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Dax chuckles at my response, but his smile quickly falls as he leans closer, serious now. For a moment I think he’s going to kiss me as his eyes soften with his touch. Then Zayn peers over his shoulder and he sits back suddenly, his fingers pressing against the bump on my head a little harder than he intended.
“Ow,” I whimper, my head pounding in time with my heart.
“Shit, sorry,” he mutters, pulling his hands away as guilt lacerates his face.
“Fuck me, Pen, you scared us all to death,” Zayn says, blowing out a long breath. His night-time eyes rove over every inch of my face as he takes me in. There’s something in the depths of them that makes me feel all warm inside. Heat creeps up my neck at his attention. At both of their attention. “You’ve been out almost an hour.” He’s no longer high, and there’s a seriousness to his gaze that has me swallowing hard.
“I’ll get you some painkillers. I always carry some in my rucksack,” Dax explains, indicating for Zayn to take his place, and moves away abruptly. I try to turn and look at him, but it hurts too much to move.
“Thanks,” I murmur, blinking back the pain that’s like a knife pressed into my skull. “What happened?”
“You cracked your head on the crate. Knocked you clean out. You’ve got a small cut and a lump, but it’s not deep enough to need stitches. York did some first aid and patched you up whilst you were sleeping,” Zayn explains.
“How did I manage…”
Then I wince as it all comes back to me in a rush. Xeno pushed me out of the way so he could punch Dax. They were fighting. My eyes widen and a sick feeling churns in my stomach.
“Yeah, Dax and Xeno were at each other’s throats. York’s taken Xeno for a walk to calm him down. I’ve never seen him so upset.”
“Because of his fight with Dax?”
“No, because he hurt you. The guy’s cut up about it. The second you hit the deck, they pulled their heads out of their arses and stopped fighting.”
“I can hear you, you know,” Dax grumbles from the other side of the room.
“I know, dickwad,” Zayn retorts.
“Why were they fighting anyway?” I ask quietly, though deep down inside I think I know the answer already.
“Over you,” a familiar voice states.
Zayn gives me a look before leaning over and pressing a gentle kiss against my forehead. The imprint of his kiss remains warm against my skin long after he’s pulled away. When he moves out of my line of sight, I see York and Xeno in the doorway. Xeno looks grim and York relieved.
“We came back as soon as Dax texted us you’d woken up. How’re you doing, Titch?” York asks me.
“Like I’ve had a bang on the head.” I pull a face, then wince, then laugh.
“Fuck,” Xeno mutters under his breath. “I’m so sorry, Pen.” When he uses my name, I know he’s serious. He looks pale, haunted.
“That’s Tiny to you,” I murmur, forgiving him in an instant. He didn’t mean to hurt me, I know that. We all do.
Dax hands me the painkillers and after I’ve rested for another ten minutes, I finally feel okay enough to sit up. The pain in my head is a dull throb but manageable. Drawing on a long sigh, I fold my hands together in my lap and look at each of my Breakers in turn, feeling exhausted but determined. “I think we need to talk,” I say gently.
York grins, giving me a warm smile “Thank fuck. It’s time the air was cleared.”
“I agree,” Zayn says, looking at me in such a way that makes my skin heat.
Xeno catches my eye. “Yeah, we do need to talk. It’s time for the truth.”
“The truth,” Dax repeats, nodding tightly.
