I sit awake all night, worried about how we can keep her safe, and while I don’t have any answers, as the sun rises and I haven’t had a second of sleep, I’ve never been so content.
Most of the next day is spent on the couches, watching movies, eating snacks, and watching Wren. She’s here, but not. She moves between Julian and me, though she seems to favor him, and I try not to take offense.
Julian was the only one who saw her from the start; the rest of us have a lot of groveling to do if we ever hope to be worthy of her.
Some of which she still doesn’t even know about.
I look over at Dimitri and find him longingly watching her, the same way he has been all day.
For as much as I wish she were as comfortable with me as she is with Julian, it must be even worse for Dimitri. I’ve seen him reach for her a few times now before he corrects himself, and the pain on his face afterward lets me know he’s missing whatever they had. He needs to figure it out, though, because I can see it’s hurting her too.
This time, there’s no slipping away to my swim meet.
Wren is up and at the table when I wake, a hot cup in front of her and bags under her eyes.
I move slowly, not wanting to spook her, as she seems really into her book, a book that I realize after a second isn’t a school book.
At least she’s doing something normal, something just for her.
The floor squeaks, and I watch as she blinks fast a few times before she turns toward me. Her lips quirk up at the edge, not a real smile but enough to make my heart race.
What is it with her?
“Good morning!”
“Morning,” I say, moving to sit opposite her, my eyes moving over her face to see how her injuries are doing.
Her lip looks pretty good, but the scratch on her face is pretty red and puffy, and her black eye might look worse today than yesterday.
She reaches up, gently pressing her fingertips beneath her eye with a frown, and I realize I’m being an ass.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, unsure what to say, but knowing I need to say something. The urge to grab her and hold her in my arms to ensure she’s safe nags at me.
“Okay.” She doesn’t meet my gaze, and nothing about her voice is convincing, but I don’t push, at least not right now.
The last thing I want to do is scare her away.
“What time is your meet?”
Her question catches me off guard, though it probably shouldn’t; she seems to know my schedule pretty well.
I shake myself from my thoughts when I realize she’s waiting for an answer.
“Not until later tonight. I need to get ready soon though, it’s about a two-hour drive.”
Her face falls, and my heart skips a damn beat.
Is she upset that I’m leaving? I don’t love the idea of her being upset because of me, but what if it’s because she doesn’t want me to go…
That primal instinct that wants to protect her can’t help but rejoice at the thought.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t have a car or even a license,” she mumbles as if it’s something to be embarrassed about.
Given the way she seems to have grown up, I’m not the least bit surprised. Honestly, I would be more shocked if she did have those things, since it would give her more freedom. Something I’m sure her aunt would never allow.
“I have a car.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop to think about them, wanting to do anything I can to make her happy.
