When he makes it to the front door, a loud gasp sounds. Grandma. She ushers him in and tells him to put me in my room. He stumbles and stops and glances around until Grandma points him in the right direction. Momentarily, I wonder if the hair is still on the pillow. I didn’t move it. I couldn’t.
Before he rests me on the mattress, I notice there’s nothing on the case. Releasing a silent breath of relief, I flutter my chilly eyelids until I’m watching his grim features.
He isn’t looking around the room.
He isn’t snooping through my stuff.
He’s staring at me. Watching.
He’s…worried.
“W-What are y-you doing here?”
Grandma comes in before he can answer, ushering him out. “I need to get her out of these cold clothes. I’ll let you back in when she’s changed.”
She closes the door on him just as he steps over the threshold into the hall. Grandma scolds me under her breath as she peels off my coat and shoes, then carefully helps me slide out of my jeans and socks, and slipping off my shirt. Beside her on the nightstand is a wet washcloth, and my body eases into the warmth of it when she starts carefully pressing it against my skin.
“Don’t ever do that again, Emmy.” Her voice cracks and for the first time, I realize just how much she’s gone through.
I’ve always worried about Mama.
But so has she.
Only she’s had the burden to worry about me too, and that was never fair to her. She shouldn’t have to concern herself over two generations of broken women.
I swallow. “I miss Logan.”
She pauses what she’s doing, setting the washcloth down and blotting me with a dry cotton towel. “I know. We all do.”
“I miss Mama, too.”
She grabs my pajama pants and helps me put them on. The fuzzy material feels perfect against my skin. The long sleeve top she chose matches the floral bottoms, and she makes quick to put the blanket over me once I’m fully dressed, tucking the edges under my body.
“I think your mother misses herself too.”
Chapter Twenty
I wake up in a haze. Something feels off. Blinking my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, I attempt to move only to find something holding me down.
Pressing my lips together, I slowly gaze downward at the toned arm draped around my midsection. Eyes widening, I try remembering what happened before I fell asleep. Grandma had brought me grilled cheese and tomato soup, Kaiden told me tomato soup was gross, and—
Kaiden.
Just as I’m about to wiggle my way out of his grip, he tightens it. “It’s too fucking early,” he mumbles, voice muffled by sleepiness.
“What are you doing?” I hiss, trying to get out of bed.
He won’t let me. “I’m trying to sleep, but you’re being annoying.”
Scoffing, I try prying his arm off me again. “I can’t believe you’re in my bed. You do know there’s one right over there if you wanted to sleep!”
He grumbles and pulls me against his body. Being pressed against him is like having my own personal heater, which I normally wouldn’t complain about. My back is against his solid front, and I wonder how much time he puts into working out. When his lips brush my ear, I freeze in his hold. “Do you really want me on that bed, Mouse?”
I’m about to tell him off when I realize he probably doesn’t mean it in the way I think. His voice isn’t cocky or slimy, it’s knowing. Closing my mouth, I glance at Lo’s made bed. It isn’t even the same one she slept on. The one she passed away in was taken away a few days after the funeral. I’m surprised they even put a new mattress in the room. It’s not like anyone would need it.
“That’s what I thought,” he says, letting out a tiny breath that tickles my cheek. “You were shivering, so I thought this might help warm you up. Now stop talking.”
He makes himself comfortable, his nose nuzzling in the crook of my neck and causing my arms to pimple with goosebumps. I wish I were uncomfortable, but there’s not even a lick of pain I could use to get him away. As if he knows that, his arm hugs me to him, molding my body to his.
Oh my God.
Is this spooning?
My heart is going haywire in my chest. I’ve never cuddled with a boy before, much less slept next to one. The fact he’s so content only makes my anxiety worse.
“Kaiden?”
“Go to sleep.”
“What are you doing here?”
I jerk when I feel his teeth nip the top of my shoulder. “I thought we established that. I’m—”
I wiggle away from him only to press my butt against something hard. “In my hometown, Kaiden.”
He groans and holds my hips still. “I need you to stop moving around unless you’re willing to help me out.”
Brows pinched, I consider his words in silence while his breathing evens out. When I put two and two together, my throat thickens and I carefully scoot away until I’m on the edge of the already tiny bed. Gripping the mattress, I stare at the carpet and wait for him to answer.
“I was bored.”
“Most people watch television or, I don’t know, hang out with friends.” Trying to get comfortable leaves me struggling for balance, and I almost fall on the floor until Kaiden hooks his arm around me and yanks me over to him.
Body heating when he moves to hover over me, I try looking at anything but him. His large frame takes over my senses though as he cages me in. All I see is how his red cotton shirt drapes from the collar just enough to see the sculpted body underneath. His natural woodsy scent reminds me of the trees I climbed once upon a time. But it’s his eyes, dark and penetrating, that get me the most. Once I lock my gaze on them I’m stuck there.
Licking my dry lips, I murmur, “It isn’t like you don’t have a following of minions you could force to hang out with you. If you were that bored, you could have asked Rachel. I doubt it would take much.”
His lips curve. “That sounds oddly like jealousy, Mouse. For the record, I’m still pissed at Rachel for pulling what she did. I didn’t know she took your key at school or grabbed the one outside.”
We stare for a moment.
Then I shrug.
I vaguely remember Rachel bumping into me at school. I dropped my things and watched as she picked a few of them up. Silly me for thinking she was being nice.
He flicks my chin. “Rach and I used to be close when we were younger. Honestly, she annoys the shit out of me now.”
I hesitate to reply. “So why do you hang out with her?”
He doesn’t answer.
“Kaiden.”
His smirk is wide. “Have to say, Em, I like my name on that mouth of yours.”
I suck in a breath when he dips down, thinking he’s about to kiss me. I don’t want my first kiss to be on my old bed in the room my sister died in. And I shouldn’t want it to be with Kaiden.
Instead, his lips brush the right side of my mouth, then trail to my ear. “Nostalgia.”
I blink.
He pushes himself back up. “Rachel reminds me of what it was like before I let everything get to me. Before your dad came into the picture, Mom was always on my ass about my feelings and shit. It was…” He paused. “Rachel helped me forget about it all.”