Out of the Shadow

by J. L. Paul

  “Come on, RJ,” she muttered. “Please don’t ignore me. Pick up.”

  But it went straight to voice mail. Her stomach lurched and she closed her phone so she could run to a fenced in yard and vomit in their bushes. She prayed the homeowners wouldn’t look out their window and call the cops on the girl, hurling in their landscaping.

  She wobbled as she stood back up and pressed a hand to her head. Utterly miserable didn’t describe how she felt – not in the least. She gave up and dialed the other number.

  “Hey, Al,” he said as he yawned. “It’s kind of late. What’s up?”

  “Cole,” she croaked and paused to cough. “Can you give me a ride?”

  “Where are you?” he demanded, all trace of sleep out of his voice. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. She quickly explained her situation, tears now mixing with the rain on her face.

  “Stay there. I’m on my way,” he said.

  She hung up and sat back down on the wet bench, drawing her knees to her chest. Her eyes remained vigilant even though she was in a fairly safe part of town. Still, one couldn’t be sure who’d be lurking about at odd hours of the night.

  The rain didn’t increase but didn’t lessen – instead it came down steadily, enough to completely drench her. Another fit of coughing wracked her lungs and stole her breath long enough to scare her. When she recovered, her head pounded harder than ever and her throat felt as if she’d swallowed an entire package of razor blades.

  She rested her head on the back of the bench, her nose nearly as congested as her chest. She closed her eyes, wishing she was in her own bed, either at home or in her dorm – she wasn’t particularly picky at that point.

  A car stopped at the curb and she lifted her head, fear pounding in her aching chest. But she recognized it – even in the dark – and leapt off the bench.

  “Cole,” she gasped in relief.

  “Damn it, Al,” he said as he crossed in front of the headlights and removed his jacket. He wrapped it around her shoulders and herded her to his car. He opened the door and helped her inside, buckling the belt around her.

  He climbed in the car and cranked up the heat as she snuggled in the seat. “Thank you, Cole.”

  “No problem, Al,” he said, his eyes on the road. “I’m going to take you back to my place tonight so you can get into some dry clothes and get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll decide what you want to do.”

  It was almost like déjà vu but it didn’t matter. She nodded. “Okay. I’m sorry I woke you up. I tried to call RJ but his phone went to voice mail.”

  “He went to a late movie with some girl,” Cole explained.

  “Oh,” she said as her weary body slid slightly toward him. His elbow rested on the console and, without thinking about it, she wrapped a hand around his bicep and rested her forehead on his arm. She nearly felt as though she was floating outside of her body. “I’m sorry I messed up everyone’s life.”

  He started and his muscles tensed. “Ally, you didn’t mess up anyone’s life. Please, don’t think that.”

  The warm tears fell on her hot cheeks and she was helpless to stop them. She coughed again, long and hard, and when the fit passed, she leaned against his arm. “Sorry.”

  “Ally, stop apologizing,” he said as he stopped for a traffic light. He lifted a hand from the wheel and brushed the damp hair off her cheek. “Just rest, okay? I’ll get you home and fix you up.”

  Another apology was on her lips but she held it in and nodded instead. “Cole,” she said in a tiny voice. “I just want you to know that I never…um…slept with Robby. Ever. You’ve always been…the only one.”

  “Al,” he groaned as the light turned green and he accelerated. “We’re not talking about that now.”

  “I know,” she said as she yawned. “I just wanted you to know.”

  “Thanks,” he said and chanced a quick kiss to her head.

  ***

  He helped her into the house and steered her directly to the bathroom. He shut the lid on the toilet and made her sit as he turned on the shower and waited for the water to warm up. When he deemed the temperature appropriate, he turned to her.

  “Okay, Al, the water is ready. I’m going to get you a towel and try to find you some warm clothes. I’ll leave them here on the counter.”

  “Okay,” she said, her eyes droopy. “Thanks.”

  “Just yell if you need me,” he said as he left her to get undressed and in the shower. He raced to his room and dug through his clothes until he produced a pair of drawstring sweat pants, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt. He knocked on the bathroom door and when she invited him in, he entered the steamy room and left the clothes on the counter. He found a towel in the linen closet and put it on top of the clothes.

  “Everything is here,” he said to the shower curtain.

  “Thanks,” she said and coughed.

  He left and leaned against the wall near the bathroom door as he yanked his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. He left specific instructions on the voice mail and closed his phone.

