Painkiller

If things got weird then they got weird, but not being honest with herself or him was painful. Rosie didn’t want that to be her life, where she regretted what she should have done.

What a shitty life she’d lead if she never got her feelings off her chest. She’d at least be able to sleep better at night, even if Rebel didn’t want anything to do with her.

* * *

I should have just gone home right after work.

But all Rebel had been able to think about was Rosie and the look of confusion and shock she’d given him when he’d all but beaten fucking Charleston’s ass.

“We’re here.”

Rebel glanced over at Mickey, one of the guys he worked with, and the person he’d gone to the bar with afterward. It didn’t matter that he was only eighteen.

There were plenty of places around town where he could get a drink because he knew the people. But he wasn’t drunk, just buzzed and trying to forget about all the ways he’d fucked shit up.

“Thanks for the lift.”

Mickey nodded. “Anytime.”

He got out of the car and shut the door, standing there a second and staring at the front of the house. It was late, but even if he’d come home right after work everyone would have been settling down for the evening. He wasn’t full-time at his job, for obvious school reasons, but after he graduated he was going to save up and get his own place.

He needed that, needed a place that didn’t remind him of the girl he loved that would no longer be in town.

Scrubbing a hand over his hair he made his way toward the front door, unlocked it, and went inside. Rebel could have just gone through the basement door and not have to talk to anyone if they were still up, but he secretly hoped he’d run into Rosie.

He didn’t know what he’d say, maybe the truth finally, but he wasn’t thinking that far. He just wanted to see her, to touch her…

Get that out of your fucking head. She’s your best friend, probably sees you as nothing more. If you tell her you’re in love with her she’ll fucking back away and there will be this wall between you two.

But the house was quiet and still. He went into the kitchen, grabbed a plate of leftovers from the fridge, and took it downstairs.

But he stopped at the staircase and looked up, seeing light coming from underneath Rosie’s closed door. He wanted to go talk to her, but common sense told him to leave this alone right now.

So, instead of being a man and dealing with this head-on, like he did with most things, he went to the door that led to his room, and left well enough alone.

But it’s far from fucking well.

* * *

Rosie found herself leaving her room, walking down the stairs, going to the door that led to the basement, and opening it. She should have called Rebel’s cell phone, given him a heads-up she wanted to talk, even if he was in the same house as she was.

But she was just doing this, and not giving herself time to think about what she should or shouldn’t do.

Once the door was shut behind her she descended, seeing the light still on. Rounding the corner she didn’t see Rebel at first, but then saw his big shadow coming from the bathroom.

Calling out to him and letting him know she was here would have been the right thing to do, but her throat was tight and her mouth dry. She didn’t even know if she could have said anything in that moment for how nervous she was.

And then he came out of the bathroom, turned the light off, and everything in her stilled. She looked at his body, his chest, which was bare, and the towel that was wrapped around his waist. He’d just gotten out of the shower, and damn did he look good in only that terrycloth. He had his head downcast, but after only a second he lifted it, their gazes clashing.

“Rosie?” he said her name softly, but in that deep timbered voice of his. He didn’t move, and neither did she, for her nerves were on high alert right now. “What are you doing down here?” he asked sincerely, not upset that she’d just come into his room.

“I should have let you know I was coming down here,” she managed to say, but she felt like she had no control over herself when it came to Rebel. It’s not like she’d never seen him shirtless before.

They’d gone on plenty of family trips during the summer. But right now, knowing why she was down here and what she planned on saying, made this seem so … intimate.

“You don’t ever have to give me a heads-up. You’re welcome down here anytime.” He smiled and walked over to his dresser, grabbing a pair of sweats. “Give me a minute and I’ll make myself decent.”