Love Me True (Love Me Book 2)

Chapter 16

Faye had the following day off, and since she couldn't turn her wayward thoughts off, she kept herself busy with running errands. If Silas had tried to find her he wouldn't have had any luck. She didn't know exactly why she was avoiding him, she knew she was weak, but she was unable to trust the words that he said. Perhaps it was because of all the others who had come before him.

She had never been the popular girl, the one the guys all wanted to date, she could count on one hand all the dates she had through high school and college. She had believed that it was partly because she was shy, but also that she had a natural ability to throw up a wall at any man who tried to get close. She didn't know why she did it, but she did.

When she began working at the hospital and men asked her out on dates more frequently, she thought that perhaps she had come into her own, found her confidence and let down her walls, but when reality had hit, and she realized it was because everyone thought she was rich, she had closed herself off even more. However, it had been eye-opening to realize that if a man was really interested in her, no matter the reason, that the little signals that she was throwing off wouldn't stop him from asking her out. If a man was truly interested in a woman, he would keep asking until he got what he wanted.

Which could only mean that no man had been that interested in her prior to the rumor, and when she found out that she had had no new-found confidence which had attracted men to ask her out and that it was only the money, it had only made her build her walls higher.

Then along came Silas, handsome, reserved, determine, mysterious, Silas. He had asked her out, he wouldn't take no for an answer, and even when the date failed, he still seemed interested in her, and she knew he wasn't after money she didn't have. He had told his children about her, he had kissed her, and he had told her flat out he was interested, so why didn't she believe him?

Was it a habit, was it a lack of confidence, perhaps it was because she didn't want there to be any bad feelings between her and her best friends? She could ask Chole and Lia what was going on between them and Silas, take the direct approach, but it would be terrible if Chloe said that she was interested in Silas. It would wreck the friendship, and it would mean that there was a strong likelihood that Silas was playing all three of them. She shuddered at the thought, she couldn't believe that about Silas in her heart.

She so wished she was the type of woman to jump in with both feet and try to attract a man like Silas, be confident like all the other nurses that flirted with him, trust what he said, but all those past men made her doubt.

It would also be horrible if she did talk to Lia and Chloe and they found out that she was in love with him, especially when she found out he didn't love her. It would make them feel sorry for her, and that was what she had fought against for so many years, ever since her parents had died.

It was a brave face she had presented to the world even though she had been scared to death, and now it was a habit in all things. In her work, with her brother and sister, with the house, and now with Silas. She wanted everyone, including Silas, to believe that she was in total control, unflappable. The only problem was that Silas was able to see through her front and see the constant fear and loneliness that she lived with, and she couldn't help but worry that he was trying to prey upon that like all of those other men had.

She knew it wasn't true in her heart, but her mind hadn't caught up, and the two were at war with each other.

These thoughts tormented her all day, swirling around in her head like a whirlpool that was trying to pull her under, and as dusk fell and she made her way back home, she was exhausted. Her entire body ached, and she was cold, so very cold, which for a muggy September evening was odd.

When she got home she was unable to eat so she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed only to spend a restless night tossing and turning, unable to get warm or comfortable. When her alarm went off the next morning she wanted to cry as she reached over with a weak arm and turned it off then forced herself to get out of bed.

She took a shower, where she almost passed out, then made her way downstairs to pack a lunch. Finally, unable to stand, for fear she was going to pass out, she slunk to the floor in the kitchen, laying her face on the cool tile. She only needed a minute then she would be able to get going again.

*******

Silas banged on Faye's backdoor but there was no answer. He had received a worried call from Chloe saying that Faye hadn't come into work and that she wasn't answering her phone. Silas had tried to find her the previous day, but he hadn't been able to, no one had seen or heard from her, and now that Chloe and Lia were worried it worried him even more.

He hadn't wanted his return to Savannah to play out the way it had, but Valentin's problems had intensified, and then Chloe had found out about the danger he was in, and he couldn't in good conscience ignore them both, so he had done his best to help. Only it had royally screwed up things for him.

Faye was like a scared kitten, shying away from the direct attention of everyone, and he was doing his best to be patient and bring her out of her shell. He had hoped that his kiss had done that, at least it had appeared to do so before he had left. He had wanted to stay, but he couldn't. He had hoped his trip would be a short one, but his ex-wife had made things more complicated then they needed to be, and it had slowed things up significantly.

Pushing aside his thoughts about his ex, he knocked one more time before he tried the knob and it gave way. Slowly, he opened the door, calling out, but there was no answer. As he stepped into the kitchen, he saw her, passed out on the floor, and his heart stopped. This little slip of a woman made his heart stop. That had never happened before, not even with his children's worst injuries.

Unable to analyze what his feeling meant because of the situation, he rushed towards her kneeling down to feel for a pulse, it was strong, but she was on fire, and there was no color in her face. He positioned his body behind her and propped her up, calling her name, but all he got was a little whimper when her body suddenly convulsed with a shiver, he realized she wasn't sweating, and her body wasn't trying to cool itself down. He would have to do it for her.

He laid her down gently and stood up, reaching for the first aid kit then rejoined her on the floor, propping her against her chest. He reached his arm out and opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water from the bottom shelf.

"Faye," he said loudly, feeling the heat that burned its way through her scrubs. "Faye!" he gave her a little shake and held the cold-water bottle to her neck and the shock of it made her open her eyes and look at him.

"Silas, I really don't feel good," she said as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"I know liefje, you'll feel better soon, but right now I need you to drink." He opened the water bottle and held it to her lips, and she took a little sip. He rooted around in the first aid kit and found a fever reducer and helped her to take it.

He had to get her somewhere more comfortable, pushing everything aside he pulled himself up and then picked her up, he would carry her to his apartment and take care of her there.