Page 81 of Love Collided

“Maybe I’m mad at you now.”

“As you should be,butyou didn’t want to leave me there last night, so no matter how mad you are, you must like me by now.”

“No, that’s not what happened. I just didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“It’s alright, Hellcat. I like you too. Now I’ll shower, wash these clothes, and repay the favor today. Decide what you want to eat and I’ll order it when I’m out.”

“Chase, no you just need to?—”

I shut the bathroom door, stripping down and getting a shower. I could only imagine she was cursing me out on the other side, but there was no way I was going to let her take care of me like that and not make up for it. I’ve been going on hoping that I was better than Jesse, but here I was ruining any progress I made on that being true.

By the time I got out, she was asleep again. It was noon, but I don’t know that we really slept and with the rain, I didn’t think we were leaving.

Scout groaned. “You’re still here?”

“Do you think I was showering and running out?”

She rolled over, her eyes cracking open. “You don’t have pants on.”

“I have boxers on? I threw my clothes in the wash because they smelled and who wants to have a day in bed while wearing jeans?”

“A day in bed? For the last time, you’re not staying.”

“I just ordered like two hundred dollars’ worth of food, so I’m at least staying for that.”

Her mouth dropped. “You what?”

“You heard me. I am hungry.”

“Two hundred dollars’ worth of hungry?”

I smiled harder. “Well, this way,” I said, sliding into bed next to her. “We can stay in bed all weekend and not even have to leave to find food.”

“Now you’re trying to stay all weekend? I thought you didn’t even want to be friends anymore, let alone hang around with me for days.”

“Not trying too. I am staying. I had a bad night and would prefer being here than home alone, and you have been avoiding me when you didn’t need to be. And now this way, I won’t make you exhaust yourself chasing after me all weekend and just stay here to keep you company.”

“Me chasing you?”

“You did come get me.”

“Because I was worried about you.”

I laid down next to her, staring up at the ceiling.

“I might not deserve that much.”

“You do, and you deserve more than me accusing you of having bad intentions. You’ve never been anything but nice to me. Besides the ankle-biter comments, of course.”

I laughed. “So, does that mean I can stay?”

“Yeah, I would actually like that.”

I stayed there, quiet as a calm washed over me. I wasn’t sure what to do with someone who worried about me so much they would come in the middle of the night to get me, but I didn’t think being apart from her wasn’t going to be an option.

TWENTY-TWO

SCOUT

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