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“I wish. If Trent wouldn’t have pulled me off of him, I would have. He’s completely unrecognizable, his eyes were swollen shut and his whole face was black and blue. They took him to the hospital and were taking him into custody once he was stable. I have a friend in the police department, he promised to keep me updated.”
She nodded, understanding what I had told her. She placed her cheek against my chest. “I think the only thing we can do now, is try to move on. Forget last night happened and just try to get through. The shop opens in a couple hours, we should get up.” Lennox sat up, giving me full view of her bruised neck. I took a deep breath, needing to release the anger any way I could.
I locked my eyes with hers. I knew she wasn’t okay, but she was right. What else could we do? We didn’t have a choice, we had to push on.
I nodded before sitting up beside her and taking her by the hand to lead her to the shower.
We took our time washing each other. I saw several more bruises on her that weren’t there the day before. I knew they were from the attack the night before. I didn’t point them out, but I felt my body go ridged. Lennox didn’t seem to notice though, and if she did, she didn’t say anything about it either.
I left her alone to dress while I went and started the coffee. While it brewed, I threw us both a muffin in the toaster oven. I wasn’t in the mood to cook. My whole body felt heavy from the stress of the night before. It felt like it took every ounce of strength I had, just to get out of bed.
Lennox came bouncing down the stairs in a pair of jean shorts and a hoodie with the sleeves pulled up. I knew her bruised neck couldn’t be covered with makeup, but between the sweatshirt and her long hair, she managed to keep her neck hidden.
We pulled up to the shop a little while later. The manager had already let in all the employees and everyone was there waiting. Lennox and I walked in and everyone stood at attention.
“Is everyone ready for today?” I asked.
They quietly cheered.
Lennox and Jess set up a table full of food and drinks for the grand reopening, while everyone else started getting ready to open. I stood in front of my office door, staring at it, but only seeing the memories from the night before.
“Are you going to go inside?” Lennox asked from behind me. I jumped slightly. I was so zoned out that I didn’t even hear her come up behind me.
“Yeah, I guess I need to finish getting it straightened out.” I put my hand on the handle and pushed the door open.
The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the sticky blood that puddled on the floor. Then my eyes jumped to where Lennox was laying. I saw her like she was really there, shirt cut open, chest unmoving, skin pale. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes to clear out the images.
“Mason.” Lennox’s voice drew me out of my head. I turned to look at her. “I’m fine. Everything is okay. I’m right here.” She closed the distance between us and pressed herself against my chest.
My chest was heaving, on the verge of a panic attack. She pulled me down and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. I let her heat sink in, along with her scent, and let it regulate my breathing.
I pulled her closer, just needing to feel her, needing to remind myself that she was there with me. She was there and she was mine. I wrapped my hands around her and walked her backward, using her back to close the door.
When the door was shut and we were alone, I picked her up, straddling me.
Her hands roamed my body as mine felt every inch of hers. Our lips never left each others. I think we were both feeling overwhelmed being back in there. Suddenly it was clear to the both of us what could’ve been lost the night before. We were just processing anyway we could.
Before we could get carried away, someone knocked on the door.
“Yeah?” I asked, not bothering to let Lennox down or open the door.
“Mase, come help me get the computer started up. The program isn’t wanting to work right and we open soon,” Trent said through the door.
“Be there in a sec.” I let out a long breath and rested my forehead against hers. “I love you.”
She smiled sweetly. “I love you too, Mason.” She pressed one more kiss to my lips before I set her on her feet to g
