“You son of a bitch!” I cried.
“My bad,” I heard Jimmy drawl. “See, promises don’t mean much to me.”
Ignoring all caution, my rage bubbled to the surface.
I looked around, desperate to do something, anything, to make him hurt, finding nothing but my purse hanging off my shoulder.
I gripped it by the handle and raised my arm, ready to fling the clutch at him if it was the best I could come up with, overlooking how harmless it would really be. How ridiculous.
Warm fingers wrapped around my wrist, and the only voice in the world that could have stopped me from doing something so stupid spoke, “Rosie, no.”
My lips parted, and I heard myself saying, “Yes.”
Those fingers spread, their touch anchoring me. Grounding me. “Don’t engage. You promised me.” I had, but that had been before Lucas had taken that ugly hit. “Put down the bag.”
It wasn’t the plea in his voice. It was the knowledge of him standing on his feet, the pain lacing his voice, that made me obey. I looked at him, and he even managed a smile. “He’s not worth it.”
He wasn’t.
But for the first time in my life, I wanted to choose violence.
“Let’s go home.” Lucas’s fingers pulled at my arm, extricating my purse from my death grip. He slipped it on his arm, even when I told him I could carry it myself. But Lucas didn’t listen. He straightened and threw an arm around my shoulders, leaning some of his weight on me. He walked with me, and I could tell he was biting through the pain. When we reached the car, Lucas turned. “I have nothing to lose, Jimmy. Nothing. And you’d be wise to remember that, because next time I won’t be walking away.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Rosie
Nobody said a word on the way back to the apartment.
Olly gazed out the window, his bare torso covered by Lucas’s coat.
I sat between the two men, linking my arm with my brother. And Lucas, whose face had been void of any kind of emotion, held my hand tightly. As if I was the one in need of support.
Me, when it had been him on the ground. Me, when he was the one in pain. In pain because of me.
I felt so guilty, I could hardly breathe. That was probably why I slipped into management mode the moment we finally entered Lina’s studio for what was supposed to be my final night. Because I couldn’t allow myself to think too much, either.
I shoved my brother into the bathroom and forced him to take a shower. When he was out, I did the same with Lucas. I took the pair of sweats and hoodie Lucas offered and shoved them in Olly’s hands, making sure he changed into the warm clothes. I prepared tea. I grabbed blankets from the closet and placed them on the armrest of the couch, ready to wrap the two men up in them if they so much as looked chilly. Then, I put ice in a cloth for Lucas, not even knowing if that would help. And after that, I went on a scavenger hunt for painkillers. Because this wasn’t my place, and I didn’t know where Lina might keep some.
“What are you looking for?” Lucas asked as I crouched on the kitchen floor, still in my dress.
“What are you doing, Lucas?” I answered. “Take the ice and go sit down, please.”
“Not until you tell me what you’re looking for.”
“I’m searching for painkillers. For you.” Moving a large pan to one side, I sighed. “I’ve looked everywhere, bathroom, drawers… I have no idea if Lina has any.”
“Rosie,” Lucas said, and his voice made me look up. He didn’t seem happy, which I guessed wasn’t surprising given the circumstances. “There are no painkillers in there. Only pots.”
“You’re right,” I said, coming to a standing position and feeling the still damp fabric shifting against my legs. “There’s a CVS down the street. It should be open.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said simply. “You’re staying right where you are. With me. And you’re getting out of this dress and jumping into the shower, too.”
“But—”
He came forward, getting close, really close. He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “This is not a one-way street, Rosie. You look after me, and I look after you. We take care of each other. We’re a team.”
“A team.” I sighed, my eyelids falling closed.
His thumb swiped along my jaw so softly I could barely feel it. “Yes. So, get in the shower and change into dry clothes. I’ll keep an eye on Olly.”
Afraid of blurting out how good he was and how much I loved him, I just nodded.