  Once the water turned off and he was sure she wasn’t going to fall over and hit her head in the shower due to a coughing fit, he moved along to the living room and sat in his favorite recliner. He turned on the television, flipping aimlessly through the channels until she finally emerged, fluffy blue towel wrapped around her hair, drowning in his clothes. His heart gave a leap.

  “Feel better?” he asked.

  She nodded and was overcome by another coughing fit. He climbed to his feet and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he ushered her to his bedroom. “Okay, Al, you’re going to bed.”

  “I’m…cough…okay…cough…Cole,” she tried to object.

  He didn’t listen but held up the blankets on his bed and glared at her until she climbed underneath them. He dropped them over her and perched on the edge of the bed as she pulled the towel off her head and handed it to him. He kissed her forehead and frowned. “You’re burning up.”

  “I’m fine,” she insisted. She sneezed three times in succession and he handed her a box of tissue he usually kept in a drawer in his night stand. She smiled her thanks as she wiped her nose. “This is unnecessary.”

  “No, it’s very necessary,” he said with a wry grin. “Get some rest, princess. I called RJ and he’s bringing some stuff home for you.” He winked and stood, moving toward the door.

  “Hey, Cole,” she said in a raspy voice.

  He paused, his hand on the door knob. “Yeah?”

  In the low light filtering from the hallway, he could see her eyes flutter shut. A soft smile crossed her lips. “Thank you.”

  His heart lurched as he looked at her, nodding off in his bed. “You’re welcome.”

  He shut the door and wandered to the living room.

  ***

  “Okay,” RJ said as he set the bulging bags on the kitchen table and began unpacking them. “I got cough syrup, cold tablets, orange juice, and that stuff that you’re supposed to rub on your chest.” He paused to smirk at Cole as he tossed the jar to Cole. “You can handle that part, bro.”

  Cole dropped the jar on the table as if it scorched his hands. “She can do that herself if she chooses.” He peeked in a bag and plucked out can after can of soup, frowning at the labels. “What’s the deal with all the chicken in the soup?”

  “I didn’t know what her favorite kind of soup is…” RJ started.

  “Potato,” Cole said as he picked up the box of cold tablets and perused the label. “But not canned. I’ll go to the deli tomorrow and get some.”

  “Yeah, well,” RJ said with a smile. “I just figured any soup with chicken in it will knock the germs out of anyone.”

  Cole chuckled and shoved the orange juice in the refrigerator. “Thanks for doing this, bro.”

  “No problem,” RJ said as he rested a hip against the table. “So, what’s the deal?”

  “What do you mean?” Cole asked.

&nbs
p; “With Ally,” RJ prodded. “What did she say? And where is Robby?”

  “I think Robby is out of town scouting bands,” Cole said with a shrug. “But she didn’t say. All she said was that she’d taken a bus to a small party but everyone left to go to the bars. She wasn’t feeling well so she told them she was going home but it was too late and no bus would come. She said she tried to call you first but her call went to voice mail.”

  “I was at the movies,” he said.

  “I know,” Cole told him, holding up a hand. “Don’t sweat it. I just went and picked her up. She was sitting on a bench in the rain, soaked and wet, coughing her lungs out.”

  “And she was sitting out in the rain?” RJ asked, dumbfounded.

  “Yeah,” Cole said, pushing his hair off his forehead. “Hopefully she’ll get some sleep and feel better in the morning.” Yawning, he stumbled out of the kitchen and to the hall closet. He fetched a couple blankets and a pillow and made up a bed on the couch.

  “I’m off to bed, bro,” RJ said. “Holler if you need anything.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” Cole said as he slipped under the blankets and flipped through the channels until he found something to bore him to sleep.

  ***

  She woke suddenly, her chest on fire and her head still pounding. Her body was sweltering and she kicked the blankets off as she stumbled out of the bed. She ripped the sweatpants and sweatshirt off, relishing the cool air on her skin, and padded quietly out of the room in only a long t-shirt in search of a glass of cold water.

  She knew exactly where she was and remembered everything from the night before – in perfect detail. She kept a firm hand on the wall as she made her way to the kitchen. She stopped in the living room as a lump on the sofa sighed and flopped. She bent over the form and a soft smile possessed her lips as her eyes fell on Cole’s sleeping body, his face relaxed into a boyish state. His hair had fallen on his forehead and she had to stop the urge to sweep it back and kiss the skin underneath it.

