“I said...” He shook his head as if boggled. Then he exploded, “I wasn’t talking about you when I said that shit. I was talking about some other nameless-faceless stupid replica of Whora. I thought he was still respectfully staying away from you when I said that. Fuck, I never would’ve...not if I’d known you two were...shit, you two are meant to be together. I don’t care if it happened at the worst time ever for you guys. You just...you’re two halves of a whole. He comes alive when you’re around, he gains confidence, grows happy. You just...damn it. You two weren’t ever supposed to break up.”
My shoulders heaving with pain, I started to cry again. I couldn’t hold the tears in, no matter how hard I tried. I shook from head to toe and cried harder the more I tried to stop.
Ten sighed. “Come on,” he murmured. When he grasped my arm, right at a tender spot that Belcher had bruised earlier, I gasped and wrenched away, cowering from him without meaning to.
“Shit. Sorry.” He lifted his hands and took a step back. “Okay, fine. I’ll just stay over here, then. Can you stand on your own and walk?”
With a nod, I pushed to my feet. My legs felt shaky, but I managed. Ten stayed at least five feet away at all times. If I wasn’t such a mess, I’d probably think it was funny how much a person could hover from so far away. But he kept pace with me and sent me a worried glance every time I winced.
When we reached his truck, I faltered. I knew I could trust him, but I really didn’t want to be enclosed alone with anyone. Not right now. “My car’s over there,” I started, but he shook his head.
“We’ll get your car later. You’re in no condition to drive. Now get in.”
My nerves wrenched with fear, but I followed his instruction. “I don’t want to go back to my apartment.”
“Well, good. I wasn’t planning on taking you there.”
I nodded. I didn’t care where we went from there. I just wanted to get out of here.
Blondie was passed out in the passenger seat when I parked in front of my and Ham’s building. I hoped like hell he was home so he could take over babysitting duty, because this shit was freaking me out.
She looked so scared and small, helplessness ripped through me. I hated not being able to do anything for her, and I wanted to be anywhere else in the world. Ham’s woman already stirred up too many memories in me of someone else, someone precious, who’d been hurt, someone I had also been helpless to help.
I gulped and shook my head, shoving those memories down. I would’ve carried Blondie up to our place, but I didn’t want to scare her in case she woke to me touching her. So I nudged her knee until she stirred.