Ellie collapses into me, melting into sobs as she hugs me so hard my ribs creak and buries her face in my chest.

“What happened?”

“I dreamed it got you.”

“Well it didn’t, I’m right here. Tell me about it.”

“I don’t want to. I hate that dream. It keeps coming back.”

“Okay. Lay down with me. Want me to turn the lights on?”

“No. Let’s just go back to sleep.”

She falls into my arms, facing me this time, and holds me tightly. She doesn’t relax until she begins to snore into my chest.

I finally fall asleep after she does.





Ellie





I awake with a sharp start, snapping up from Jack as he lies snoring on the bed. I blink a few times, yawn into my hand, and scoot back so I can sit up and wait for him to wake. I’m still sleepy, and that big ball of dough and cheese I ate for dinner isn’t sitting all that well.

I’m hungry anyway.

When Jack finally wakes up, I’m sitting by the window, holding the drapes open with one hand so I can let them fall shut if someone walks by. There’s a diner across the street. I can see people inside, eating breakfast.

“What’s the matter, hon?”

Jack yawns, scratching his stomach as he stands next to me.

“I want an omelet.”

“Let’s go over there, then.”

I flinch. “I can’t, Jack.”

“Ellie, nobody is going to say anything about your scars.”

“They don’t have to.”

“Hon, come on. If you don’t like it, we’ll leave. I promise.”

“I can’t, Jack. I’m not ready.”

He sighs.

“I just want an omelet.”

“Wait here,” he says as he tugs on a pair of jeans. “I’ll be right back.”

He keeps tugging his pants up as he jogs across the road. I guess my dad was a little thicker around the middle than Jack was. He disappears into the diner.

I wait, my hand propped on my cheek. There’s a thumping knock at the door as Jack elbows into it. I double-check the peephole and swing the door open. He walks in carrying a stack of Styrofoam boxes with two big drink cups precariously perched on top.

“You didn’t say what kind you wanted, so I got you a cheese one. Come on, it’ll get cold.”

He went a little overboard. This is a full spread. Jack must have ordered some sort of super combo for himself. He’s got eggs and sausage and a stack of pancakes with butter and syrup.

“It’s good,” I say after taking a bite. “Cheesy.”

The warm, soft cheese melts in my mouth. The eggs are salty but I welcome that as I wash it down with chocolate milk from the cup.

“You remembered.”

“You keep saying that.”He grins.

“God, after I eat all this I’m going to need a nap.”

“Good, since you can’t drive. I think we can push all the way through or we can stop in New Mexico, your call. I think we should keep going. I don’t want to get stopped.”

“Let’s finish up and get moving. Should we wash our clothes?”

“Not yet. Once we get to my mom’s place, we’ll do the laundry there. She won’t care.”

“Jack, how long has it been since you’ve seen her?”

“Since I was eight. I talk on the phone with her when I can, but Dad doesn’t like it very much. That’s kind of an understatement. He doesn’t flip out as long as I don’t try to go see her.”

“That’s a long time.”

He sighs. “I miss her a lot. You’ll like her, she’s a great person. She’ll like you, I think.”

“What does she do now?”

“She teaches kindergarten. She remarried. I have two half sisters I’ve never met, I just talked to them a few times.”

I push my omelet around with my fork. “I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister or a brother.”