More Than This: Contemporary Christian Romance Novel

by Stallings, Staci

  “I’m fine.” But the cough that followed belied the truth of that statement, making her quake and shiver.

  “No. I don’t think you are.” His gaze traced up and then down the sidewalk and then fell back on her. “Were you going home?”

  She mumbled something.

  He bent to hear. “What?”

  Then she hit him with both barrels of her eyes. “I said, ‘What do you care?’”

  This time he backed up physically, seeing now it was more than the cold that was making her upset. “Care? Of course I care. Why wouldn’t I care?”

  Liz shot him a look meant to singe him to the core, and it did a very good job of that. “Well, you could’ve fooled me.” And with that, she took off past him.

  Emotions slammed around inside him, scrambling his thoughts as she walked the next three steps down the sidewalk before he moved. Then Jake turned and raced after her. “Liz. Wait.” He caught her by the elbow again and turned her back to him.

  “What?” Now she sounded tired instead of angry, and he wasn’t sure he liked that any better. Her shoulders slumped, and she looked like she was about to cry. “Look. I’ve been at class all day and at work all night. I’m tired. I’m sick, and I have three hours’ worth of homework. Can I just go home already? Would that be a crime?”

  But Jake wasn’t about to let her go home alone. Not like this. “At least let me walk you there. You’re in no shape to be going anywhere alone.”

  “Gee, thanks.” She sighed and turned her steps back up the sidewalk without really giving him an answer, so he took that as a yes and followed her.

  Liz could hardly muster the strength to move one foot in front of the other. It wasn’t fair that she now had to deal with him too. She trudged forward, hoping if she was mopey enough, he would take the hint and leave her alone. The first block she made in absolute silence, and besides his glances at her every five steps, he seemed content to simply follow. That was okay. She didn’t want to talk to him. She didn’t even want to see him.

  Why was he here anyway? Was he coming to The Grind? No. She didn’t want to know. Step. Step. Step. Just keep walking and don’t think. That would work. If she just didn’t think about him walking beside her. She felt the sneeze coming up long before it made it to her nose. “Achoo!” The force of it made her head swim. Her throat felt like it was on fire. She swallowed back the cough, but that hurt too.

  “That’s a pretty nasty cold you have there,” he said.

  She said nothing in return, hoping he would take the hint.

  “I hope you’re getting enough rest. That’s the best thing for a cold.” He walked three more steps with her wishing he would just disappear. “Rest and lots of fluids. That’s what my mom always said.”

  Something sarcastic went through her mind, but she didn’t catch it because her whole body and mind were shutting down. She entered into a strange haze that made everything blurry and not quite real. That was it. Maybe this was all some elaborate dream. In another block, it wouldn’t matter anyway. She’d be home and in bed one way or the other.

  “Do you have plenty of orange juice?” he asked. “If not, I could run get you some.”

  “I’ll be… A-a-achoo!” She hated sounding so weak, being so weak. It annoyed her. “Fine.”

  “Yes, and you’ll be better with some orange juice.”

  At the steps to her place, she turned, fully expecting him to stop, but he followed her up three of them before she stopped and turned. “What are you doing?”

  Putting his hands on his hips, his eyes said he was in no mood to argue. “Making sure you’re okay. Besides, how will I know which apartment to bring the juice to?” He stepped past her and up the last three stairs before he opened the door and turned to let her in.

  She wanted to argue. Really. She did. But she didn’t have the strength. So instead with a sigh, she accepted the gesture, trudged up the last steps and into the apartment house. Down the hall and up the stairs she went, feeling his black shadow following her. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. On the stairs that led to the second story, she stopped. “You know, Jake, this is very nice, but…” The words stopped as the sneeze crawled up her throat. Don’t sneeze. Don’t sneeze… “I’m… A-A-ACHOO!”

  “Fine. I know. You said that.” He took her arm and led her up the last of the steps. “Which one?”

  “Uh, down there. Last one on the right.”

