Arabella

Chapter 5

 A few hours after the incident, Arabella decided to go home. Jake was being uncooperative and refused to say a single word to anyone.  Mr. Blue was threatening to sue the company right up until he was pushed into his limo to get his swollen lip and eye looked at. Pissed off, Arabella stormed out of the office and didn’t bother saying bye. She threw a steely glance at anyone who tried to talk to her and quickly made her way to the exit, only stopping to slam every door she had access to. 

            Outside, she took a breath of fresh air. For some reason, she couldn’t get what happened out of her head. Jake was a calm and collected guy, and she had never seen him that angry. Her brief encounter with Mr. Blue had left her with a bad taste in her mouth, like sour milk. She shook her head and decided she was not going to get involved. She had other things to do than worry about Jake. He was a big boy and could take care of himself.

            Instead of her customary bus ride home, she called a cab. She usually enjoyed the bustle of the bus, knowing that she could sit in her seat and not be disturbed. Today, she just wanted to get home and take a nap. A long one, which would be followed with a heavy dinner and some wine. She didn’t know who she was fooling, but she kept telling herself she would not get involved in what happened.

            After a forty-five minute ride home, Arabella almost wished she took the bus. It would have taken longer, but the cabbie was loud, obnoxious, and all but asked her to put out in the back seat.   

She practically bolted from the cab, throwing two twenty dollar bills and ran into her house. Inside, she had to resist the urge to look out the window to make sure he hadn’t followed her upstairs in the guise of trying to give back change. She shook the feeling away, grabbed her favorite pajamas and jumped into the hottest shower she could handle.

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            He opened the door to Arabella’s house slowly, mumbling a stealth and quiet spell as he went. He went to the living room and saw Arabella sprawled out on the couch, the movie Sweeney Todd still playing. She had a thing for musicals. He scooped her up carefully and carried her to her bedroom, where he placed her under the covers. He couldn’t help but smile at her. Her hair was down to the middle of her back and looked more auburn in the light from the window than brown. There were small waves from being up in a bun all day.

            He couldn’t help but remember the first time he saw her. She had been in a ratty pair of jeans, an old t-shirt, hair in a bun, and bare feet. She had just finished baking a cake and was covered head-to-toe in flour. But on her face she had a huge smile and it was obvious she was proud of the lopsided cake in front of her.  He knew from that moment that protecting her was going to be more than just a job to him.

            He brought himself back to the present and went into the living room to turn off the TV. He double-checked all the windows and then let himself out, locking the door behind him. Putting her to bed was not part of his job description, but he had done it once after a particularly grueling case she had worked, and now it was habit. She was such a heavy sleeper when she had a drink or two, an elephant probably couldn’t wake her. He knew was in love with her, but she didn’t even know he existed and never could.  “God, Caleb. What the hell are you thinking?” With that, he left Arabella’s house and headed to his own, less than a block away.