Oh, Lord. That was a good answer. A really good one, actually. But the circumstances being what they were meant I had to ignore the butterflies flittering around in my stomach and deal with him.
My wild eyes softened as the man in front of me leaned against the open doorframe, let out a short gasp, and winced. His face screwed up in pain a long moment, and the need to tend to him was too great for me to fight. I reached out and let my fingers curl around that of his free hand, gently pulling him in, and when his feet began to move, I asked an incensed, “Where were you?”
His silence seemed louder than an actual response.
By the time I half dragged him into the dim kitchen, I had already pulled out my phone and dialed. Holding it between my neck and shoulder, I made the short walk over to the light switch. She answered before I had a chance to flick it on.
Anika’s shaky voice sounded in my ear. It was clear she had gone from frightened to petrified. “Still nothing. I don’t know what to do, Nas. What do I do?”
“He’s here.”
“What?” I heard her shuffle to sit up. “Where was he?”
“I don’t know, but he’s here. He’s fine.” But when I spun to look at him with the lights on, the inside of my stomach curdled, and I gasped a quiet, “Shit.”
“Shit?”
Thinking fast, I blinked at the sight of his bloody and bruised face and rushed out, “I, uh, stubbed my toe. It’s okay. He’s okay.”
“Are you sure?” she asked timidly.
I closed my eyes, no longer able to look at the deep gash at his brow or the trail of blood drying at his chin. “Yeah.”
And then Anika was irate. “I am going to kick his ass! You tell him that. You tell him ‘Anika said she’s going to kick your ass.’ Tell him now!”
Lips thin, I turned my sympathetic eyes on him and relayed her message. “Anika’s going to kick your ass.”
His fingers glanced over his cheek, and my stomach ached as he flinched. “Sure.”
Anika blew out a trembling breath. “I am so relieved.” Her tinkling laughter cut through her fear. “God. I’m shaking I’m so relieved.”
“Yeah,” I muttered as my eyes trailed the damage to his already harsh face. “Me too.” I cleared my throat. “You can sleep easy now. I’ve got him.”
Vik stood, walked over to my kitchen sink, and leaned over it. He blocked one nostril and blew hard out of his nose. My stomach turned as gooey chunks of coagulated blood landed in the sink with a light ping.
Anika chuckled in relief. “Yeah. Thanks for letting me know.”
I didn’t bother with niceties. I hung up, taking my cell and holding it loosely, letting in fall by my side as my heart ached at the state of him.
With his hands resting on the edge, his tall form towered over the sink, and he rumbled out, “I couldn’t go home like this.”
“Home.” My brow quirked. “With your mom and dad. With Anika. That’s where you’ve been living right?” I paused. “Back home.” The way his eyes narrowed had me shaking my head, knowing I had my answer. When it was clear he was not in a revealing mood, I blew out a breath, then ran a hand down my face before my eyes swept the length of him, surveying the damage. “No. I don’t suppose you could.”
“I thought maybe…” He stopped a second before continuing, “I thought you might still have some of my shit here.”
I did.
Oh, I planned on letting go, but that did not go as intended, and after dumping a trash bag of his clothes into my garbage can, I found myself retrieving it hours later, in tears, utterly ashamed that I couldn’t even part with something so inconsequential as a pair of his workout sweats and a simple black tee. But they smelled of him, and some nights when I really missed him, I would slide that tee over my pillowcase and breathe it in until I fell into a restless sleep.
“I might have something in my closet.” In the top left-hand corner, behind the cream-colored box, hidden away where no one could possibly find it. I couldn’t even hide my disappointment as I focused on his messed-up face. “That needs to be cleaned up, and you need to shower, so go on up, and I’ll be there in a minute.”
Vik was not oblivious. His watchful eyes had to see the apprehension rushing through me, but he granted me this boon by pushing off the sink, holding his ribs, and leaving me with my thoughts.
Between Vik’s inability to talk to me and Anika’s odd behavior, I was stuck somewhere in the middle, being constantly pushed away by both as though I couldn’t relate.