Caged

41

Caleb's own smile dropped when my face crumpled and he yanked me into another tight embrace. "I don't want you to go," I cried against his shoulder, my voice breaking. "I want us all to stay together."

"I know, Izzy. We don't wanna leave either," he said softly, rocking us side to side. "We'll be back before you know it, alright?" When I didn't make any move to answer or pull away, Caleb pried my arms off of him and stepped back a little. I stared back at him through watery eyes until I saw Elijah approaching us from the corner of my eye. Ethan stayed back, talking to Alastair through the window.

"Hey," Caleb said, grabbing my hands in his and squeezing until I met his gaze again. "I love you."

I smiled, but it was a weak effort. "I love you, too," I mumbled, letting my eyes drop down to our hands.

I was about to step back, but something peeking out from his sleeves caught my eye. Caleb didn't have time to react as I yanked his sleeves up, revealing the skin.

I gasped when I saw the bruises covering his arms.

Dark, purple marks; some were fading, yet some looked new and they were scattered up and down his arms. The skin was unusually pale too, so they were more visible than ever, even in the dark.

He yanked his hands away and I looked up at him in disbelief. "Caleb, what's this?"

He averted his gaze and shook his head. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

My mouth opened and closed as I studied his reaction, not knowing what to say. "That is not nothing. What happened? Did someone hurt you?" I croaked and he briefly closed his eyes, before he turned to look at me again.

"No, Izzy, leave it alone," he gritted out and I did a double take at his tone. He never used that one with me. He saw the look on my face and sighed. "No one hurt me. I promise, it's just...I don't know. Sometimes, I wake up or notice them somewhere and I don't know how I even get them."

I frowned, my eyes traveling back down to the marks. "You mean you just randomly wake up with bruises sometimes? What?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I don't know. They don't hurt so it's probably not a big deal."

I reached for his hands. "Caleb, that's not normal. Have you seen a doctor? Did you tell Elijah?"

He shook his head and squeezed my hands in comfort. "No. Don't worry about it, okay? If it gets worse, I'll see someone."

I was about to argue, but he didn't give me the chance.

He let go of my hands and Elijah's voice caught our attention. "Ready?" He asked Caleb, gesturing to the driveway where the car was. "Flight's at midnight, you three should leave now."

Caleb nodded and I stayed behind as he said a goodbye to Elijah, before he walked down the front steps. I swallowed hard as he went up to Ethan and said something to him, causing Ethan to glance in my direction.

"They'll be back, baby," Elijah said quietly, placing a hand on my back and I nodded halfheartedly, even though it didn't help. Nothing would help until they came back home. "You're not gonna talk to Ethan before he goes?"

I glanced up at Elijah before my attention shifted over to Ethan who was still leaning against the car next to Caleb. I watched as he pulled out a cigarette and lit one, letting his gaze wander off into the distance as he stayed quiet, listening to Alastair and Caleb talk.

I wanted to say goodbye to him too, but I was afraid. Up until these past few weeks, Ethan and I had never been affectionate or genuinely civil with one another. I'd only started seeing this new side of him recently, and that too only happened to be when he needed comfort or I did.