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“Yeah, toppled right off the darn thing, caught my face on the edge of a chair,” he replies eventually, rubbing his jaw where a bruise is beginning to form. There’s another on his cheek, and his lip is split too. “My shoulder took the brunt of the fall, luckily I remembered not to put my hand out, might’ve broken something otherwise.”
“Does it hurt?” Toby asks him, sliding off his seat to gently prod at the darkened bruise on Drix's cheek.
“Nah, I’m good,” he replies, ruffling Toby's hair with a small smile.
“You know, you should sue Dalton,” Daisy remarks, before swallowing a mouthful of homemade lemon sorbet, her face lighting with pleasure. "Oh my God, Lia, you could sell this to the masses. It's delicious," she adds with a groan.
“Sue him?” Drix shakes his head. “He’s my best mate, Daisy, why would I do that? Besides, it ain’t his fault I’m a clumsy idiot.”
“Because he’s loaded, and it would be fun to piss him off,” she replies with a mischievous smile.
“Daisy!” Toby laughs. “You said a rude word!”
“Who me? No, I didn't,” she argues playfully.
“Yes, you did. That means you owe a pound to the swear jar,” Toby says, grinning.
“Okay, fine. I’ll pop one in there just as soon as I’ve finished eating your mum’s yummy sorbet," Daisy concedes with a smile.
“Here we go, Toby,” I say, passing him a bowl, and dishing up some to Drix too.
“Thanks,” Drix replies, giving me a soft smile as they both tuck in.
A couple of spoonfuls later, a tiny furrow appears between Drix's eyebrows, and he inhales sharply, his tongue running over the split in his lip. "Damn," he mutters.
"Oh no, the lemon. I didn't think," I say, knowing that the acidity from the lemon juice would likely cause some discomfort. “I’m sorry, Drix.
"Don’t be. It tastes delicious," he replies, resting the spoon back into the bowl and giving me a smile, "But I think I should avoid eating more of this until my lip heals."
Daisy reaches across the table, grabbing Drix’s bowl. "Well, that just means more for us then," she says with a wink, sharing what's left of his dessert with Toby.
"Knock yourself out. I'm gonna head up to my room, see to this," Drix says, pointing to his lip as he gives me a brief glance. "Thank you for dinner, Lia. It was delicious."
As I listen to the creaking of the stairs under Drix's weight, I exchange glances with Daisy. "Maybe I should fetch him a painkiller?" I suggest, chewing on my lip as I try to shake off this feeling of unease. He’s been acting weird since he got home, and I wonder if it’s because he’s in more pain than he’s letting on or maybe he's just had a bad day. I haven’t met Robert Blade yet, but if he’s anything like Carl Gunn, he can’t be an easy man to work for.
"Top shelf on the right," Daisy says, pointing to the cabinet in the far corner of the kitchen. "Though I'm sure he can look after himself, unless you want to of course," she adds, glancing up at me with a smirk.
"I’ll only be a minute," I reply, ignoring her suggestive tone as I grab some painkillers and fill a glass of water from the tap.
"Take all the time you need," Daisy calls after me, laughter in her voice.
As I enter Drix's bedroom, the sound of water running in his ensuite bathroom fills the air. I pause at the threshold, hesitant to disturb him.
"Drix, can I come in?" I ask softly.
"Sure," he replies.
In the mirror above the sink, I see him dabbing a cotton pad against his lip, his gaze meeting mine in the reflection. My stomach churns at the look in his eyes, it's a mixture of pain and vulnerability that I haven't seen before.
"Darn thing won't stop bleeding," he mutters in frustration.
Concern washes over me immediately, and I remember the painkillers and glass of water I brought with me. "I thought you might need something for the pain," I explain, offering them to him.
"Thank you," he says, turning to face me so he can take them from my outstretched hand, quickly popping the pills into his mouth and washing them down with a gulp of water.
As he sets the glass down on the counter, his gaze lingers on me for a moment, and a palpable tension hangs between us. It's a mix of emotions–worry, gratitude, longing–that makes my heart beat faster.
“Lia, I–”
