Caleb

Chapter Forty Six

Caleb ~

It was nearly 3:00am and Lainey was exhausted. Her tiny body had been pushed to it's emotional brink and was going to start shutting itself down if he didn't get her home soon.

Caleb helped her into his Jeep, watching her lean her head back on the headrest and close her eyes.

"Why don't you take one of these for me." Caleb suggested, pulling Lainey's medicine from his pocket and inspecting the pills thoroughly in his palm before handing them over to Lainey.

She popped them in her mouth without opening her eyes and swallowed them as he drove them home. They were about halfway to the apartment when Lainey started to rub at her calf, pulling Caleb's attention over to the muscle that was starting to ball up and knot beneath her skin.

Shit, we're at least fifteen minutes away and I can't pull over in the middle of the freeway to rub the cramps out of her legs.

"Flex your foot back to stretch that muscle out." Caleb instructed darting his eyes between Lainey and the road in front of him.

She grimaced and flexed, desperately trying to keep her entire leg and foot from cramping up, but it was no use. Lainey's foot contorted and her calf and thigh knotted into hard masses beneath her skin, causing Lainey to arch her back and straighten her leg against the floor board.

Caleb's heart broke at the sight and fully understood that when muscles become hard and knotted the way Lainey's did, it's excruciatingly painful and there's very little that can be done about it.

"Deep breaths Lainey girl, breathe your way through it." Caleb instructed, hoping she'd listen to him.

Her other leg started to tighten and Lainey grabbed for it, but it was too little too late. Her little body was going to knot itself into a painful tangled mess until her medication kicked in which would be at least twenty minutes from the time she took it.

"No, no, no." Lainey begged her other leg not to cramp, but it wasn't going to listen to her soft pleas.

"Grab my hand Lainey, squeeze it hard." Caleb coached, feeling Lainey clutch his hand and bare down on it, trying to escape the pain in her legs.

Caleb mashed down on the accelerator trying to get them home as soon as possible, hating the fact that there was so little he could do for her.

"Come on you can squeeze harder than that. Give me everything you got." Caleb instructed, hoping to take her focus away from her legs.

"Don't look at your legs, look at me and squeeze my hand Darlin', We're almost home." he soothed, feeling Lainey bury her head in his shoulder as she squeezed his hand with every ounce of strength she had in her.

By the time he parked the jeep and scooped her up from the passenger seat, Lainey was fully panicked, breathing heavily in his arms and digging her nails into his back as he carried her effortlessly up the stairs.

Caleb set her down in the bed and took off for the kitchen to get her another drink, watching her grab another dose of medication from her nightstand to double up her dose.

He handed her the bottle and watched her crack the top open and drain the contents in a few large gulps as he got to work on rubbing the cramps from her legs.

"Alright Lainey girl, it's just a waiting game now. Can you take some deep breaths for me while these meds take effect?"

She was grunting and gasping for air as she fought against her body.

She's not listening to me.

He recalled a conversation that he had with Declan on ways to calm Lexi when she was panicked if Declan wasn't around. "Talk soft enough to be comforting, but be commanding. If you need her to do something that will help calm her down or keep her safe, tell her what to do. Coach her so that your voice is what she clings to and listens to and not the panic she's feeling."