Caleb

Chapter Thirty Seven

Elaina ~

Everything around Lainey was dull and seemed to be moving in slow motion. Nothing felt real and she was struggling to do anything except fill and empty her lungs. She was numb - empty, unable to function properly or shed any more tears.

It had been two days since she'd found her father's body and she was still in shock, complete and utter shock.

Eating was out of the question despite Caleb's constant pleading. Her appetite was gone and her stomach rolled and churned at the thought of any kind of food. She sat in the hotel suite drinking her third electrolyte drink, staring at the floor while Caleb showered, lost in her own thoughts.

A shirtless, freshly showered Caleb appeared with his hair still wet and a concerned look on his face as he crouched down in front of her.

"How are we doing with this?" He asked, lifting the drink to see how much she'd consumed.

Letting out a sigh of disappointment when he realized she only taken a sip or two in the past couple of hours, Caleb stood and took a seat next to her on the bed.

"Baby you've gotta eat somethin'...I'm beggin' you."

Before she could respond, the beeping sound of the hotel room door as it was being opened hit Lainey's ears, causing her to jump and clutch Caleb's muscular arm.

"It's us Bug - James and Marcus." James announced loudly knowing how terrified she'd become of the outside world at the moment.

James had been an absolute rock over the past few days. He hadn't really broken down or showed any emotion except anger, pure undiluted hatred and anger. He and Marcus had spent most of the day at the police station, trying to convince the detective to investigate further. The police had reported her father and Camila's death a murder suicide and the media was attempting to spin it as depression from losing the election. Marcus and James met with the detective multiple times over the past few days pointing out the many holes in that theory. The biggest hole being the absence of the bodyguards and a muddy footprint that was found in the carpet in her fathers study. But Despite evidence to the contrary, it was reported as a murder suicide and therefore a closed case, which infuriated James and Lainey.

"Hey Doc, you mind takin a look at James' hand real quick?" Marcus asked, peeking his head around the corner.

Caleb and Lainey exchanged quick glances before they both headed into the adjoining room

"What's wrong with James' hand?" Lainey asked as she walked around the small couch where he was sitting.

Her eyes immediately shot down to James' swollen, bloodied knuckles. She had a moment of Deja vu from the nights James had come home bruised and beaten after a fight, needing her to ice and bandage his hands and face.

"What happened?" Lainey gasped as she knelt down in front of James, who was hanging his head, refusing to look Lainey in the eyes.

"Go easy on him Doll, we ran into the security guards that abandoned your dad outside the police station."

Grabbing the sides of James' face, Lainey lifted his head so she could inspect any of the bruises or cuts that he might be concealing. She tilted his head back and forth with her eyes darting around his face, searching for injuries.

"You think I let either of those assholes land a punch, Bug?" James asked with a slight smirk, shrugging his face from her grasp.

Lainey knew fighting was James' outlet, and as much as she hated it, she understood especially under the circumstances. Hell, she might have reacted the same way if she'd have been there.