AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah.” Rachel’s expression softens. “It’s nice to see her too.”
“And I’m… sorry… about your boyfriend.”
Her face bunches and she nods, biting her bottom lip and running shaking fingers through her hair.
I wince. Shit. I shouldn’t have brought it up.
“You look exhausted.” I give her an empathetic smile. “I’ll leave you to… get some sleep.”
“Thanks,” she mumbles, her eyes still cast to the floor.
I pause just as I reach the bedroom door and lightly rest my hand on her shoulder. She flinches, then goes still.
“You’re safe here. But there is a lock on my door if that’ll make you feel better.”
She doesn’t say anything, and I slip away to give her some privacy, my stomach churning as I descend the stairs.
Mick’s making two hot chocolates in the kitchen, and I rest my hip against the counter. “Tell me about this Theo guy. Rachel seems pretty cut up.”
“Yeah, I know.” Mick pouts, pouring hot milk over the granules in one of the cups. “Poor thing. He was her first everything—serious boyfriend, roommate.”
“They were living together?”
“Yeah. She only moved in a month or so ago. Things must have gone downhill pretty fast. She’s made the odd comment, but nothing serious. I wonder what the tipping point was.”
“It’s a hell of a long way for her to drive, and she was a wreck when she first got here.”
Mikayla stops to eye me up, her expression thoughtful as she stirs the drink, then taps the teaspoon against the edge. “Don’t worry. I’ll get to the bottom of it. Not tonight, but eventually. Ray’s like an onion when it comes to her feelings. You have to work slowly, gently peeling back one layer at a time. But eventually she tells me.” She shrugs. “If I push too hard, she’ll go into a corner, so I’ll bide my time, give her plenty of TLC, and she’ll open up like a flower.” Her smile grows as she lifts the two mugs and starts walking for the stairs.
An onion.
Good to know.
“Hey.” Mick catches my attention. “Get that worried look off your face. She’s gonna be fine. I’ll hit her up with an ice cream date in a few days and get the whole story. I know how my girl ticks.”
She winks at me, and I can’t help the sudden thought that I’d love to know how Rachel ticks too.
CHAPTER 3
RACHEL
Sleeping is impossible.
Even though Liam’s bed is super comfy and my head sinks into his luscious pillow, I can’t switch off. It’s like I’m so exhausted, sleep can’t even find me.
Every time I close my eyes, images of Theo’s angry face flash through my brain, along with the rest of our ugly argument. I feel sick.
Sucking in a deep breath, I notice how this bed smells like the hockey player who held me tight, stroked my hair, and gave me a minute to fall apart. He was so gentle and kind… and he doesn’t even know me.
Theo was gentle and kind.
My stomach clenches and I scrunch my eyes shut, turning over to get comfortable, but I can’t.
My night is a mixture of light dozing, tossing, and turning, and by the time I officially greet the next day, I have a thumping headache.
Snatching one of the plush towels Asher gave me, I hug it to my chest and walk to the bathroom, avoiding my reflection in the mirror as I strip naked and soak under the hot spray. I use Mikayla’s shampoo and body wash, needing to cleanse every inch of myself.
It feels good to wash away that ugly night, but when I finally get out and wipe the steam from the bathroom mirror, I’m confronted all over again by what went down.
