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“I didn’t want him to. I really didn’t.” She moans, curling up tighter than before. “But after what we did. With everybody watching.”
Hayes grunts. “You’re allowed to say no.”
I almost can’t believe this is coming from him, but then he seems to feel a lot different toward her than he does toward me. Almost like he’s a different person.
I’m sure Lucy’s in bed by the time we pull up at the house, so I’m not worried about anybody finding us. I help Salem out of the back seat while Hayes goes up to unlock the front door.
“We’ll get you cleaned up,” I promise as she clings to me.
“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it.”
“I know. I’m so sorry.”
Hayes follows us up the stairs like he’s ready to catch Salem if she can’t make it, but she does. I take her to my room and turn on the shower. He goes to his room, where I assume he’s going to clean up the blood on his shirt and body.
I can’t believe any of this is happening either. I can’t believe I saw what I saw. I can’t get the image out of my head: Logan on top of her, ignoring the way she screamed and pleaded with him. If it didn’t mean anything for Hayes, I’d be glad if Logan was dead.
While Salem is in the shower, I change my clothes and pull out a pair of pajamas for her. I hear her weeping softly in there and check on her, but she tells me she’ll be fine. I hate feeling this helpless.
By the time she’s finished and drying off, I’ve set ibuprofen and a couple of bottles of water on the nightstand by my bed. She waves off a heating pad before taking the medicine, along with half a bottle of water. As an afterthought, I go through the closet where the housekeeper keeps some of the cleaning supplies and pull out a bucket. Just in case she feels sick to her stomach.
“Thank you.” Salem peers up at me as I tuck her in. Her hair is still damp, fanned out over the pillow. Her face is scrubbed clean, her skin pink enough to tell me she rubbed extra hard. I guess I would do the same thing.
“You’re welcome. I’ll be back in a little bit. I’m just going to go check on Hayes.”
She nods before rolling onto her side, the blankets up around her shoulders. I feel bad about leaving her alone for even a minute, but she closes her eyes like she’s going to try to sleep. I leave the small lamp on the desk burning just in case she needs it.
Hayes’s bedroom door is open, but the lights are off. He’s not in his bathroom, and the next best guess is the kitchen, so I go down there to find him holding a dish towel full of ice against the knuckles of his right hand. He’s showered and changed, and aside from those knuckles, nobody would know what happened less than an hour ago.
“Is she okay?” he asks as I walk into the room, examining the bruises rising on his fist before leaning against the island, across from where he stands at the counter.
“Define okay.” He nods slowly at my answer. “She’s as okay as she can be. I know it’s not my place to thank you, since I wasn’t the one being hurt, but thank you anyway.”
“Don’t kid yourself. I saw you land on your back. He could’ve...” He shakes his head before finishing the thought. Not that he has to. Now I have a whole headful of nightmares.
“Are you worried?”
“What would I be worried about?”
“Come on. Let’s be real for a minute. What if he talks to the cops?”
“What if he does? He doesn’t even know who I am.”
“He might be able to describe you.”
“It was dark. Would you stop?”
“I’m just worried, that’s all.”
“You worry too much.” He lifts the ice from his knuckles and winces a little, flexing his hand. How can he be so calm at a time like this? He could be in serious trouble. I hate that I even care, but I can’t help it. He might’ve done something bad, but it was for the right reason.
“You should be like this more often,” I say.
He lifts an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. Like, nice. Talking to me.”
It’s the slightest little change. The shift in his posture. The tightening of his jaw. “Don’t get all excited. This is about Salem.”
“I just wish you would let me know what I did to deserve this. I never tried to be anything but your friend.”
“Are you really trying to start this again? Don’t you know when to leave shit alone?” When he drops the ice pack onto the counter, I know I’ve done it. I took it a step too far.
