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I groaned and glared over my shoulder at him. “What?”
He shook his head, seeming upset and regretful. “I never said thank you. For last night.”
I sniffed and rolled my eyes. “Just save it. After the way you ditched out on me this morning without a goodbye or fuck-you, or anything, I don’t even want to hear how grateful you are.”
“I am grateful,” he insisted softly. “I was just…Jesus,” he glanced around as if devastated. “You saved my life. Y-you’ve just done too much for me. How can I…how can I take more from you? I don’t want to use you like that.”
“You’re not—” Realizing I wasn’t going to convince him he wasn’t using me, I groaned and cut myself off, trying a new track. “Fine. Pay me back, then. I don’t care. Just get your ass into gear, Hilliard. I’m cold.”
He started to move, even as he asked, “But how am I supposed to pay you back? I don’t have anything anymore.”
“I don’t know,” I answered distractedly as I opened the door and tugged him into the apartment. “We’ll fi
gure something out. Later.”
I led him up the stairs and back to my room. Once I nudged him inside in front of me, I closed us alone in my room and turned on the light, ready to scold him some more, even as I ripped off my wet socks.
But when he turned to look at me, my mouth fell open.
“Oh my God, your face.” I pointed at him, trying to catch my breath. “What the hell happened? Half those bruises were not there this morning.”
An amused smile came over him before he glanced down at his hands where there was a cut on his knuckles. “It was the strangest thing. I ran across the cowboy of all people at McDonalds when I was getting myself some lunch.” Smile stretching wider, he shrugged helplessly at me. “Apparently, this town just isn’t big enough for the two of us.”
I blinked at him. “Seriously?” I finally asked. “You just accidently ran across him? You didn’t seek him out?”
His eyes widened. “Why the fuck would I seek him out?”
“I thought he was the reason you were kicked out of your fraternity. And you know, deep down, he has to be aware his sister’s lying. If he’d gone the justice route and stuck up for you instead of being stupidly loyal to her, you might not have been kicked out of school or the fraternity or—”
Beck lifted his hands, stopping me mid-talk. “Trust me, I didn’t go on a revenge-seeking mission. I was perfectly content with never seeing him again.” With a wince, he shifted and clutched his side.
“What’s wrong?” I demanded, approaching him. “Where does it hurt?”
“I’m fine,” he insisted, though his face was pale and he couldn’t hide the pain from his eyes. “Just bruised, maybe cracked a few ribs.”
“Let me see.” I reached out. He lifted his arm to block me, but I batted the annoying limb out of my way and yanked up his hoodie. Underneath was a white t-shirt, so I yanked that up too, only to gasp from the amount of bruises on his side.
“They’re not all from today,” he insisted, as if that made any kind of difference. “Actually I don’t know if any of them are from today. I think all of them came from Melody’s boyfriend and my ex-fellow inmates. I was just kidding about them being cracked. I’m sure they’re only bruised.”
I sucked in a wince. “Holy shit, Beckett. These look nasty. I was about to make a nest of blankets on the floor for you, but I can’t let you to sleep on the hard floor in this condition.”
He pulled his shirt and hoodie down to cover the discolored skin. “Yes, you can. It’s fine. I’ll be fine.”
“Whatever. Just get on the bed already,” I groused, pointing it out to him. He opened his mouth to argue, but I help up a hand. “We both slept there together last night, and no one died. It’ll be fine.”
He frowned and closed his mouth, then took a deep breath before tipping his head and quietly asking, “Why are you doing all this for me?”
I huffed out a laugh and shook my head. But he just kept watching me, waiting for a serious answer, so I sighed and admitted, “I have no idea. I don’t think I could explain it if I had to.”
His eyes squinted slightly as he if were peering straight into my innermost feelings. Then he nodded slowly. “Okay,” he said simply. His gaze slid toward the bed. I couldn’t tell from his expression if he was dreading getting on the mattress with me or if he was actually looking forward to a comfortable place to sleep.
But then he turned back to me and pointed toward the bathroom. “That’s a bathroom, right? Do you mind if I…?”
“Oh!” I have no idea why I was surprised by the notion, but I flushed and quickly nodded. “Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”
He murmured his thanks and disappeared behind the door. A few minutes later, I heard water running and then he re-emerged. He’d taken off his shoes and shed his hoodie. He looked thinner and more vulnerable in just the T-shirt. The need to go to him and wrap my arm around him, offering comfort, rose in me.
I was afraid this guy might be turning me into a hugger. I’m not sure if I liked that or not.
