AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You wouldn’t be bothering if I’m offering.” I moved around her and walked toward my house. “Come on.”
“Okay,” she grumbled. She followed behind me silently.
I walked up the steps of my porch, and held the door open for her. We made our way to my downstairs guest bathroom where there was a first aid kit.
“You can sit over there.” I gestured to the bathroom counter.
Lilt seemed to hesitate for a moment before she moved and hopped onto the counter by herself. I opened the first aid box and looked at what I had. I could feel her heavy gaze on me, and I would be lying if I said it didn’t unnerve me a little bit.
“Look to your left, please.” My eyes connected with hers, and I could have sworn the air left my lungs at that moment. My own reactions were confusing me.
I dabbed an iodine-soaked cotton swab on her forehead and made sure that it didn’t go deeper than I had thought. I was so close to her face that I could hear feel her breath on my hands as I worked. When I was done, I pulled away and created the necessary space I needed to breathe.
“What were you doing at Maddison’s?”
Her blue-grey eyes met my gaze. Why had I never noticed her eyes before? They were similar to Grayson’s but these had a unique beauty to them that made them stand out more.
“I live there now.”
“So you moved in next door?”
“Yeah. I actually moved in today. So that means we are neighbors now”
Interesting.
“And why was Max there? I get that you two are dating, but the neighborhood won’t appreciate people like Max wondering in our streets.”
Her eyes narrowed at me. “We aren’t dating. At least, not anymore. And I needed him to give me the money he owed me.”
I quirked my eyebrow up. “Work? Like being his runner for drugs?”
“No, Ethan. I was not a runner for a drug dealer. I was a bartender and waitress at his little bar.”
“He is still a bad look for the neighborhood, Lily. Don’t bring him around here anymore. He put his hands on you which should never be allowed.”
“I can handle Max. I dealt with him for over a year.”
A silent fury grew inside me.
“Did he ever hurt you?”
She shook her head. “Not in the ways that you think. It’s over now anyway. I’m not getting that money back, and I am certainly going to be out on the streets by next month. I can’t find a job anywhere.”
“You could always live with Grayson. He is your brother, after all.”
She scoffed, “Grayson is the whole reason why I’m living with Maddison. He basically kicked me out.”
“That doesn’t sound like Grayson.”
“Well, you can thank his new beloved for that decision. Apparently, they are thinking of starting a family.”
This was all news to me. Jade hadn’t mentioned anything like that but, then again, I was avoiding her.
I wondered if it was maybe a little too soon for them to be thinking about children when they just got together a few months ago.
“You don’t sound very happy about it.”
“I am happy that my brother is happy but, ever since your sister came into the picture again he has been distant. Everything is Jade this, Jade that. It’s like he doesn’t even see me anymore.”
