"We're here," the cab driver said as he turned around the corner and stopped at the entrance of my apartment building compound.
"Thank you," I jumped into action, paying the fare, checking my phone and getting out all at the same time. It had been about 10 minutes since I had talked to Leo, but hadn't heard back from him yet. Whether that was a good thing or not remained to be seen.
The road and sidewalk was damp, the potholes filled up with sludge from the downpour that had started late afternoon.
It was usual for Seattle to have rain in December. But I knew the chill riding up my spine had very little to do with the weather.
I looked up and down the road for any sign of police cruiser, but the roads remained quiet and dark without flashes of red and blue lights. A lone, black SUV was parked few blocks down the way from the entrance that looked too luxurious for this neighborhood and I knew that Leo was still here.
But the fact came with little relief considering I was yet to hear back from him.
As I walked through the gates, a few fat raindrops splattered down from the sky making me realise I had forgotten my umbrella at my parents' place in my hurry.
I hastened my steps towards the shed before I could get drenched, and then took off like a bullet up the flight of stairs as soon as I was in, praying to find nothing out of ordinary when I reached home.
My urgency skyrocketed when I reached the apartment landing and saw the door stood ajar. Bursting in, I looked around wildly and the first thing I noticed was Leo sitting in one of the chairs near the couch that looked a size too small for him.
He had a towel wrapped around his shoulders and held an ice pack to his right eye while glaring at something with his left.
I followed his line of sight, and saw Shy standing behind kitchen counter stirring 3 gigantic mugs of hot chocolate, wearing her PJs, and a frown as she looked into the mug she was stirring, as if it needed her absolute concentration.
She looked up as soon as I walked deeper in and I hurried to her, almost knocking a mug in my haste.
"Shy, are you okay? I'm so sorry I didn't hear my phone, I—"
"Its okay, Ruth. Calm down—" she pulled me into a hug to console me, but I was running too high on the guilt and adrenaline to be consoled so easily.
"Calm down? I can't calm down! I was worried sick. Did you call the cops? Reported the intruder?" I held her at arms length, inspecting for injuries even though I knew there weren't any.
"Uh, no," she blinked, shifting her gaze to Leo and then back at me, looking unsure.
"Why the hell not?" I demanded, first to her and then to Leo who looked like he was stuck in the chair as he struggled to get out of it.
"Its okay, Ruth. That was just—" Leo started, pausing his wiggling for a moment, but I was too wired to hear his whole sentence.
"Just what? Don't play it down, Leo. That shiner you've got can be spotted from the moon, for God's sake."
At this, Leo turned his glare back to Shy again and she cleared her throat.
"Well, that didn't happen... I mean—"
But before she could finish, another voice spoke up.
"Ruth." One word. That was all it took to drive everything else out of my mind. Even before I turned, I knew who I was about to find there, but it still took me by surprise when I found Caleb sitting on a wooden chair near the window at the far end of the room.
Even though he had been in this apartment once before, the sight of him here seemed too surreal, unreal.
He looked exhausted, completely worn out with bruise-like circles beneath his eyes, his eyelids almost drooping shut in exhaustion. But still, he looked at me straight in the eye, freezing me in my spot.
There were many intriguing things about Caleb. But the most intense one had to be the way he looked at me. The way his gaze never wavered. Even when Shy clanked something in the kitchen, or Leo cursed out loud, he kept his eyes onto me like he couldn't hear any of it. Like nothing else existed. Or mattered.
His piercing, dark eyes made me feel like he can look deep into me, right to my soul and the worst thing was, I didn't even want to hide from it. It was both, the most enchanting and scariest thing ever.
"Caleb." I whispered, but he seemed to hear it even from across the room for his eyes dropped to my lips for a split second before coming back up.
Only this time, it looked more alive, heated. And even with everything else that was going around us, people present around us, I felt that familiar pull deep in my stomach.
I hadn't realised that I had started walking towards him, until he stood up unsteadily, holding onto the back of the chair for support. I paused, halfway across the room now, and watched as his eyes drooped again while he struggled to walk steadily towards me.
"Ruth," he slurred, then stumbled the last few steps and I instinctively reached out to steady him. That was all it took for him to wrap his arms around my shoulders, pulling me flush against him. My hands were trapped to my sides as I held onto his waist to keep him upright.
This close, I had no trouble detecting the strong stench of alcohol on his breath as he looked down at me with a mixture of adoration and pain on his face.
"I can hardly believe it. You're here. You're really here. God, you're so beautiful," he slurred, his gaze roaming over my face as if seeing me for the first time in years.
"And you," I started, watching him bend his head towards me, his intent clear as a day. But instead of letting his lips descend onto mine, I turned my head sideways feeling his lips graze my cheek instead as I finished my sentence.
"You're the drunk intruder."