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“Can you imagine? They just went to a party,” Elizabeth was outraged.
I shrugged. “If they’re fine…,” I started, but her facial expression stopped me from finishing my sentence.
“Oh, honey,” Garret intervened. “I have to warn you. Tomorrow his face will look even worse. So don’t panic, okay?”
He patted her back, wished me good night and went upstairs. I followed him soon after because Elizabeth’s dread was getting on my nerves. I wrote about five hundred texts to Hannah, and I sent zero of them. I wasn’t sure how to explain my eagerness to find out what was happening.
I tried to sleep, but, hours later, I was still awake. Everyone else was sleeping. I didn’t know if Lucas was even coming home tonight. Maybe he had plans crashing somewhere else.
At some point, I got thirsty and went downstairs. It was two in the morning and, unfortunately, I was wide awake. It wasn’t exactly worry that kept me up. If Garret said everything was fine, I had no doubt it was. But I still felt the need to see him with my own eyes.
I was sipping water, looking at the Cole’s backyard from the kitchen windows, when a big warm hand covered my mouth from behind, and I screamed.
“It’s me, nemesis. Don’t freak out.”
Lucas slowly removed his hand from me, and I turned aggressively towards him. Even in the dark, I could clearly see his swollen cracked lip. He had a band aid on one of his brows and some uncleaned blood here and there on his face.
“Why the hell didn’t you just say something, asshole? Did you have to grab me like a rapist?” I immediately started bickering. I couldn’t risk showing him I cared about his beautiful scared face.
“Yes, I did. I would have scared the shit out of you, if I justsaidsomething.”
“You scared the shit out of me anyway.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t wake up the whole neighborhood.”
He took a bottle of water from the fridge but, instead of drinking it, he placed it on his cheek.
“Your mother was worried,” I started hesitantly.
“My mother’s always worried,” he answered, but seemed disconnected.
“Does it hurt?” I couldn’t hold that question in me anymore.
“Do you really care?” he asked, starring at the kitchen counter. His eyes were empty.
“Are you drunk?” I honestly couldn’t tell. I didn’t remember ever seeing him drunk. It was understandable. I never attended their parties.
He slowly turned his head in my direction and looked me with a frown.
“You ask a lot of questions tonight. Why is that?” he hissed.
I swallowed hard. My hands began to shake. I lifted them up and started gathering my hair as I was about to make a ponytail. I wasn’t. I just wanted to hide the trembling. His gaze dropped to my legs. I was wearing a football t-shirt with my brother’s old number on it. Tyler sent it to me last week with the following note.
“I don’t have anything yours to give back to you, but you should have something old, used, and smelly.
P.S. If you tell anyone I did that, I will harass every boyfriend you have for the rest of your life.
Ty”
The tee was huge, and I looked ridiculous, but I wore it to bed every night ever since it arrived, even though I had perfectly good brand-new pajamas that were my size. It covered most of my thighs if I didn’t put my hands in the air. Which was what I did when I made my improvised ponytail. So now my legs were at full display. I was glad it was completely covering my underwear.
Lucas slowly lifter his gaze up and looked at my face. I was embarrassed. Not because he saw my naked legs. I used to have skirts not longer than that. But the atmosphere between us changed. We weren’t in a crowded school hallway, trying to avoid each other. We were alone in the middle of the night in a dark room. The last time we were in a similar situation we had a sleepover, we were eleven, and the air around us wasn’t sizzling.
Lucas took a step closer to me.
“Why are you wearing this?” his voice was lower than usual. He tugged the end of Tyler’s t-shirt. “And where the fuck did you get it?” His fingertips brushed my bare thigh where my t-shirt ended. Shivers went through my body. I let down my hair, and he smiled. He enjoyed making me uncomfortable.
“It’s Tyler’s,” I murmured.
