Left Together (23 page)

“I
can’t wash my hair,” I get out, falling into hysterics.

He
quickly strips out of his clothes and steps into the shower, immediately
pulling me into him. I didn’t think it was possible, but I sob even harder.
“Sweetheart, you’re a hot mess.”

“He
could have killed me,” I cry.

Evan
holds me tighter. “I know,” he whispers into my drenched hair.

“I
wouldn’t have ever gotten the chance to apologize. You wouldn’t have known how
much you mean to me.” Without saying another word, Evan waits patiently until the
moment passes.

Feeling
better to have gotten that out, I look up at him. “Thanks.”

He
kisses my forehead, then smiles. “You’re welcome.” When I reach for the
shampoo, Evan grabs it first.
Him and his stupid solid bones
. “I got it.
Turn around.” I do as instructed. After lathering every strand, he begins to
massage the shampoo through my hair.

“I
have the best boyfriend ever,” I utter.

He
chuckles. “You already knew that.”

“I did.
I’m just making sure you know it, too.” Stepping out of the way, Evan directs
me under the water to rinse out the shampoo. “I can do this myself.”

“Shh.”
Other than when it gets cut, no one has ever washed my hair before. If I wasn’t
in pain, I’d be turned on at how good it feels. If he keeps it up, he might
actually make me forget how much I ache. A relaxed sigh escapes me. “I’m having
a hard enough time being in here with you naked and not burying myself inside
of you. Please stop doing that.”

“I did
it once,” I claim. 

“Sweetheart,
you sigh or moan every damn time I touch you.”

“That’s
your fault. You shouldn’t be so fucking good at it.”

He’s
laughing at me again, but it doesn’t matter. “I love you.”

I pull
my head out of the water and open my eyes. “I love you,” I reply, hoping
someday he’ll realize how much.

As his
lips get closer to mine, he says softly, “You and me.”

“You
and me,” escapes my mouth just before he makes me forget how to breathe.

***

I’ve
come to realize that until I’m healed, my life will be so much simpler if I
just accept the help that’s generously being offered. Putting clothes on isn’t
nearly as challenging or painful with an extra hand. Pulling my hair up into a
ponytail would have been impossible, but Evan is surprisingly good at doing it.
As we head back downstairs, Evan quickly picks up on how much trouble I am
having. Needless to say, he makes me sit on the sofa and forbids me to move.
Every small movement I make has him assuming something’s wrong.

His
family and Kyle took off a while ago, leaving me with my boyfriend and best
friend. They wanted to give us time to relax. I’m grateful because I took a
short nap and feel much more alert. We’re all curled up on the sofa, watching a
movie, which they let me pick. My vote doesn’t usually count for things like
this, so I’ve taken full advantage of the situation and chose one of my
favorite chick flicks. Evan hasn’t complained once. How can you not love this
guy?

We
only get about thirty minutes into the movie when the sound of the back door opening
has the two of them adjusting to see who it is. I don’t need to look. It’s the
one person who disappointed me most by not being here when I got home. Jade
sits up for her brother to sit down next to her. He shakes his head and stops
behind the chair next to the sofa.

“I
heard Kacie was home. Just wanted to stop by to see for myself,” he mumbles.

“We
could start the movie over, if you like,” Evan tells him.

“There’s
plenty of room.” Jade tries again to get him to stay.

“No.
I’m going to take off,” he chokes out. “Glad you’re home.”

When he
starts toward the door, Evan shakes his head. “Hang on, Jake.” He kisses my
cheek. “Sorry, sweetheart. I have to get up.” He had been sitting so that my
arm was relaxing on him. It’s the most comfortable I’ve been since waking up
early this morning. Unwillingly, I lean up to allow him room to slide out. Once
he gets to his feet, he walks over to Jake. “Fix this shit before you go
anywhere.”

“I’m
not sure…”

“Knock
it the fuck off, man. Life’s too short for you not to at least try to make this
right. Jade, let’s take a ride.”

