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I turned to see a girl, soaking wet—like drowned rat drenched, her hair plastered to her head and her eyes wide and filled with tears as her gaze darted from me to the umbrella.
Wait, I recognised her. Fuck, had I slept with her?
It took a second for me to register that she was Daisy, the girl I’d met in the student union not so long ago. As soon as it clicked into place, my brain caught up with the fact that she was obviously distressed and in need of help.
They didn’t call me a knight in shining armour for nothing. Okay, no one called me that, but I wasn’t someone who’d just walk past when a person needed my help. Thinking fast, I shrugged off my coat and pulled it over my head, then moved to where she was standing, dripping with water, and threw it over her as well. I was going to get soaked myself, but at least the coat would protect the upper parts of our bodies.
“Daisy, right?” I leaned into her, resting my arm across her shoulders because she was shivering and more or less crying at this point.
“Y—yes,” she sniffed. “My umbrella…the wind blew it inside out, and it broke, and I don’t have a hood on my coat. I’m so stupid. I checked the forecast before I left, but I thought I’d be okay with the umbrella.”
“Where were you going?”
She pointed in the direction of the library. “I have a study room booked, and I’m supposed to be meeting up with some people for a group project in half an hour.”
I nodded. “I’ll take you there. Maybe by the time you finish, the rain will have stopped.”
Her eyes welled up with even more tears, and another shiver racked her body. “Really? It—it’s okay if the rain hasn’t stopped by then. I can get my housemate to bring my other coat when she comes.” Glancing down at herself, she huffed out a laugh. “And a change of clothes.”
“Yeah, good idea. You don’t wanna catch pneumonia or bronchitis or whatever it is.” Lifting my head, I set the library entrance in my sights. “Ready to make a run for it? Hold on to me. I’ll make sure we get there in one piece.”
We ran for the library—or she ran, and I jogged. We’d almost made it when a figure came out of nowhere, almost knocking Daisy over. She squealed, falling into me, and I braced my legs to steady us both, trying not to lose my own balance on the wet ground.
“Sorry!” a very familiar voice called, and my head shot around, meeting wide clear blue eyes brimming with so much pain I couldn’t fucking breathe.
“Elliot,” I whispered, but he was already gone, racing away from me as fast as he could.
“Was that your friend?”
I became aware of Daisy, who was still holding on to me, and then I suddenly realised how this whole completely innocent thing might have looked to Elliot.
“Fuck!” I swore loudly, herding her towards the library doors as fast as I could. “I need to go. You sure you’ll be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Thank you,” she called, but I was already gone, tearing after my best friend, attempting to wrestle my coat on properly as I ran. Elliot was fast as fuck, but I was fit from all my hours of football and the gym, so I just had to hope I could catch him.
I ran as hard as I could, jumping over puddles and skidding around the other unfortunate people who happened to be out in this weather. The whole time, I was focused on the distant blur in front of me. Was I getting closer?
Pumping my legs as hard as I could, I sprinted down the street, realising that he was heading in the direction of our house.
It seemed like he slowed down a little, so I increased my pace, gradually closing the distance between us. We were on our road now, thank fuck, because my lungs were burning. I was fit, but I wasn’t a sprinter by any means.
Up ahead, Elliot darted between two parked cars, flying across the road. I saw the minute he realised that he was going to land in the massive puddle on the other side. He swerved, but he tripped, splashing straight through the middle, water soaking through his already drenched jeans, right up to his calves.
I heard his broken sob before the wind tore it away, and it was like an arrow to my heart. Ineverwanted to hear that sound from him again. He stumbled up the path to our house, fumbling to put the key in the lock with shaking hands, the rain pouring down on him as his shoulders shook with his cries.
Seeing someone I loved in so much pain fucking killed me.
I caught up with him at last, gasping for breath as I came to a stop right behind him. Reaching out, I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Elliot.”
He spun around, his mouth falling open and the colour draining from his face as he took me in. Tears dripped from his lashes, joined by the rain, and his bottom lip trembled. “Go away,” he croaked.
Stepping closer to him, I tightened my grip on his shoulder. I shook my head. “No.”
“P—please.” His voice broke. “Please.”
“I can’t do that, E.” Holding his gaze, I moved even closer, pushing him back against the door to give him some shelter from the rain. “I’m not leaving you again. I made that mistake already.”
Shaking his head violently, he lifted a shaking hand to press it against my chest, trying to push me away. “No. I can’t do this with you.”
