Page 4 of Shiner's Light

“Oh my God.”I look in Chelsea’s direction to find it was worse than I thought. Blood stained her hand where she’d touched me, meaning the bandages were saturated. “You’re bleeding?” Chelsea utters.

I open my mouth to say it’s nothing, only to shut my mouth as Shiner closes in on me, lifts the back of my shirt, and curses.

“Why the hell didn’t you say something?”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” I utter, visibly shaking. Not in fear of him but the whole situation. I don’t want to explain what all happened. It’s bad enough I had to admit to them who’d beaten me, but they didn’t have to know the extent of it.

“It fuckin’ well is,” Shiner snaps and swiftly but carefully scoops me in his arms. “Torch, grab the medical pack and come to my room,” he orders and starts walking, carrying me toward a hallway.

“What are you doing? Put me down.”

“No way am I putting you down until we’re in my room where I can look at the extent of the damage done to you without everyone else seeing you.”

His words freak me out, but honestly, I’m so exhausted I don’t have the strength to fight him. I don’t understand him. He’s suddenly flipping out because I’m bleeding and didn’t tell him.

Shiner sets me on the side of his bed, and I look up to find him glaring down at me. “You should have said something, Olive,” he states and steps around me. “I’ll give you a clean shirt to put on, but this one is getting ripped open.”

Ice washes over me. I jerk off the bed and spin around to face him. “No. It’s okay, Shiner. You don’t have to take my shirt off to see it. I’ll just . . . I’ll just take care of it when I get home.”

“You aren’t goin’ anywhere,” he snaps and crosses his arm over his chest. The way he does this makes his chest look even bigger than it already is. “We’re going to clean you up, and then you’re going to tell us what the fuck happened to you.”

“No,” I whisper, my bottom lip wobbling. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Holding his gaze, I warp my arms around my middle, feeling smaller than I ever imagined I could ever feel. “Please, don’t make me talk about it.”

Shiner steps closer, and I can’t hide my flinch from him. One thing for certain is he was always able to read me.

“Got the bag, brother.”

I can only assume this is the one he called Torch.

“Appreciate it, Torch,” Shiner remarks, jerks his chin, and reaches out for it. “I’ll handle bandaging up Olive and come out with an update in a bit.”

“Shiner, man, it might be good to take her to the hospital to have her looked at.”

“No,” I murmur. “I’m just . . . I’ll be fine. I need to go home. I can take care of the bandages myself when I get there.”

“Already told you, Olive, you aren’t going anywhere.”

“But . . .”

“Stop right now, Olive. You know when it comes to arguing with me, you won’t win.”

This I knew to be correct. I remember the way he and Sasha would argue, which normally ended up with him carrying her to their room to handle things other ways. But when we argued, I simply always gave in because he’d give me that crooked grin of his, and butterflies would take hold, fluttering away in my stomach.

God, I’m such an idiot.

I don’t bother speaking as Torch leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

“Olive, you can keep your back to me, but I’m going to address the wounds on your back,” Shiner remarks, coming back to stand directly in front of me while setting the bag on the bed. “Now, turn around, and I’ll take a look at the extent of the damage there.”

Sucking in a breath, I close my eyes and turn my back to him. Without another word, he makes quick work of ripping the back of my shirt open and hangs it over my shoulders. Another moment passes, and he makes a noise that sounds like a growl in the back of his throat while he peels the bandages away.

“Who the fuck did this shit?”

“Sasha likes to use a whip to punish people. That was my punishment for coming back home.” I wish I could take back the words the moment they pass my lips. I didn’t mean to say them. They just came out on their own accord.

“Your sister did this?”

The tension already rolling off him becomes heavier. He’s coming to terms with the fact he’d once been with a woman who could do something so harsh and vile. But if he only knew.

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