“Wait…
What? You’re going to leave me alone with her?” Jake questions apprehensively.

“Only
for a few minutes. Is that a problem?”

“She’s
pissed at me. You can’t do that.”

“Don’t
worry, Quinn.” Evan smirks. “She only has one functioning arm.”

“Yeah,
but it’s her good arm.”

Jade
giggles, getting to her feet. “You’ll be fine,” she harasses him. I have no
clue where those two are going, but I’m not the least bit happy about it.

“Do
you need anything before I go?” Evan asks. I shake my head. “We’ll be right
back. Don’t get up.”

“Yes,
sir,” I remark, making him run his hand through his hair. What did I tell
myself about not stressing him out more than he already is? As he walks out of
my living room, he mutters something about me being a pain in the ass. I can’t
even yell at him for it.

Jake
waits for them to leave, then slowly comes over to take his sister’s place on
the sofa. He probably has no idea why Evan would do this, but I do. He doesn’t
want me to lose anyone important. I really don’t deserve such a wonderful man.
When Jake was standing over behind the chair, the light from the glass doors and
windows along the back of the room prevented me from seeing his face. Now that
he’s sitting next to me, I can see bruising near his eye.

“What
the hell happened to you?” I demand. Something tells me I know exactly what
it’s from.

“Oh…that…”
He leans forward trying to get away.

“Jake
Quinn, you better answer me right now!”

“I’m
not sure, to be honest. It’s either from your boyfriend or my sister. They both
have a pretty wicked right hook.”

“Jake…,”
I say, much softer this time.

“It’s
fine, Kacie. Really.” There’s nothing I can do about it now anyway. “Are you
okay?” He’s still not looking at me.

“Yeah.
I’m okay.”

“I
don’t believe you.” Reaching for the pillow Evan had thrown onto the coffee
table earlier, I place it under my arm. It doesn’t provide as much relief as
Evan’s body, but it’ll do until he gets back. Noah told me not to support it
while I was standing up; hopefully, he didn’t mean when I was sitting down, as
well.  

“I
hurt from head to toe, if you want to know the truth. Every goddamn time I
move, it feels worse than the last. Breathing is painful, especially when I
take a deep breath. Don’t get me started on when I have to cough. Doing things
for myself is next to impossible, and we both know how well that sits with me.
Going up the stairs almost sent me back to the hospital.”

“Damn.
I’m sorry I asked,” he interrupts me, chuckling lightly.

“Next
time I tell you I’m okay, just go with it.”

He’s gets
serious again, which makes me nervous. “Kacie, I don’t know what I would’ve
done if you…if the accident was worse than it was.”

“Yeah,
it would have totally sucked if I died,” I blurt out and he cringes. “I’m
sorry, but I’ve been having trouble dealing with that very thought myself.”

He
finally turns his attention to me. “I’m sorry for breaking our promise.”

“Which
one?” I say, reminding him of the fact that not only did he tell Evan I went to
the boat, but he also told him about the two of us.

“Both,”
he whispers. “But if I didn’t, you never would have told him. The air needed to
be cleared to give you guys a real chance. Although, I don’t think it would’ve
mattered. Evan loves you more than life itself. He never would have given up
fighting for you.”

“Thank
you for knowing what was best for me.” He gives me a small smile and I extend
my hand out to him. When he takes it, I add, “But if you do it again, I’ll
bruise more than just your eye.”

The grin
on his face gets bigger. “It’s killing you that you can’t punch me right now,
isn’t it?”

“Consider
this your lucky day, Quinn.”

Jake leans
over to kiss my head, then relaxes next to me. “I already have, Kacie.” I rest my
head on his shoulder. A few minutes go by before he speaks again, “As much as I
love and care about you, I’m not watching this fucking movie. Pass the remote.”
I have to lift my head and let go of his hand to get it from beside my leg.
Jake switches to a baseball game. His favorite team isn’t playing, but I
suppose he doesn’t really care. We sit in silence for a time, which is fine
with me. I’m just glad to have my best friend back.