  A cough climbed her throat and she tiptoed out of the room before it could escape and wake him. She leaned against the counter as she released the cough into her arm, her head spinning at the effort.

  “You awake, Al?”

  “Yeah,” she croaked and coughed again.

  He appeared in the doorway, his hair tousled and his clothes rumpled. He snatched a box off the table and tore it open. “What happened to the clothes I gave you?”

  “I got hot,” she explained. “And I wanted a drink of water.”

  He handed her two tablets and retrieved a glass from the cabinet. He pressed it against the water dispenser in the fridge and passed it to her. “Take those – they’ll help.”

  She swallowed the bitter pills and chased them down with the cool water. She set the glass on the table and furrowed her brow at the soup cans. “What is with the chicken?”

  “RJ,” Cole said with a laugh. “Don’t ask.”

  “Should have figured,” she said. “Cole, you don’t need to sleep on the sofa – you’re much too tall. Take your bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

  “Not a chance in hell, princess,” he said as he stubbornly folded his arms over his chest. “You’re sick and you need the bed.”

  She groaned. “I’m serious.”

  “Me, too,” he said, firm.

  She stalked down the hall toward his bedroom, Cole right behind her. “Well, then,” she said, over her shoulder as she entered the bedroom. “If you’re not afraid of my germs, you can sleep with me.”

  He laughed harder as she gave in to another coughing fit. He waited until she finished and helped her back into bed. “No way, Al. That is not a good idea.”

  “Cole, I’m sick and I’m not about to try anything.”

  “That’s not what I’m afraid of,” he said, his eyes softening. He tucked her hair behind her ear. “Al, it’s just not a good idea and you know it.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “I know. I just…”

  “Shh,” he said, touching her cheek. “Rest, okay? Maybe you’ll feel better in the morning.”

  She nodded and closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead. “Good night.”

  “Night,” he said as he stood and left the room, closing the door behind him.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  A soft tap on the door woke Ally from her light sleep. She scooted to a sitting position, yanking the blankets over her lap.

  “Come in,” she croaked, clearing her throat.

  “Good morning,” RJ greeted as he carried a tray laden with orange juice and a bagel smothered in cream cheese. “How do you feel?”

  “A little better,” she said, smiling at his cheery face. “Thanks for this but you didn’t have to go to all the trouble.”

  “Sure I did,” he said as he carefully placed the tray on her lap and kissed her forehead. He frowned. “You’re still a little warm.”

  The concern in his pretty hazel eyes and his mere presence caused a dam of emotion to burst inside her. She tried to hold it back but the tears suddenly fell from her eyes as a sob rose in her throat. She snatched a tissue off the table to try and stave off the outburst but it just wouldn’t end.

  “Hey,” RJ said, alarmed. He removed the tray from her lap and placed it on the nightstand. He inched closer to her and drew her in his arms. “What’s with the waterworks, Ally?”

  “I…missed…you,” she cried in his chest.

  He tightened his arms around her and rested his cheek on the top of her head. “I missed you too, but that’s no reason to cry. I’m here, you’re here – it’s all good.”

  “I know,” she said as she slowly withdrew and blew her nose. She smiled apologetically and shot the waded up tissue at the garbage can, missing horribly.

  “Oooh, bad shot, kiddo,” he teased, giving her a wink. “I love you and all, Ally, but I’m not touching that nasty tissue to put it in the trash. You’re on your own there.”

  She giggled and hugged him again. “I’m glad that if I have to be sick that it’s with you.”

  “See, my mother was right – I should have gone to medical school,” he laughed. He carefully lifted the tray from the nightstand and placed it back on her lap. “Come on, now. You have to eat something. Or at least drink your juice. Cole ordered me to make sure you drink plenty of liquids.”

  A crease developed in her forehead as she sipped the juice. She set the glass down and cocked her head. “Isn’t he here?”

  “He had to run some errands,” RJ said. “He’ll be back soon, though. Don’t worry.”

  She picked at the bagel, tearing off a tiny piece to pop in her mouth. “RJ, is it bothering him that I’m here?”

  RJ snorted as a smirk floated across his face. “Are you kidding me? Not in the least. He’s just a nervous wreck that you’re really sick and we didn’t take you to a doctor.” He patted her leg and gave her a wide smile. “He’s glad that you called us. He likes that you’re here and so do I.”