Page 59 of Playing Dirty (Leighton U #4)

“I should have told you” is the first thing I manage to say, though the words are still cracked and raw.

“I would’ve preferred that, but I can’t fault you for not.

You’re your own person, exactly the way I raised you.

” She hums softly before she presses another kiss to my head and pulls away.

Her tears have dried, but there’s still a sheen of concern in her gaze.

“Just know you can tell me anything, sweetheart. That’s what I’m here for.

And I will always support you in whatever choices you make. ”

“Even with this one? Choosing him?” I hedge.

My jaw tics and my stomach churns, though I know it’s not the concussion causing the nausea this time. But the panic is assuaged when she nods, not an ounce of hesitation present.

“As long as he chooses you too.”

Theo’s sitting up in his hospital bed when I’m finally able to see him a couple hours later, but his eyes are closed, head resting back against a stack of pillows.

His mom and Adam were talking out in the hall when I got to his room, but they gave me the okay to go in, not realizing he’d fallen back asleep.

I have every intention of leaving, going back to my room, then returning to see him once he’s awake again, but my feet remain rooted in place as I stare at his bed-ridden form.

He’s banged up, covered in bruises and scratches, but it’s the sight of his splinted leg, elevated in some sort of sling, that makes me sick to my stomach all over again.

All the emotions I released earlier start knotting in my throat, making no signs of stopping, as I take a hesitant step in his direction, then another, while staring at the contraption his leg is in.

“At least you didn’t have to sneak into my room this time.”

My attention snaps to his face to find his eyes open, a small smile on his handsome, battered face…and the dam breaks. It shatters into a million pieces the moment my gaze collides with his, and some sort of strangled sound slips past my lips while I rake my fingers through my hair.

Concern lines his features, his eyes softening around the edges. “Hey, hey. It was a joke. Mads, what—”

“I’m so sorry. Fuck, baby. I’m so fucking sorry.

” I’m at his side in an instant, dropping into the chair beside him, grabbing his hand, and wrapping it in both of mine.

The heat of it between my palms does little to soothe me, though, and I find myself lost in rambling thoughts and word vomit all over again.

“The truck, it came out of nowhere. One second we were fighting and then we just…”

My throat constricts as the memory barrels into me, and more than anything, I hope he doesn’t remember what happened.

Even if it means he forgot all the things we talked about, it’s fine.

I’ll take it as a do-over, making sure the next time those three words leave my mouth, they aren’t laced with frustration and anger.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Theo whispers, his hand lifting to cup my cheek. “We’re both right here, okay? You don’t have to explain anything. I know you didn’t mean for this to happen.”

I shake my head, another tear spilling over and sliding down my face.

“Fuck. It should be me stuck in this bed, not you. It’s my fault for not seeing him, and—”

The words die in my throat, as if they knew there’s no way they could convey how sorry I am. How much I wish I could take his place lying here, broken.

“What? Why? So you can lose out on everything you’ve worked for?” Theo shakes his head, only to wince from the movement. “No. Absolutely not. I’m glad it’s me. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

His thumb traces the line of my jaw before swiping away the stray tear cascading over my cheekbone. There’s a sad little smile on his face before he whispers, “If anything, it’s on me for distracting you while you were driving.”

I grab his hand from my face, clasping it between mine again and pressing kiss after kiss to it.

On his knuckles, his palm, his wrist, anywhere I can as I whisper more apologies against his skin.

Another set of tears fall silently to the linens covering his bed, and he pulls his hand away to pat the mattress beside him.

“Come here,” he says.

The request has my gaze lifting to his face, and I’m about to tell him it’s a terrible idea, what with his leg being propped up the way it is, but he’s already shifted over just enough for me to squeeze onto the edge.

And because what I need more than anything right now is to hold him, I succumb to his wishes and climb in next to him.

I’m careful not to jostle him too much as I move, and thankfully, I don’t notice any signs of pain as I wrap my arm around his shoulder and hold him against my chest. The few remaining tears fall from my lashes, dropping to the hair on top of his head, but I quickly brush them away.

“If we get in trouble for this, I’m telling the nurses it was your idea,” I whisper, which draws an amused little hum from him.

“I can take the heat.”

