Catch Me Falling Read Online Free PDF

“Thank you for coming by.”
    He sat there for a little bit longer, watched her as she settled down in her chair, turned to her computer. He could still smell the floral scent of her perfume. He nodded to her, and then with the files tucked under his arm, left the office.
    He went down to the cafeteria. It was a strange haven, but he felt more normal surrounded by other, possibly crazy, people. He got a coffee, shitty though it was, and waited. Then he left, heading back to the ER for a bit. He needed to clear his mind.
    There was a family coming in, a mother, father, three kids.
    White picket fence sort of family.
    Three bodies, covered in white sheets.
    Watching his mother be loaded into the ambulance.
    Screaming, screaming, and no one coming to answer.
    Because they were all dead.
    Isaac left the ER as fast as he could.

Chapter 4
    A lexa ran a hand through her hair as she closed her apartment door behind her. The adrenaline from earlier had faded, leaving her tired and far too thoughtful. All she wanted to do was do something, anything, to forget what she had done that day. Forget Isaac.
    He was impossible to forget. Impossible to resist. His smile, his stupid sexy smile, sent heat coiling between her legs, made her wet. Those stupid, wicked eyes. Those stupidly soft lips moving against hers. She wanted him. She wanted him more than she had ever wanted anyone else. And she had taken it. It sent a pleasurable shiver down her spine at the thought of tomorrow. Coffee - coffee leading up to what she actually wanted, which was for him to take her over her desk. Or on her desk. She was okay with either/or.
    Wine. She needed wine. Keys and organization and – everything else that needed to be done could be done later. She sorted through the cupboards, glared at the fact they were mostly empty except for a takeout menu and some shitty sour apple pucker that no reasonable person would drink past the age of 17. She hadn’t even had time to shop or get more wine. What was she going to do for dinner?
    Wow, she really sucked at the whole adult thing sometimes. She was thirty one. Wasn’t she supposed to have her life all put together by then? Apparently not. Instead of wine, instead of a proper home-cooked dinner, she ordered takeout and settled on the couch with soda mixed with that disgusting sour apple. It was a lousy substitute for wine, but it was something at least.
    She pulled out her phone, looked at it. Damien had texted her again. Why hadn’t she changed her number? She didn’t know. This time they were begging. No more slurs, no more epithets. He was desperate.
    Baby, come back to me.
    I really love you.
    It'll never happen again.
    She laughed at her phone. She wasn’t stupid enough to fall for that, not again. When she had left the first time, six months ago, he had started the same campaign. Begged her. Pleaded with her. And she had given in and gone back.
    Two new scars and uncountable bruises later, she had realized how stupid she had been. He didn’t change. They never changed.
    She chugged her soda, wrinkling her nose at the taste, and deleted the texts. Tossed her phone onto the side table. In law school she had prosecuted a few cases for domestic abuse victims, ones whose cases had not been recognized by the hospital and had been severely damaged by their abusers. But it had taken so long for to realize who she was, what it meant. She was a victim. She was a survivor.
    She ignored her soda/disgusting alcohol and headed to the bathroom. She needed a shower. Without the wine, she needed some way to relax while she waited for the takeout. She undressed and gave herself her cursory once-over in the mirror. Still too thin, her ribs showing. She needed to eat more, but it was hard when she didn’t feel like it. It wasn’t that she didn’t want food, it just wasn’t a priority.
    She would have to be careful with Isaac, with sex. The bruises were gone, but she didn’t want to explain the scars that decorated