Page 58 of Wild Card

I have no idea what I was planning to say. Stop? Don’t go? Stay here with me and sort through shit in my library for a few more hours instead of going on your date?

It all sounds ridiculous. It would only buy me time anyway, and for what?

“Just be careful, okay?”

“I will be.” She nods. “Make sure you take your meds and stuff, okay?”

“Yep. Night.”

“Night.”

She turns out the door and then it’s a blur of limbs and skirts and a yelp followed by the slap of skin on icy pavement. She’s on her knees and palms before I even realize what’s happening.

I start to step out toward her, not even thinking about the risk or the fact that I don’t even have a crutch or a cane right now on the ice.

“Tobias! No!” she yells, holding her hand out to stop me. “You’ll fall too. Just stay there.”

“I can—” I try to figure out how to get to her, feeling helpless that I can’t do anything in this situation. Another insult to injury.

“No. I’m okay.” She swipes at her palms and then slowly inches her way back to the door on her knees across the ice.

She grabs the door frame and hauls herself up, refusing to take my hand when I offer it.

“If I fall again, I’ll take you with me, and I can’t live with you re-breaking your hip or worse.” She shakes her head.

I take a breath once she steps back into the house, but I’m immediately eyeing her knees.

“Come on. Let’s get you to the kitchen, and we can clean them up.” I start moving slowly with her after she takes her heels off.

I grab towels, soap, and water and prep it for her, handing it over as I survey the damage. Her cheeks are pink, and I’m not sure if it's embarrassment or just the cold.

“You okay? Nothing broken?” I ask as I hand her the dry towel.

She shakes her head in response again. “I’m fine. Just clumsy.”

“I think you need to stay here tonight. If that’s any indication of how the roads are, it’s too dangerous.”

Bonus that it means she’ll have to cancel her date and stay the night locked in with me. I’m an asshole for finding joy in this, but now that I know it’s just skinned knees it feels like I’ve been saved by fucking fate.

“I think if it wasn’t for my heels, I’d be fine.” She sighs, wiping at the blood on her knees and then rinsing the towel and washing the soap off her knees too. “Of course, now I look like a mess.”

She checks her dress and at least seems satisfied with that.

“Please stay. I… you know the roads were wet when I did this. It’s giving me anxiety that you’re still even thinking about it. You can blame it on me, and I’m sure Harper and them will reschedule things for another night.”

She looks at her knees and then at the floor for a minute, seemingly contemplating my argument.

“Okay.” She nods at last. “I’ll text Harper.”

THIRTY-TWO

Scarlett

Once I’ve textedHarper and finished cleaning myself up in the kitchen, I look at the time and sigh. I guess I’m staying here, and I might as well get changed back into my daytime clothes and start trying to make something for dinner.

“I can help make dinner,” Tobias offers when he meets me back in the kitchen.

“I’ve got it. I just need to change out of my dress.”