"What?" I asked.
"Me being here," he said, his voice grave. "I'm sure you hate me, and with good reason. That's why I've stayed away. I assumed you didn't want to see me."
I blinked. "Why would I hate you?"
"Because this is all my fault," Upton replied, clearly distressed. "All of it. She was after you because of me."
181
I chuckled and pushed my hair back from my face with both hands. "Upton, it's not your fault she's crazy."
"But it is! You said it yourself the day after you got out of the hospital," he said, throwing out a hand and pacing away. "You said you weren't going to wait around for one of my jilted girlfriends to kill you and you were right. It just happened to be a girlfriend you didn't know about."
"Upton," I said calmly.
"I'm going to make this up to you, Reed. I swear it," he said. "If there's anything I can do--"
"Upton!"
"What?" He finally stopped moving, stopped rambling.
"Caroline's going to be back in thirteen minutes," I said. "Are you going to kiss me or what?"
Upton's entire face relaxed. He sat down on the bed next to me, touched my scorched cheek delicately with his palm, and kissed my cracked, blistered lips. It would have been romantic if it hadn't been so agonizing. I winced and pulled away.
"Okay, ow," I said.
"Sorry," he replied, biting his lip.
"Maybe just cuddling would be a better idea," I said.
"Sounds good to me." He leaned back against the headboard and pulled me toward his side, wrapping his arms around me. I nestled against him until my head was perfectly cradled in the crook of his arm, and took a deep, calming breath.
"So tell me, what's going on out there in the world? " I asked.
182
"Well, they let Poppy go," he said. "Apparently Calis--Mrs. Ryan-planted that cell phone in her bag."
"What about Red Beard and Stilted English?" I asked, fiddling with a fold in my sheet.
"Who?" he said.
"Marshall and Gravois," I clarified.
"Both alive. Though Marshall barely," he replied. "And both going to jail for a very long time."
"Good," I replied.
Upton lightly kissed the top of my head and sighed. "I just don't get it. That night, after she found us in her stateroom, we had this long conversation and I thought she was okay," Upton said. "She actually wished us every happiness and I believed her. And then, apparently, she turned around and shoved you off the back of the boat."
I shuddered and Upton held me a bit tighter. "Sorry," he said.
"It's okay," I replied. "I guess people do crazy things for love."
Upton laughed. "She never loved me. She was just obsessed."
"Oh, Upton. You're so adorable," I said, tilting my head up to look at him.