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Caleb pauses as he puts a steaming bowl in front of me. It smells delicious and my tummy growls.
"What happened?"
"The fact I'm carrying a rapist’s baby obviously disgusts him. I think he thinks I haven’t thought about all the technicalities. I’ve thought about them all, and not one of them is enough to kill a tiny baby over. Not in my book. "
Silence. I take a bite of the food and watch Caleb as he leans against the worktop. “He’s just worried about you, babe.”
"Do you agree with him?" I ask, cringing as the words leave my mouth.
"What?" He shakes his head and strides over to me. "Have I ever showed you anything other than care? Have I once made you feel disgusted because of the decisions you've made?"
I shake my head and take another bite of the pasta.
"People are going to have an opinion. That's the society we live in now. What matters is that you hold your head up high, because you have nothing to be ashamed of. That baby is pure. He or she is yours, and I will love it the same way I would if you told me you were pregnant by someone you loved. I'll speak with your dad."
"Just let him be, Caleb. I don't want to deal with him right now. We have enough on our plates. Is there any news on that front?"
He shakes his head. "It's early days."
I nod. I know if I think about it too much, it will just make me angry and moody, all of which I've been enough of today.
"It's good to see you eating."
I smile. "I woke up feeling hungry. You're a good cook. You must take this after your mom. "
"Yeah. My mom is bringing you soup and cakes by tomorrow." I still. "Don't worry. She seems to think that a girly pamper day will do you good. I daren’t ask what one of those entails. "
I can just picture Caleb's mom telling him what I need. She was always a great ear when we were kids. No problem was too big or too small, and she wasn’t shy at giving us her honest opinion. The more I think about it, I realize it might do me good to speak with her. Someone who isn’t too close to the situation, but also someone who cares enough about me to give me her honest answer.
There’s a little bit of me that’s looking forward to seeing what a new day brings.
Chapter 10
Caleb
I've tossed and turned all night. When I got up at five a.m., I checked in on Aria, and for once, she looked settled into a deep sleep. I expected after her argument with her dad that she would have had a bad night, but she doesn't seem too affected by it. Or she’s hiding it well.
I know people are going to talk, but as sad as this sounds, they’ll move on when new news comes along. She won’t always be the talk of Chicago.
"Morning."
I jump out of my skin.
"Jesus Christ, Clay!" I hold my pounding heart. "What the fuck are you doing here before six a.m.?"
"Working, bro. I couldn't sleep, so I ran the sketch through every database known to us. I even went to a friend I have in the FBI. Either the sketch is poor, or this guy is a fucking ghost. And before you tell me to sketch it again, we have the best equipment there is, and Aria is certain this is his image."
Clay plops down across from me at the breakfast bar. "When I get my hands on him, he's going to wish he was a ghost." I grind my teeth out of anger and frustration. I’ve not even been out of bed two hours and I’m pissed off again.
"How’s Aria doing?"
I fill Clay in on her run-in with her dad yesterday, the conversation we had at dinner, and the fact she had a better sleep last night.
"I just wish I could give her more answers." I wrap my hands around the warm cup in front of me. “I think some kind of answer would give her some closure.”
"We’ll get her all the answer she needs. It's just taking time. Longer than we’d like, obviously. On the plus side, no other girls have been reported missing in this area. We should be grateful for that. "
"He's clever. He knows we're onto him. He could have moved on, especially since we have his lair monitored. He could be targeting girls that have no family and could disappear without any notice."