  He nodded and took her to it. She looked up at him and gave up. There was no getting rid of him, and she was too tired to argue. When she opened the door and heard Becca, gratefulness came through her. At least she wouldn’t be alone with him. However, although she had worked to get him to leave, now when she expected him to follow her, he didn’t.

  Instead, he stayed right there at the threshold. “I’ll be back. I’ll go down to the corner and get you some orange juice.” He pointed back down the hallway. “Do you have some cold medicine?”

  “Jake, you don’t have to…”

  “Okay. I’ll get you cold medicine too.” And then before she could object, he turned and headed off down the hall.

  “Jake!” she called after him.

  He waved without turning. “I’ll be right back.”

  Too tired to move very fast or very far, Liz sighed and shut the door.

  “Were you talking to me?” Becca asked, coming into the room.

  “No.” Liz leaned on the doorpost, seriously wondering how she would ever move again.

  “Then who was that?”

  “Jake.” She yanked herself to fully upright, stepped inside, tossed her books down onto the floor, and wrenched her coat off.

  “Jake? Who’s Jake?”

  “Some guy I met at the coffee shop a couple months ago.”

  “O… kay.”

  “He decided to walk me home.” She hung the coat on the rack, swept up the books, walked to the table, and dropped them there with a thud.

  “You didn’t invite him in?”

  “First of all, I didn’t invite him anywhere. Second of all, he’s going to be back in a little while with some orange juice.”

  “He’s getting you orange juice?”

  Liz collapsed onto the couch and pulled the pillow over her face. It felt so good. “Yeah.” Sleep. It would feel so incredibly good. She coughed hard, leaving her lungs begging for air.

  “Well, that’s… bizarre.”

  “Yeah, it is.” That was the last thing she remembered.

  Jake hurried from her apartment to the convenience store on the corner. His thoughts were not on himself or on how his life had turned such a sharp corner. They were on her and how awful she looked. Sleep. She needed a lot of sleep. Orange juice would help. So would cold medicine. Maybe Vicks for her feet. That’s what his mother had done with him. He wondered then about her class schedule. What did she have tomorrow? She said she had three hours of homework. Did she have any tests or assignments due? Surely she wouldn’t try to complete anything in the shape she was in.

  He regretted he hadn’t asked more about her. Why hadn’t he? He couldn’t remember.

  Pushing into the brightly lit store, he went right to the things he needed, taking only the barest minimum amount of time to make decisions about each item. Orange juice, no pulp. Cold medicine, extra strength with pain reliever. Vicks. Kleenex. The big box. With no more thought than that, he took the items to the front and paid. Purchases in hand, he headed out. Worry had focused him as he hadn’t been in a long time. His steps didn’t vacillate. They went in one hurried line straight back to her apartment.

  It was only when he was back at her door that he hesitated. Wouldn’t it be a bit strange for him to take over like this? What if she didn’t accept his generosity? What if she told him to get lost and never come back?

  Stuffing that down, he picked up his hand and knocked solidly. Far more solidly than he felt. A moment and another and there was movement on the other side of the door. However, it didn’t open.

  “W
ho is it?” It sounded like all one word.

  He leaned toward the door. “Jake.” What next? He looked up at the cracked white paint on the chipped wooden trim above the door. “Liz’s friend.”

  Nothing for a second and then movement. When the door opened, it was not Liz but a short, blonde girl with suspicious eyes and a hard-as-nails attitude. Jake fought not to look past her as he steeled his nerves.

  “What do you want?” She didn’t sound even as non-friendly as she looked.

  He lifted the brown bag. “I brought some things for Liz. Orange juice. Cold medicine.”

  The blonde girl didn’t so much a move. She just stared at him, arms crossed.

  Jake had no clue what to do with that. “Um, can I see her? Is she still here? Is she asleep?”

  One more second to scrutinize him and then she reached up and took the bag. “I’ll give it to her when she wakes up.”

  So she was asleep. That was good. Jake nodded. “Thanks. Tell her I hope she gets better.”

  “Yeah.” And with that, she shut the door.

