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“They did?” My brows pinched. “Why wouldn’t they tell—”
The doorbell rang, and Peyton bolted upright off the bed. “I’ll get it.”
“Peyton,” my spine tingled, “what did you do?”
But she practically ran from my room.
“Tell me she didn’t,” I said to Ashleigh.
“Don’t look at me,” she said, shrugging. “I have no idea what she’s up to.”
But my heart knew.
It knew the second the doorbell rang.
“He can’t come up here,” I said, panic rising inside me. “I’m a complete mess.”
“Relax,” Ashleigh gave me a reassuring smile. “He cares about you, Lil. He doesn’t care what you look like.”
Oh God.
I was going to hurl.
“I don’t feel so good,” I whimpered, and Ashleigh shuffled closer to me.
“Relax, it’s only Kaiden. You have nothing to worry about. We’ll be right downstairs, okay?”
“I…” The words got stuck.
“Okay, Lil?”
“Y-yeah, okay.”
My heart crashed violently against my rib cage. Kaiden was here. In my house. And I was in my lounge pants and ratty, well-loved tank top, and my bedroom looked like a bomb had gone off.
I sat frozen in place as Ashleigh climbed off the bed and went to the door, trading places with Kaiden.
“Hey,” he said, stepping into the room, taking every ounce of air with him until my lungs felt like they might burst.
“H-hi.” I managed to choke out, noticing the ugly bruise along his jaw.
“Tell me he didn’t—”
“It’s okay,” he said. “I’m okay.”
“Kaiden, you need to tell someone.” My heart sank. He didn’t deserve this. Kaiden didn’t deserve to be made to feel less than worthy all because his dad was a bitter drunk stuck in the past.
“I didn’t come here to talk about him, Lily. I came here for you. And I’m so fucking sorry for showing up unannounced, but since you were ignoring me, Peyton thought… I can go,” uncertainty flashed in his eyes, “if you want me to.”
“No, it’s okay. I just wasn’t exactly expecting visitors.” My eyes darted around my room.
“You think I care about any of that?” He took another step toward me. “I just needed to know you’re okay.”
“Honestly, I don’t know what I feel right now. I still can’t believe she…”
“Fuck, Lily.” He dropped to his knees in front of me. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. If I’d have known—”
“Ssh.” My finger slid against his lips, silencing him. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done now.”
