Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 131821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Her eyes fly wide, and she pulls away, blinking rapidly. “Oh my god, you need to sit down.”
She goes to step by me, but my good hand flies out, latching on to her before she can. She gasps, looking up at me with a desperate sort of confusion, the same emotions flitting through my own mind, but I don’t care to listen right now. Not to my body or my mind.
“Pretty Little,” I rasp, her mouth the North Star to my broken compass, leading me fucking home.
“Well, fucking, well!”
Payton literally jumps at the sound of Lolli’s voice, and both of us look toward the back door.
Payton smiles sheepishly, and I frown at my cousin’s girl.
“I brought French toast.” Lolli smirks, holding up a plate of food. “Unless of course you’re hungry for something a little more…” Her saucy tone trails off when she notices my bandages, her face pinching with worry.
I tense instantly, heat crawling up my neck, and I go to turn away, but then the little blond beside me jerks forward, using her tiny body to try and hide my much bigger one from view. Like she’s protecting me, and just like that, the black cloud hanging over me turns a lighter shade of gray.
“Thanks, Lolli,” Payton says swiftly, rushing her way and taking the plate from her. She sets it on the counter with one hand, clasping Lolli’s bicep with the other, shocking the shit out of me when she leads Lolli all the way to the door, gently nudges her out of it, and, with a tone that brooks no argument yet somehow still holds gratitude, says, “I’ll let you know if we need anything else.”
Alone on the other side of the glass doors, Lolli gapes from her to me, but Payton’s not done. She yanks the sheer curtains across the window, closing us off completely before she spins to face me.
And I’m. Fucking. Stuck.
She holds me captive as she walks back this way, tucking her long blond hair behind her ear with one hand and snagging the plate of food with the other. Payton grabs my fingers, and I let her lead me to the couch, where she shoves some pillows in the corner. She doesn’t let me go until I’m sitting back against them, and then she lowers onto the coffee table in front of me.
She bends, digging into something at the foot of the couch, and when she says “Open,” I don’t question her.
I open my mouth, and she drops two pills inside before lifting a cup with a straw to my mouth. My lips wrap around it, eyes on hers the entire time.
I release it, and she grabs the plate, setting it on my lap.
“Here.” She pushes to her feet, rushing toward the back door. “Now that they know I’m here, I’m going to go home and grab some things.”
I watch as she slides her feet into a pair of sandals, my pulse beating a little harder at her words. “Things?”
Her head lifts, gaze finding mine over her shoulder. “I need to take care of you.” A small frown pulls at her brows. “Please don’t say you don’t need me here.”
“I want you here.”
Her hand freezes on the handle, and for a moment, she just stares.
I didn’t mean to be so blunt, but there it is, and my response has nothing to do with my injuries.
In truth, she’s the last person I want to see me like this, all busted up and weak, yet somehow, at the same time, the reality of my situation is a little less devastating when mixed with her presence. Like maybe my entire world didn’t come crashing down and maybe this isn’t the end of it all. Sitting in that hospital, I felt like my entire life had fallen apart. It was all I could think about on the trip back to Oceanside, how things might have changed for me forever.
That I’d lost everything I worked for, my future included.
Then there she was with big blue eyes and the softest fucking touch I’ve ever felt. She sat beside me and smiled, and everything else fell away because it was a real smile. One without all the pain I’ve watched her carry the last several months.
I knew right then I not only wanted her to stay, but I needed her to. I just didn’t know if I could say that to her, so when exhaustion hit and the pain doubled, I used it as an excuse to go into another room. I would have rested on the couch next to her, but I didn’t want to have to watch her walk out.
Yet here she is, still here hours later, and she’s not asking if she can stay.
She’s telling me she’s going to.
A ripple rolls through me, realization breaking through the last layer of fog in my mind.