  Knowing nothing else to do, he turned down the hallway and headed out.

  Chapter 7

  At midnight Liz rolled off the couch, still mostly asleep. She needed to go to bed, but first she needed something to eat. Her stomach was roiling around the emptiness like dice on a craps table. The lights were off, which most likely meant that Becca was either asleep or gone.

  A raspy cough attacked Liz as she crossed into the kitchen, and she had to put her hand on the counter to stay vertical. Her lungs ached; her throat felt like sandpaper. Worse, it felt like she had either cracked a rib or hacked up an organ as the pain in her side with each cough doubled her over. She took two shaky steps, opened the refrigerator, and blinked back the light, choking on another cough. The swallow didn’t help at all. Tired hit with a one-two punch that nearly knocked her over; however, she knew she had to eat something. Toast sounded good.

  At that moment she saw the six-pack of orange juice cans and stopped. Orange juice? They never had orange juice.

  Then she remembered. Jake.

  Too tired to be mad enough to make a difference, she reached in and grabbed one. It took less than ten seconds for it to be down her throat and she grabbed another for good measure. The sting of the tart liquid felt good to her throat. So good that her previously angry feelings toward him softened. Yes, she was still confused about his on-again, off-again style of life, but for this on-again moment, she was grateful.

  Jake spent all day on Tuesday wondering about her. After work, he raced home, changed, and headed out. There would be no lurking in the shadows tonight. No watching to see if she was there. No. Tonight he was going to go into The Grind, make sure she didn’t do something stupid like go in to work and then run over to her place if necessary. It wasn’t a great plan, but he had no contact information for her, so it was the only one he had.

  When he got to The Grind, he found Mia and someone who was decidedly not Liz manning the counter. However, it was only 6:30, and he didn’t know what time her shift started. Casually, he leaned against the counter. “Mia?”

  She turned and her normally tough features dropped into a scowl. “What do you want?”

  Apparently Liz wasn’t the only one who was upset with him. “Have you heard from Liz? Is she coming into work?”

  Mia looked even more unpleasant. “Who wants to know?”

  “Look, I kind of ran into her last night. I know she’s sick, and I just want to check on her to make sure she’s all right.”

  Taking a rag, Mia wiped the counter in front of him, forcing him to move backward off of it. “I don’t think Liz wants to talk to you, and I don’t blame her. What you did… Well, that was just uncalled for. That girl took a chance on you, and you smashed her heart. Now she didn’t deserve that, and I’m not going to stand here and help you do it again.”

  Jake wished he could take it all back. He really had thought he was staying away because that was best for her. Besides, it wasn’t like she could have been in love with him or anything. They’d only met, gone out once, talked a couple of times, kissed once. He swallowed at that thought. Had she felt like he had— like the whole earth shifted and would never be the same again? The way Mia was acting, it was quite possible he had seriously misjudged the whole situation, and he felt horrible for that. Then again, horrible was bound to find him sooner or later. It always did.

  “Listen, Mia.” He put up both hands as if in surrender. “I know I was a jerk.”

  She snorted. “You can say that again. You come in here, take her out, and make her think there’s something to this thing and then you leave with no explanation, no see ya later, no nothing, and then you waltz back in here like you’re some kind of knight in shining armor come to rescue her? I don’t think so.” With a shake of her head, she stepped around the counter.

  He was beginning to get it in a way he hadn’t before. Liz must’ve been even more hurt than he had realized. “Mia, wait.” He reached out and arrested her movement with a grasp of her elbow.

  She looked down at his hand as if she might cut it off if he left it there any longer.

  “Wait. Please.” He unhanded her, considering that the wiser move. “I get it. Okay?” Emotions clogged his throat. “I really thought I was doing her a favor by leaving her alone. I’m sorry for that. I never meant to hurt her.”

  “Yeah? And how’s that working out for you?”

  Sheepish. It was all he could feel. “Not so great.” He sighed, letting his shoulders drop. “I just… I wanted to check on her, to make sure she’s okay. Is she coming in to work or not?”

