When One Door Opens Read Online Free PDF Page A

but he didn’t want the conversation to end. “I don’t know anything about your uncle, but he acts like he’s worried about you. Like maybe he wants to help you and don’t know how.”
    When Caleb spoke again, he turned away, facing the stove as if he didn’t want Logan to see his face. “Two winters ago the radiator broke.” His words were clear and methodical like he’d recited them many times before. “I knew I needed to contact the apartment manager to get it fixed. Even on a Saturday, they would’ve sent someone what with the weather being so cold. All I had to do was p-pick up the ph-phone.”
    Caleb paused, taking a slow, deep breath. When he continued, his voice showed no sign of distress, but his shoulders trembled. “I started to call, but then my brain started What If-ing. What if they try to make me leave the apartment or evict me? What if the maintenance guy can’t fix it? What if I go crazy while he’s here? Or I freak the guy out so he rushes the job and the radiator ends up exploding and burning down the apartment complex? I got more and more upset until all I could do was crawl under the covers and bury my head like a little kid afraid of the boogeyman.”
    The idea of agoraphobia being potentially deadly wasn’t something Logan had considered. What if there was a fire? Would Caleb refuse to leave his apartment? Moving around the island, Logan brought his hand to Caleb’s shoulder and rested it there, noticing how red and puckered the skin above his too-tight T-shirt collar looked. There was no flinch, no nervous reaction, just a softly exhaled breath before Caleb continued. “I don’t remember anything else before waking up in the hospital four days later. My uncle told me that I was clutching the phone and mumbling need help over and over when he found me. I figure I calmed enough to realize I needed help just in time for the hypothermia to completely muddle my brain and make it impossible.” Seeming to shake the dark thoughts off easily, Caleb asked, “Are you hungry?”
    Logan’s stomach answered for him while he was still brooding over what Caleb had told him.
    Caleb chuckled and began pulling more items from the box of groceries. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
    Logan walked back to the other side of the island. “I can get something on the way home.” He didn’t sound convincing even to himself. He was so sick of eating fast food he was actually missing prison slop.
    Caleb pulled out a grill pan from a bottom cabinet and set the burner to medium. “It’s no bother and this way you can report you saw me eat.” He pulled a loaf of crusty Italian bread from the box and began slicing it. The fresh-baked aroma had been torturing Logan since he’d retrieved the order. His stomach gave another gurgling grumble. Last night’s dinner had consisted of stale crackers, peanut butter, and water. At least in prison, he got a carton of milk. God, I’m pathetic. Realizing what Caleb had said, Logan replied, “He don’t ask for specifics, just wants to know if you’re okay.”
    Opening a jar of red roasted peppers with more force than necessary, Caleb said, “Marco said he wasn’t allowed to tell me.” He pulled out two peppers and placed them on a cutting board with a splat. He started chopping them with enough force to make Logan concerned for his fingers.
    Hoping to distract the man from his thoughts, Logan asked, “Was Marco an ex-con like me?”
    Caleb froze, the knife poised over the peppers.
    Logan blinked. “Your uncle didn’t tell you? What the hell was the guy thinking?”
    Caleb shook his head, his green eyes wide. “But he did call me right after you left.”
    The sudden anger this answer evoked was almost overwhelming, and Logan couldn’t stop himself from saying, “That ain’t good enough. He should have told you I had a record. For all he knew, I could’ve forced you to say everything was okay.”
    Seeing Caleb’s distressed face, Logan willed the anger from