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“You’re talking like you’ve been in this situation before,” she murmurs. I don’t tell her that I have, many times. I just urge her to hurry before her mum gets home.
She doesn't even question why I’m going to burn her clothes. But I know Axel’s dad and how he likes to operate. He’ll need a scapegoat for tonight and I won’t let Peony be it. Even if it means defying him, I’m going to give her an alibi and protect her with my life.
“I’m going to run the shower while you strip. Check your feet are clean before stepping off the mat, and then make a dash for it. I won’t look, and once you’re done, I’ll take care of your things.”
She swallows, nods, opens her mouth then hesitates. “Zie?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you…” Her cheeks tint. “Will you stay with me while I shower? I don’t want to be alone. Can you get rid of…things later?” She doesn’t meet my eye but I can already see the blush colouring her neck.
“If that’s what you want,” I reply cautiously.
“It is. I don’t want to be alone.”
“But your mum—”
“Is pulling another all nighter. That's why I went over to Kaiden’s in the first place.”
I nod my understanding. It makes sense. The pair of them hate being alone, and they’ll often spend the night together when Peony’s mum is working all night. Kaiden’s parents barely give a fuck where he is or what he’s doing…except when his dad needs an outlet for his alcohol-fuelled rage.
“I’ll run the shower, knock when you’re ready so I can close my eyes,” I say, then leave her to get ready.
Upstairs, I crank the shower as hot as it will go, solely to steam up the room – namely the mirrors and the glass shower screen – as much as possible. I wouldn’t dream of leaving Peony now she’s asked me to stay, but she must really be traumatised by tonight’s events if she’s not even considered the fact that I’ll be in the same room as her while she’s naked.
Peony knocks on the door just as I’m adjusting the shower so that it doesn’t scald her, and I promise once again to keep my eyes closed as she enters.
“Okay, you can open your eyes now,” she calls softly a minute later. I’m so attuned to her that I hear her even over the shower. I open my eyes and can just make out her silhouette through the steam on the glass. We may have been secretly…dating I guess…for a while now, but things between us have been pretty PG. Still, I know how much her body has changed over the years and even more in recent months. The blurred outline of her body through the glass is tantalising and if my brother didn’t just almost die at the hands of a sadist tonight, I might be tempted to do more than peek and take our relationship to the next level.
“Zie?”
“Huh? Sorry, did you say something?”
“I just asked if you could grab the nail brush out from the drawer by the sink for me please.”
“Sorry, I was miles away.”
I quickly grab the item for her and pass it over, my arm getting wet in the process.
“Is blood always this much of a bitch to get off?” she complains.
“Sometimes it’s worse. Depends how long it’s been dried on.” I hastily apologise for my over-honesty when she shudders at my statement. What the fuck is wrong with me? I need to keep my mouth shut.
Peony isn’t cut out for this world. I finally see what Axel has been saying for years. While he’s been pulling away, accepting his destiny, I’ve been fighting mine, using Peony as a life raft to save myself from sinking into the darkness of what my future holds.
Peony may have been our past, and my present, but she can’t be our future.
“I should go.”
“Please stay,” she begs, stepping past the shower screen and standing before me in her full blood streaked, naked glory. Her eyes are wide, wild and terrified. “There’s so much blood and I can’t…I can’t get it off, Zie. Help me. Please?”
Swallowing hard, I nod once. Fuck. Even covered in blood she’s beautiful. I don’t hesitate to step into the shower, fully clothed, and take her in my arms. “Let me. I’ll get you clean. I’ll fix this mess, I promise.”
I’m not just talking about the blood anymore.