Jade
enters the room before Evan. “Oh, look. They made up. Looks like I don’t have
to trade in my brother after all.”

“You’d
really do that, wouldn’t you?” Jake asks.

“Yup,”
she replies, plopping down on the other side of him. I can’t help but notice
the white Styrofoam cup she has in her hand and the one she hands to Jake.

Evan
comes into the room, walks all the way around the coffee table, and hands me a
cup of my own. The chilliness of it warms my heart. “I wish I could tell you
how much I love you,” I say to him. There’s a small part of me that feels bad
for saying those words in front of Jake, but there’s a bigger part of me that had
to say it for Evan. He’s the one who needs to hear it, or maybe it’s more that
I
want
him to hear it. Evan knows having Jake in my life is important,
so he made sure to give that to me. It’s one of the sweetest, most selfless
things anyone has ever done. Not only did I fall even more in love with him
just now, but I think I may have realized how deeply he also loves me.

Seeing
his sexy grin does makes my heart skip a beat. He bends over to kiss me, then
whispers, “I know what you mean. I’ve tried to tell you a million times, but
since I couldn’t find the right words, I figured I’d spend the rest of my life
showing you instead.”

“You
just did,” I say as a tear escapes down my cheek. This one doesn’t bother me
quite as much as the others have today.

“Sweetheart,”
he says, wiping it away with his thumb, “I’ve only just begun.” And once again,
Evan Pierce has rendered me speechless. This man could never do another thing
for me for as long as I live and I’d still know how in love he is. “Do you need
anything before I get back in my spot?” After I shake my head, he carefully
maneuvers himself into the space beside me, then places a gentle kiss on my
arm. My body immediately feels the pain subside as it rests into him.

“You’re
so comfy,” I sigh. “Just stay there for the rest of the day.”

“Anything
for you.”

“What
the hell happened to the movie?” Jade bitches.

“I
don’t give a crap how much the two of you want to baby Kacie. She only has a
couple broken bones,” Jake teases. “That’s not nearly enough to make me watch
that repulsive shit. Oh, and why the hell are we drinking milkshakes? It’s
Saturday. We should be drinking beer.” I turn to see him wink at me.

That’s
how the rest of my afternoon goes. My boyfriend spoils me. My one best friend
hangs out, even though she could be spending time with her man. My other best
friend, well…he keeps it all in perspective by mocking me every chance he gets,
and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

***

Noah
and Addie show up sometime in the early evening. At first, he’s all doctor. He
checks my incision and the stitches in my head. While making me move my hand
and wrist for a bit, he drills Evan and Jade about how much I did all day and
how much I ate. They rat me out over how much trouble I have going up and down
the stairs. Noah makes sure they understand to only let me go up to sleep at
night, then back down in the morning. I’ll have to spend the rest of the day on
this one floor. He even goes as far as suggesting I stay in Gram’s room for the
next few days since it won’t require the use of any stairs, but he quickly
recants with only one glance from me.

Once
he feels better about his decision to let me come home, my brother relaxes.
They stopped at Danny’s shop on their way over. He was able to get my things
out of the car, along with my house keys. Danny held onto the car keys for when
the insurance agent goes to check it out. I don’t need them anyway. Noah had
taken a picture of my poor convertible, but I don’t want to see it. It sucked
enough I was there when it happened. Evan looks, but wishes he hadn’t. I’ve
lost count of how many times he has asked how the hell I got out of the car
with only the few injuries. Noah tells him Gram isn’t ready to take back
responsibility for me yet, so they’re still stuck with me.

Shortly
after my brother and his girlfriend got here, Kyle and Meg come back. Just a
few minutes ago, Danny, Mike, and even Gabe join this little impromptu party. Apparently,
they aren’t in on the secret about my refrigerator being stocked full of home
cooked meals because they came with tons of sandwiches, snacks, and beer. I’m
glad they came to hang out. Evan needs something to distract him. Seeing him
laugh with his friends makes me feel better.