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“To know that I genuinely like you?” I asked.
“Yes. Not just for my name, but for me. I’m not that easy of a person to be around.”
“I know.”
He chuckled, finally relaxing completely, his face softening as he stared down at me. “I do care about you a lot. It’s hard for me to show it, but I really do. It’s different when you’re around, like I can finally breathe. Like I don’t need to care about all the stupid shit with my parents.”
“I know you do. You show it differently than the others, but these last couple of months, I got the message.”
He smiled, all boyishly adorable, not that I was going to tell him that. “Good.”
We snuggled together as we kept watching the sun. November was always weird as it got darker so much earlier. And colder.
“Ready to go back inside?” Bryan asked.
“No, not yet. I need the space.”
“Need me to go away.”
I squeezed his arm. “No. I need you here with me.” I almost wanted to laugh at how it changed. I had been his date to one of his fancy parties, and we had snuck away from all the chaos. I had been his buffer that night.
Tonight, he felt like my buffer against my dad and Micah’s parents. A buffer against all the changes I didn’t have the brain capacity to fully absorb. At least not right at the moment.
Chapter Thirty-Two
I was only half asleep when my phone buzzed early Friday morning. Blinking at the bright light, I tried to read the screen. My sleep-deprived mind took a moment to register the name on the screen.
Justin.
“Are you okay?” I asked as soon as I answered, my heart thudding hard as I prepared myself for bad news. Early morning calls like this couldn’t be good and the guys made it a point not to disturb me so early in case I was finally getting sleep.
Justin’s voice was barely audible as he said, “My dad woke up. I’m already at the hospital.”
The tightness in his voice had me out of the bed, trying to find clothes to throw on.
“I’m on my way,” I said.
“Thank you.” He hung up.
I went on autopilot as I got ready and practically ran out of the door. It couldn’t be good if Justin needed me there with him, right?
Fear and worry gripped me hard all the way to the hospital and I almost ran into the hospital room, not sure what to expect exactly. I only stopped because Justin was in the hallway, hunched over in himself. He never looked so small before.
“Justin,” I said softly, moving next to him and resting my hand on his curved back.
He stiffened but remained unmoving for a long time. Then slowly, he uncurled himself, once against standing taller than me.
“Is he okay?” I asked.
Justin pressed his lips tightly together and shook his head, his blue eyes watery with emotions. He drew in a breath and cleared his throat.
“Good enough to wake up. I haven’t gone in to see him yet.”
“Why not?” I asked.
He glanced over at the window with the closed blinds. “He hurt a nurse.”
The first question I wanted to ask was how he had all that energy for a dying man, but I held back. Barely. I understood what was holding him back.
