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Chapter 15 - Lily: Eggshells
It had been almost three weeks since our little adventure to Amberbay. I was moving on autopilot. Every day, I would think of that night we shared and how perfect it had been. I saw the way he looked into my eyes. I saw what they were trying to tell me.
He cared about me. I knew he did. In fact, I think he more than cared about me.
My father always used to say that the lips will tell you lies, but the eyes tell only the truth. Ethan’s truth was that he cared for me. I knew it, and he knew it, too, but he was fighting it.
In all honesty, I should have been doing the same. I had agreed to the one night only, but that had been before I had looked into his eyes as he made love to me. What we did was more than just sex, no matter what he thought. He may be denying it, but I was fully aware of what had gone on between us.
Why couldn't he see it too? Why did he have to force himself to deny what his heart really wanted? Me.
Was I crazy to think that maybe, just maybe, Ethan and I could work? I knew he could make me happy and I knew that I could make him happy. We just needed to take the leap. But only one of us was standing on the edge ready to jump and it wasn’t Ethan.
“Lily!” Maddison’s voice pierced my eardrum.
I felt the sharp pain, and I dropped the knife. I hissed and cradled my hand to my chest.
Maddison rounded the island and made her way toward me. She grabbed my injured hand gently in hers. She assessed the damage and walked me to the sink. She ran my hand under some cold water to wash away the blood that was still oozing from my cut.
“Why were you holding the knife like that?”
I shrugged. “I got distracted. It’s fine, Mads. No need to worry yourself. It will heal.”
She ignored me and continued to assess my hand. “I don’t think it needs stitches, but you are going to need to get it dressed, and I don’t have any bandages. Let’s go over to Ethan’s. He’s a doctor, and I’m sure he can help.”
“No!” I yelled.
“Why? You clearly need a medical professional, and we live right next door to one. He is super friendly and nice. He won’t turn you away.”
Before I could protest, she was already dragging me out of our house and toward Ethan’s house. This was the last place I wanted to be.
Maddison didn’t know what had happened between Ethan and I. I hadn’t wanted to talk about it. We didn’t have that kind of relationship anyway.
“Maddison, I’m fine. Really.”
She looked over her shoulder, as she continued to pull me toward his house. “Don’t be difficult, Lily. It will only take a few minutes, I’m sure.”
“Maddison,” I gritted, but it was too late. We were already walking up the stairs toward the front door.
Maddison came to a halt. She knocked on the door, and we waited. When a few seconds passed, she knocked again.
“Oh, would you look at that. It seems like no one is home. Time to go.”
Maddison pulled me back to her side. “What is your problem? Ethan can help us.”
The door opened, but it wasn’t Ethan who answered. Standing in the threshold was Marcus, one of my brother's closest friends. His brown hair was damp, and he was only in a towel. His brown eyes weren’t trained on me, though. They were looking at Maddison.
“Hey, Marcus,” I tried to break the obvious awkward tension.
He grunted in greeting, but he didn’t look at me. He was staring at Maddison with a playful smirk on his face.
I looked at Maddison and found that she was staring at him with disdain. She looked like she wanted to stab the man. What was going on?
“You.” She pointed her finger at him. “What the hell are you doing here?”
One side of his mouth tilted up in a cocky smirk. “Me? What are you doing here, Maddison? Shouldn’t you be in some fancy penthouse living it up in New York? I thought Riverroad was a ‘trash bin’ that you wanted no part of.”
“Shut up, Marcus. We are looking for Ethan. I need his help.”
