Vengeance (The Protectors 5)

It looked to be several days old and I tried to think back to earlier in the week. I hadn’t noticed anything off with how Tristan had been moving in those days, but then again, I’d been preoccupied. I knew the bruise could be from a fall, especially if today wasn’t the first time Tristan had gone walking in the early morning hours in the nature park near campus. The area had some spots where the terrain was a little more awkward to maneuver, so it wouldn’t have been unheard of for him to have fallen and gotten hurt.

I pulled the shirt back down, but instead of leaving the room, I carefully crawled over Tristan and got under the covers next to him. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do since I could end up making him feel uncomfortable if he happened to wake up and find me in bed with him. It was one thing for us to sit on the same bed while watching TV, but it was entirely different when it was under the covers and one party wasn’t even aware of the other. But I didn’t give a shit because besides the possibility of a fall being the cause of the injury, other, more disturbing thoughts were rolling through my head and I wanted to ask him about it the second he woke up.

Because I was done being a shitty friend.

***

“Talk to me, Brennan,” Memphis murmured against my hair as his hands stroked up and down my back. Humiliation coursed through me at my behavior, but I couldn’t get a hold of myself. Even though I’d been with Memphis just this morning, I’d been thrilled when he’d told me he’d be spending another night in Seattle and I’d thought that meeting him again would help distract me, but the second he’d opened the door, I’d walked into his arms and stayed there. He certainly hadn’t decided to stay in town one more night to listen to me unload my sorrows.

I shook my head. “Sorry,” I whispered against his neck. “I should have told you to go home. I…I’m just too distracted.”

Memphis gently tugged on my hair until I lifted my head. His lips found mine, but the kiss was chaste and sweet. “Tell me what happened.”

“It’s Tristan,” I began, but I stopped as soon as Memphis’s whole body locked up tight. Pain flashed through me as I remembered Memphis’s unspoken accusation about me being with other guys. Not to mention the way he’d questioned me about Tristan when we’d gotten together at the motel after the wedding.

I tried to disentangle myself from Memphis’s hold, but he refused to release me. He dropped his mouth to my ear, whispered, “Sorry,” and then kissed the spot just below it. “Please tell me.”

I hesitated and then said, “He won’t talk to me.”

Memphis loosened his hold on me enough so that he could look at me as he spoke. “What do you mean?”

“He found out I lied about why I was away from the apartment so many nights last week. I kept telling him I had to work,” I admitted as a wave of fresh shame washed over me. “He thinks I’m seeing someone who’s a customer at my uncle’s car shop.”

I pulled free of Memphis and crossed my arms. “I think he believed me, but I think he’s hiding something.”

“Why do you think that?”

I shook my head. “He’s just not acting like himself. I saw this bruise on his side this morning, but when I asked him about it, he said he fell.”

“You don’t believe him?”

I chewed on my lip. “I mean, it’s not like I have any right to accuse him of lying to me considering that’s all I’ve been doing, but no, I don’t believe him. He’s…he’s just off somehow.”

Memphis reached out to stroke his fingers over my cheek. I shivered at the contact and not just because I always physically responded when Memphis touched me.

“Is there someone you can talk to about him? His folks? His friends?”

“His parents left for Disneyworld yesterday…most of our family went. And I don’t think he’d appreciate it if I went behind his back like that. I…I don’t know if he has friends that he still hangs out with out here. I think he might be back with his girlfriend, but I’m not really sure.”

I forced myself to look up at Memphis. “I’m sorry, I should just go. I know this isn’t what you stayed in town for…”

I turned to go, but Memphis grabbed my hand and tugged me to him. He gave me another sweet kiss, but didn’t take it any further. “Come lay down with me for a bit. Just resting, nothing else,” he said quickly. A mix of surprise and relief went through me and while I needed to get back to Tristan to try and get him to talk to me, I needed this too.