Page 66 of Secrets Hidden In The Glass

“There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“I’m drawing odd things—stuff I can’t explain. I’m seeing visions that don’t make any sense.”

“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation.”

She wanted him to tell her what it was, but she was afraid she already knew. She stood now, exhausted but too agitated to be still. “Before we met—when I was in New York—I barely ate or slept. I would pace my apartment for hours every night. Sometimes I had horrible panic attacks.” She pressed her hand to her heart, growing more frightened as she remembered how lost she’d felt—how hopeless. “I thought I was doing better here. I’ve felt so good and happy and—” She stopped when her voice broke.

“Hey.” He pulled her against him and wrapped her up in a hug. “It’s going to be okay.”

She closed her eyes, listening to his steady heartbeat. “I think I’m mentally ill.”

He drew back. “You’re not mentally ill, Callie. You’re run-down and burnt out. You’re still trying to get back on your feet.”

“I’ve been tired before. This isn’t the same thing.”

“Whatever’s going on, we’ll get through it together.”

She pressed her palms to his cheeks, knowing he meant it—that he would walk beside her—even if she took him over the edge of a cliff. “I’m not quite sure what I’ve done to deserve you.”

He kissed her. “Come to bed with me.”

She couldn’t bear the idea of falling back to sleep and waking to another vision she didn’t understand. “I’m going over to the cottage.”

He frowned.

“I have a mess to clean up.”

“It’s four thirty.”

“Artists keep weird hours.” She forced herself to smile. “And you need some more rest. You have a busy day of crime fighting ahead.”

He stroked his fingers along her temple. “Don’t shut me out.”

She leaned into his caress, trying not to hurt him when her first instinct was always to escape. “I need a little space.”

“You’re afraid.”

She nodded.

“Sometimes I wonder if that’s not what all of this is about. This started the first night you woke up in my bed.”

She swallowed, wishing this was merely about her commitment issues. “The way I feel about you scares me. The idea of knowing that I want to extend my stay—that I can’t seem to walk away from you—frightens me. But mostly I’m terrified of what’s going on inside my head.”

He sighed.

She kissed him, letting her lips linger on his. “I’ll see you later.”

“Okay,” he said, nodding and letting her walk away.

~~~~

Nate sat on the edge of the desk as the front door shut behind Callie. He rubbed at the back of his neck and steamed out a long breath, trying to figure out what in the hell he was supposed to do now. He wanted to go after her and show her that she didn’t have to deal with any of this alone, but she would only lift her guard higher if he did. She’d asked him for space, and he knew he needed to respect her wishes. They were making progress. For two weeks straight, she’d fallen asleep wrapped up in his arms and had woken by his side every morning. He wasn’t about to mess that up by suffocating her.

“Fuck,” he muttered, no closer to a solution. Callie thought she was mentally ill, and he was mostly sure she wasn’t. But her drawings were certainly interesting. He reached for the two sketches she’d created in the dim light of the gooseneck lamp and studied them, looking for something that made sense. A locket and the corner of a floral rug… After several seconds of intense scrutiny, he set them back down and swore again as he scrubbed at his face. Artistic expression certainly wasn’t his expertise. Neither was convincing Callie that her mental health was just fine. What he needed was some help from Matthew. In a couple of hours, he was calling Sanderson Clinic and getting Callie an appointment with the doctor who’d been taking care of him since the day of his birth.

He stood and walked to the window, staring out in the direction of the cottage. There had to be a reason for Callie’s dreams and the odd images she was creating. Now they just had to figure out what it was so they could get back to the life she didn’t even realize she was building with him here on the island.