  The pause told him that Mia’s indecision ran deep. She finally turned to him and crossed her arms. “You know, you don’t have a very good track record on the whole not hurting her thing.”

  “I know.” He nodded to put a stamp on it. “But I swear, I won’t make that mistake this time.”

  She let out another snort. “Well, I guess you are a man. You can’t help yourself being a class-A jerk.”

  Was he supposed to agree with that? “Will you tell me if she’s coming in? Please.”

  Mia shook her head. “She’s not. I think she even skipped school this morning.” Then she put up her index finger and waved it in his face. “But so help me, you hurt her again, and I’ll separate your head from your shoulders. Got it?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Got it. Loud and clear.”

  When the knock sounded on the door, Liz hardly opened her eyes. She’d been on the couch most of the night and all of the day. She kept thinking she should go to bed or at least get up and shower, but every time she made it off the couch, in less than two minutes she was back down again. The knock sounded again, and she put her wrist over her head. “Becca.”

  That pathetic effort produced a coughing fit that hurled her forward, doubled her over, and sent her senses scattering. The knock came again, and she really truly hated whoever was on the other side of that door.

  “Ugh. I’m coming.” Her feet somehow found the floor, and she got the rest of herself up to nearly vertical. She was hardly the picture of beauty or health, but that was okay. Maybe her horrific appearance would scare whoever it was away for good. Holding furniture to keep herself upright, she wound her way to the door.

  Before she got there, however, the knock sounded again. Her strength was gone by the time she got to the door, so she leaned on it, hoping it would hold her up.

  “What?” she asked, trying to sound alive, alert, and menacing. It didn’t work.

  “Liz? It’s Jake. I came to check on you.”

  Ugh. Go away beat through her. But she had no energy to even get the words out.

  “Can you open up?”

  “Jake, I’m…” But whatever followed that was drown out in a fit of coughing that yanked her lungs out of her chest. When the fit passed, she could hardly catch her breath, and she fought to keep her eyes open as she leaned on the door for support. She needed to get rid of hi
m, but her mind wasn’t thinking at all clearly. What was he doing here anyway?

  “Liz, please, open up.” Jake put his hands on either side of the doorframe, seriously considering breaking the door down if she didn’t open it. Sure, that wasn’t exactly respecting her boundaries or whatever, but he was worried, and by the sound of that cough, he had every reason to be. “Liz…”

  The locks slid through their chambers, and his heart jumped. He straightened, waiting. When the last lock unhitched, the door slipped open and he could hardly contain himself long enough to wait for it.

  And then she was standing in front of him. Puffy, red eyes, red nose, hair everywhere. He was glad he had come. Worry pushed him forward even though she didn’t move from leaning on the door.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked as if she might fall asleep at any moment. Her voice sounded as if it was being run over a washboard, and when the words were out, the cough that followed worried him further.

  “Liz. Are you…? You look terrible.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No, seriously.” This time he really did push into the apartment, not hard but firmly. He took her by the shoulders and angled his gaze down at her with concern. “Are you here by yourself?”

  She hesitated, and he knew the answer.

  “Mia said you didn’t go to school today.”

  Liz’s tired, sick eyes came up to meet his, but she said nothing. She looked on the verge of going to sleep or passing out— he couldn’t tell which.

  “I went to the coffee shop to check on you, and by the looks of things, it’s a good thing I did.” Concern for her took over then. “You need to lie down.” He turned her for the couch even as he shut the door. “Have you eaten? Did you take your cold medicine? Did you drink your orange juice?”

  At the couch, she put one knee onto it and slid the rest of the way down, looking like she might already be asleep when she got there. He watched her, his hands on his hips, his mind going in a million directions at once. She was only down for a second when another cough attacked her, doubling her over, quaking through her body like a violent aftershock. She sniffed pitifully and tried to take in a descent breath which didn’t really work. It was worse than he’d feared. Assessing the situation, he snapped from is-there-anything-I-can-do mode into I-have-to- do something mode.