“He—he was waiting outside my bedroom door. That’s it.”
His finger and thumb pinched my chin, drawing my gaze up to his. “That’s not it.”
No, it most definitely was not. But did I really want him to know how much Austin creeped me out by looking around myroom? By letting his eyes roam over my body like a treat he was going to dive into?
“Look, it’s done. He said some things, but then there was this fight between him and Wyatt and…well, you can see the destruction.”
The way his eyes bored into mine, I knew he was well aware that wasn’t the complete story. But I also wasn’t going to get into any more of it tonight. I just wanted to clean up and lounge around for the rest of the night.
As if sensing how worn out I was, he took a step back, finally releasing me. “I’ll find some wood to board up the door.”
“My dad already went to find some plastic.”
“I’ll run to the lumberyard. Message me if he finds anything.”
I nodded, finally feeling like I could breathe again when he took another step back. Once he was halfway across the room, my head started to clear and reality sank in. My house was a disaster, and I had to clean it up if I had any hopes of relaxing the rest of the night.
But first, I had to bandage this hand.
I slumpeddown on the couch, my eyes drifting shut as the aches and pains from the day fled my body. I was exhausted, and no amount of food, wine, or television could make it better. I just wanted sleep.
But that was impossible while Sam finished boarding up my door. My dad had come back with plastic, and after he helped Sam nail it to the inside of the frame, they started putting plywood over it. When the majority was done, Sam sent Dad home.
It seemed odd to me that he was able to find plywood so easily on a holiday, but when I asked, he told me he was on friendly terms with the owner of the lumber yard after they met at Seafood & More while gambling in the back room.
Thankfully, not many people in this town wouldn’t go the extra mile for a fellow citizen, even if it was a major holiday. When the drill stopped, I let my eyes drift closed and pulled a blanket off the back of the couch, snuggling under it to shield off the worst of the cold.
The throbbing in my head from this morning was returning full force, but I didn’t have the energy to move, let alone find some pills to knock out the worst of the headache.
“Cass,” Sam rumbled, his voice louder in my head than necessary.
“Hmm?”
“It’s boarded up.”
“Mm-hmm,” I added for good measure.
“Cass,” he repeated, trying to draw more out of me, but the fact was, he was barking up the wrong tree.
This was no longer just a hangover headache. This was moving into migraine territory. I could feel the spike driving into my eyeball, and if I opened my eyes and allowed the light in, things would only get worse.
“Go away,” I grumbled.
All I wanted was to turn out the lights and grab an ice pack from the freezer.
“Fine,” he huffed. “Lock the door behind me.”
I mumbled something incoherent and waved him off, grateful when I heard the door shut. Sighing, I fumbled for a pillow on the other end of the couch and pressed it against my face, blocking out the light in place of hauling my ass off the couch to turn out the lights.
“Finally,” I muttered into the soft fabric.
But that’s where my peace ended. The door swung open again, but I didn’t bother to move the pillow. I already knew who it was.
“You didn’t lock the fucking door.”
I raised my hand, giving him a thumbs-up. “Good catch.”
“Cass, I’m not fucking messing around. Get your ass up and lock the fucking door.”
