He didn’t want to scare me.
“You have a bruise on your jaw,” I told him, eyeing it. He’d been on a mission and came back with a bruise. My heart was ready to spiral. I hated seeing bruises on him.
“I’m not worried about my bruise,” he whispered.
My eyes scanned his face, and I opened my mouth to tell him to leave, that I could handle this. “Top Gun—”
He cut me off, shaking his head once, seeing right through me. “Temper, the temps are dropping outside. I need to get your door fixed soon so I can keep you warm. Tell me where the first aid kit is, please.”
“Bathroom cabinet, bottom shelf,” I muttered.
“Be right back,” he quietly promised, his hand falling away from me. I watched in stunned silence as he walked away, disappearing down the hallway. My skin burned from his touch, craving more.
“What the fuck is happening?” I asked myself, looking down at my pajama pants.
After my driver literally yanked me off the ground last night, we ran to the car, leaving my brother in his yard, screaming about how I was just a “stupid, no-good bitch.”
Once we were on the road, she turned and asked if I wanted to go to the hospital to get my head checked out…
“I can take you to Portland General,” she pushed, her hands tight around her steering wheel.
“No!” I blurted, ignoring the sting that was rapidly morphing into a throb that was sure to last for the next two days. “Please, don’t. I just need to go home.”
Her kind brown eyes looked at me in the mirror. “Are you sure?”
I nodded, forcing a smile. It wasn’t the first time I’d been struck like this, but I was older now. Maybe that was the reason it hurt so damn bad.
“Right. Well, I’m not just going to let this go,” she declared. “I’m going to drop by soon and check on you. That cool?”
My heart squeezed. “You don’t need to do that. I promise I’m fine.”
She was around the same age as me, maybe a bit younger. “No, what I just witnessed was not fine, and according to company policy, I’m supposed to call the police.”
Panic slithered up my spin. “Please don’t do that. There’s no need. I promise you, everything--this—I’m okay.” I tripped over my words.
“Who was that guy? Your ex?” she investigated, merging onto the interstate.
When I was back home and had the stomach to reflect on the last twenty-four hours of my life, I would definitely not understand why I let this one small truth slip from my lips, why I gave a stranger this snippet of information that I wouldn’tgive to anyone else in my life, even my best friend. “My brother.”
She was quiet for some time, the low purr of her car filling the silence, the streetlights passing us by. “My name is Erin,” she finally said, her voice kind.
Even though she already knew mine, I still said, “I’m Margo.”
“That’s a cool name.”
I knew what she was trying to do, and for that, I was even more grateful the universe had sent me this driver. Anyone else would’ve left me in the pile of trash, and there was no telling what Marcus would’ve done to me. I’d never seen him so angry, and the hatred dripping from his tongue was one of the cruelest things I’d ever experienced. I dropped my head, looking at my chipped nail polish as I muttered, “Thanks.”
The rest of the ride home was quiet, but Erin put on a soft, calming play list. It wasn’t until theWelcome to Astoriasign came into view that tears came. My body rocked with quiet sobs all the way through town, my face buried in my hands as Erin drove down Main. I gave her a thankful and tearful goodbye, went upstairs, took a scalding hot shower, and passed out.
“Temper.”
I blinked, my head snapping up to find Hayes standing in front of me, medical supplies in hand. “Yes, hi. Sorry,” I rushed out, clearing my throat. “I was just lost in thought.”
He stared at me for a moment longer before stepping up to me, saying nothing. For some strange reason, I didn’t like his silence, and he was a silent guy. During his check-ins, he wouldn’t say much other than his usual greeting and questions before taking a seat at the end of the espresso bar and slowly sipping his coffee, watching the girls and me. The more time went on, the less he watched them, and even after he left, I could still feel his eyes on me. Hayes had weaved his way into every aspect of my life atRossy’s, and when he came into the Buoy, I’d never felt a hope so powerful, so alluring, so…addicting.
He’d given me a taste, a small piece of the everlasting happiness I’d been chasing for years, and when I woke, it was ripped away from me. Now, I was too scared to even fight for it.
“Margo,” he prompted, an inch from my knees.