He snuggles into my hold as best he can with his current restrictions, pressing his cheek to my collarbone and forehead into the side of my throat.

“How much do you remember?” I whisper against the top of his head.

He’s quiet for a second before murmuring, “Everything up until we were hit.”

I nod, his hair brushing against my skin with the movement, as I process the statement.

“So you remember us fighting and…”

“You telling me you love me? Yeah, I remember that too.” He pulls back a little to look at me, a tiny smirk pulling up the corner of his mouth. “Though, I guess it was more yelling than telling.”

“Yeah, not my finest moment,” I utter, shaking my head.

Lifting one hand, I skim it along his jaw, now peppered with the slightest stubble, while my gaze holds his seafoam one.

“I meant it, though. I meant everything I said, but if there’s anything you should take away, it’s how stupidly in love with you I am. ”

“I love you too.” There’s a wistful glint in his eyes when he adds, “I said it before, but I don’t think you heard it.”

My forehead drops to his, and a watery laugh escapes me.

“I didn’t hear it. But I could feel it when you looked at me.”

“As long as you know, that’s all I really care about.”

His hand lifts, fingers trailing over the ink along the side of my neck, and I capture it before placing a kiss to his wrist. I don’t stop there, though, releasing his hand only to cradle his cheek in my hand like he’s a work of priceless art.

And then I kiss him gently, letting every ounce of love and hope and admiration I have for him flow from my body into his.

And despite all the bullshit that led to this moment, I know this is only the beginning for us.

The start of a new chapter in a story we get to write; no one else has a say in what we do or how we feel.

I won’t let anything, or anyone, stop me from loving him.

I’m not sure how long we remain with our lips molding together softly, nor who breaks away first, only that his head finds its home in the crook of my shoulder once we finally do.

His fingers follow the tattoo design on my arm, the feather-light touch soothing me, and I play a little game of cat-and-mouse while he does it, trying to capture his fingers before he pulls them away.

“Have you told your parents anything? About why we were together or…anything else?”

He shakes his head. “They’ve been too busy harping on the doctors to ask me any questions.”

I catch movement out of the corner of my eye, finding Adam and Mom both watching us through the window, where I’d seen them earlier.

But it’s not just them anymore. Phoenix, Camden, and a few other guys I don’t quite recognize are there too.

Though, if I had to make my best hypothesis, I’d say they’re his roommates.

I have no idea what they’ve all seen, only how bad it looks right now. The last thing I want is to give Theo another thing to worry about, which is why I slowly drop my arm from his shoulder, ready to get off the bed and sit on the chair instead.

A plan that’s quickly foiled when Theo stops me by wrapping his arm over my waist.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to the chair,” I tell him, keeping my voice low. “I don’t wanna freak you out, but your parents and some of your friends are all watching us. And I don’t know how much they’ve already seen.”

His gaze collides with mine, not even casting a glance in their direction, before whispering three, heart-stopping words.

“I don’t care.”

And then his mouth is on mine again, our lips molding together in a relatively tame kiss before he pulls away.

I shake my head while my thumb trails over my bottom lip, unable to stop from chuckling at the indelicate way he just revealed our relationship. But damn, if it doesn’t make me love him even more.

“Well. If they didn’t know before, they sure do now.”

He lets out a low chuckle that quickly turns into a wince before he grabs his side.

“Ah, fuck. Okay, laughing hurts.”

“Sorry,” I mumble, my arm finding its home around his shoulder again. I turn my face toward his head, whispering in his ear, “I did tell my mom. Well, she kind of already figured it out, but…semantics.”

“What’d she say?”

A smile lifts up the corner of my mouth as I link the fingers on my free hand with his. “That she knows what it’s like to fall for a Greyson man against her will.”

Another lilt of laughter leaves him, and he winces again. “Shit. Did you not hear me when I said it hurt to laugh?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” My lips find his again in another soft kiss, not a care in the world about who may see anymore. “I’m still so, so sorry.”

“You’re right. It’s really easy to get sick of hearing those words,” he muses with another little chuckle. But then he arches his neck to look at me and declares, “We’re gonna be okay.”

From the conviction and faith laced in his tone, I don’t think he’s just talking about the accident.

I nod a couple times, my throat tightening again as I press my lips to his temple.

“Yeah, baby. We’re gonna be okay.”