Page 49

“Better actually, it still hurts, but it's better.”

“Good, I'm glad. And your head?”

“I feel like I got hit with a baseball bat, but other than that, I'm doing okay.”

“And you ate, that's good.” Emery shook her head with a smile. “Well, I'm thinking you're going to be just fine.” My mother scooped her hand down Emery's hair, smoothing out the frizzled strands. “Did you call home yet?”

“Oh, no, not yet, but I will. I live on my own, so no one is really waiting for me anyway.”

Thinning her lips, my mother placed her hands on her lap. “Okay, well, make yourself at home. I'm going to go grab you some of my clothes so you can shower. But feel free to go downstairs and get some food if you're hungry, anything you want. My house is your house.”

“Thank you,” Emery said.

Pinching her chin, my mother smirked. “Absolutely, it's my pleasure.” Getting up, my mother walked by me, giving me a grin and poking me in the gut. “I'll be right back with clean clothes for her.”

Emery's eyes were on me as I turned away from my mother and looked at her. My lip twitched high, head falling into my chest. “See, she's great.”

“She is, you were a lucky kid.”

“Yes and no. She was great when she was here, but when she was a nurse, her hours sucked. Sometimes she'd work full twenty-four hour shifts and I wouldn't see her for days. She had to work on birthdays and holidays, she worked nights and would sleep all day. It took a lot out of her and it created a rift between us.”

“Well, she had do to what she had to do, right? A lot of parents have to sacrifice for their kids.”

Shrugging my shoulder, I said, “I guess.”

“Okay, here's some stuff for you to put on after you clean up.” My mother cut into the room, and we both stopped talking. Her eyes darted back and forth between us as her feet slowed. “And this is how you know when people were just talking about you.” Placing the clothes on the bed, she grabbed her hips.

“I was just telling Emery how you used to be a nurse. She was curious is all.”

“Mm hm, sure you were. You probably barely remember that, you were three when I stopped working.” Pointing her finger between us, she started to giggle. “You know this makes me feel really old. It reminds me of that time when Porter was about fourteen, and he had this 'girl' friend over to study.” Her fingers made quotations in the air as she rolled her eyes playfully. “I came in to find them making out on his bed, not one book open. Porter's eyes were so big like saucers, and he ended up shoving the poor girl off the edge of his bed.”

“Really?” Emery laughed, covering her mouth with her hands. “You shoved her off?” she asked me, still unable to control her laughter.

“I didn't mean to, I just wanted to stop us from kissing and I guess I didn't really think about how hard I pushed her. It was a reflex, that's it. My mom surprised the hell out of me because she was home early from grocery shopping.”

“I wasn't home early, you just weren't paying attention to the time.” Waving her hand in the air, my mother let out a heavy breath. “Alright, I'm going to go smooth out what I can downstairs. Why don't you two come down once you're all done showering, I've got something to show the both of you.”

When my mother was gone, Emery asked, “Is everything really alright? I could hear your stepfather yelling, he sounded really upset. Is he angry that I'm here? I don't want to cause any trouble.”

“No, he's not angry at you, he's angry at me. He hates that I'm here, and he wants me out. I get it, I really do, but I won't leave unless I know you'll be alright.” Picking up the clothes off the end of the bed, I held out my hand. “Come on, let's get you in the shower. It'll probably feel great and help any tension in your muscles.”

“Will you help me?” Tilting her head, she smiled and winked.

Fuck I loved that smile. She wasn't scared of me anymore, she didn't look at me like she hated me, and that meant everything now.

I didn't have to pretend to be something I wasn't. She knew how we got here, she knew the truth, and that was all that mattered. I didn't give a fuck what Franco or my mother said about who I was or what I would do.

I wasn't leaving this girl, I wasn't going to just turn my back and walk out that door. There was no way I could, because she meant something to me. There were no words to explain why or how she had clawed her way into my heart, but there she was, digging a spot just for her.

“Of course I'll help.” Tangling our fingers together, I helped her to her feet. “If by help you mean touch your tits and rub your cunt.”

“Porter!” she yelled as her cheeks blushed and her eyes went wild. Smacking my chest, her jaw hung open. “Dirty, dirty boy.”

Chuckling, we took small easy steps towards the bathroom. “Yeah, dirty is how I like it. Does that bother you?”

“No, it just surprised me is all. Especially after how Franco reacted earlier to us being in bed together.”

“Ah, forget about him.”