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Ineedto help her.
What the fuck happened to you, Jade? And how did I miss it so far?
But I can’t ask. Not now. Not when she’s like this and needs my help. Needs me to take care of her.
Gripping the back of my shirt, I pull it over my head and let it drop on the floor before shoving down my pants and underwear. Finally naked, I pick her up in my arms.
“Together, okay?” I whisper as I somehow get us both in the bathtub and sit down, Jade in my arms. “I’m here, the whole time. I’m here. Okay?”
She nods as she squeezes herself against me. I grab the showerhead and turn on the water, making sure the temperature is good before I start to wash her.
The sound of the water is the only thing filling an otherwise quiet room. I watch as pink water trickles down the drain as I wash the blood away. Only when I’m completely sure that I got all of it, do I grab her shampoo from the shelf.
The scent of lavender fills the room as I squeeze some on my hand and start washing her hair. It doesn’t seem like she has any injuries on her scalp. In reality, her face took the worst of it. There are some bruises and scrapes on her hand and torso, and one of her knees is scraped, too, probably from a fall, but it seems like she’s okay.
She’s okay.
Rinsing out her hair, I grab the body wash and place some on my hands, sliding them gently over her body. My movements are methodical as I wash her, and then wash myself before rinsing us both off.
Grabbing the towel from the hook, I wrap it around Jade’s shoulders and help dry her off the best I can before picking her up and getting out of the bathtub. I place her on the toilet seat and grab a towel for myself. I quickly dry off and tie it around my hips before crouching before Jade once again to give her a good look. Her face still looks pretty bad, but all the bleeding seems to have stopped, so there is that.
As gently as I can, I cup her cheek and skim my finger over the tender flesh. “What happened out there, Jade? Pit fight? Seriously?”
“Can we… not?” She looks away, avoiding my gaze. “Not tonight, please?”
“Okay.” I let out a sigh, “Not tonight.”
But soon. We’ll have to talk about what happened soon.
Helping Jade to her feet, I walk her to her bed. I rummage through her closet until I find a large t-shirt and help slide it over her head. Then, I go to the drawer in which I stashed a few of my clothes and pull out a pair of basketball shorts.
When I turn around, I find that Jade’s already lying under the covers. I just stand there watching her, letting myself drink her in. Drink in this moment and the fact that she’s okay. Sleeping in her bed.
Jade looks over her shoulder, that one blue eye meeting mine. “You should probably put ice on that. It might help—”
“Come here,” Jade rasps, her voice low.
“What?”
My throat tightens, that knot that’s been there ever since I saw her in that car growing bigger and making it hard to breathe.
“Hold me? Please? I need you to hold me tonight.”
I don’t need to be told twice. Pushing away the covers, I slide behind Jade, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her to my chest. She feels so small in my arms. So breakable.
She could have been seriously hurt tonight. She could have been seriously hurt, and I…
Jade lets out a soft sob, her body shaking.
“Shh…” I whisper, tightening my hold on her. “I’ve gotcha. You’re safe.”
I keep murmuring those words as I gently stroke her hair long after she stops crying. But even with Jade asleep, I don’t let go. I hold her long after I’ve fallen asleep.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINE
JADE
A loudbangsnaps me out of my dreamless sleep. I moan in protest, snuggling deeper into the warm body next to mine. Prescott. I know I probably shouldn’t get used to this, after all, we’ve just agreed to sex, but at this moment, I don’t really care. He’s warm, and his arms are wrapped around me tightly.
