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“You don’t know anyone in town, and in case there’s an emergency you’ll have at least one person you can call,” he explains, frowning a little at my harshness.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble, instantly feeling ashamed.
Here he is being kind, showing concern and all I can do is bite his head off. I swipe a hand over my face, and this time the tears that have been threatening to fall ever since he appeared tonight, begin to tumble from my eyes. Turning away from him, I wrap my arms around myself and cry.
“Lia, fuck. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just…” he begins, and I can feel him step closer, his pity thick between us. It’s humiliating.
“Please, just give me a moment. It’s been a long night,” I manage to choke out.
“Of course it has.”
Thankfully he doesn’t press me further, giving me breathing space to cry without interruption, and I do. I hug myself tighter and sob quietly, unable to stop now that I’ve started. Like a cork being unplugged, tears stream down my face unbidden.
Martin hated it when I cried. Despised it even. He’d call me a weak-ass crybaby bitch, and a fucking ugly cunt for crying when he ridiculed me or hit me. My tears always fuelled his wrath, so having a man allow me to let go like this without hateful words or physical abuse just makes me cry even harder.
“Lia, do you need a hug?” Drix asks tentatively.
The concern in his voice sounds so genuine that I almost, almost answer with a nod of my head, but I quickly remind myself that Martin had been just as genuine when we first started dating and look where that got me. I’m not exactly a good judge of character.
“I’m sorry. I’m okay now,” I sniffle eventually, drawing in a ragged breath as I wipe my eyes and turn to face him. God, what must I look like? What must he think of me?
“You’ve nothing to apologise for,” Drix replies, trying his best to reassure me as I pull out my phone, tapping the screen to open it up.
“What’s your number?” I ask, unable to meet his gaze as my thumb hovers over the screen. I’m shaking so badly that when he begins to reel off his number I make a mistake and have to start over again.
“Here, let me,” he says, gently cupping my hand, his thick tattooed fingers curling around mine as he takes my phone. Too shocked by his touch, and exhausted by all the crying, I just watch as he taps his number into my phone before handing it back to me.
“There you go.”
For a beat I’m unable to speak, caught in this tense moment between us as his warm fingers linger on my skin. A shiver scatters down my spine, and this time I can’t tell if it’s from fear or attraction, a feeling that I’ve not felt in a very, very long time. A feeling I push deep down inside of me. No. I will never let myself feel anything for anyone other than Toby, ever again.
Blowing out a tremulous breath, I shiver with fatigue and emotional exhaustion.
“Thanks… for everything.”
“You’re welcome, Lia.” He reaches for me, but I shake my head, wrapping my arms around my chest. His fingertips, so close to brushing against my arm, fall away, taking their heat with them. “I’m going to go now, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Rest up. I’ll swing by tomorrow morning at ten to drive you back to your car.”
“I’d appreciate that,” I reply, forcing myself to give him a tight smile.
“See you then,” he says, then swivels on his feet, and strides towards the door.
Only he doesn’t get very far.
If I thought tonight couldn’t get any worse, I was sorely mistaken, because right at that moment, when Drix pulls open the door, Toby sits up in bed and projectile vomits all over himself and the very expensive Egyptian cotton bed linen.
FIVE
DRIX
“Here, take this,” I say, handing Lia a glass of water for Toby to sip from.
He sits in the bath, his knees drawn up to his chest as Lia cleans his face with a washcloth. The poor kid looks wrecked, Lia not much better, and yet she still pushes on, handling the situation like a champ. I admire her so fucking much.
“Thank you,” she murmurs, taking the glass from me and handing it to Toby, helping him to take a sip before placing the glass on the ledge beside the bath. It’s been an hour since he last threw up, so it looks like the worst of it is over.
