Page 141 of Repairing the Wreckage

I wrinkle my nose but take it from him and bite off a piece. When I’m done chewing, he hands me a glass of milk.

“Eat a little more,” he encourages.

I finish about half then push it into his hands. “I can’t.”

He pops the rest of the banana in his mouth, chews it quickly, and shakes a few round pills out of the bottle into my hand. I toss them back and he passes me the glass of milk again.

“I’ll be right back,” he says.

I sit up for a few minutes, letting my stomach settle. Ugh, I want to claw my way out of my skin. Everything hurts so bad. I flop against my pillows and groan. This is the worst timing. I wanted to spend my last day home doing stuff with Griff, not have my uterus throw an unauthorized fiesta.

“Any better?” Griff asks as he opens my door. He sets a water bottle on my nightstand.

“No.” I reach over and take a sip of water, then groan and press the heating pad to my stomach.

He peels the covers back and climbs into my bed.

“What’re you doing?” I ask.

“I’m still sleepy.” He shifts his body closer. “And I want to be near you.”

“Are you sure about that because it’s like volcano week in here.” I rub my hand over my stomach.

He frowns at the description for a second, then it seems to sink in. “I’ll be fine.”

“Well, I tried to warn you.” I turn away from him, moving to the edge of the bed.

“Come here.” He pulls me against his chest and curls his body around mine, resting his hand over my stomach.

“Seriously, I don’t think you understand.” I shift my lower body away from him. “Sometimes all the protection in the house doesn’t cut it.”

“Would you stop.”

“Thank God it didn’t come earlier. Last night when we were…um, you know.”

He shakes with a quick huff of laughter. “Uh, you’ve seen me fight. I end up covered in someone’s blood all the time.” He kisses my shoulder. “Yours would be preferable, really.”

“Grossss,” I whine, but wiggle closer to him.

“That’s my girl.” He rubs his hand from my hip to belly button, lower, then back. “Where’s it hurt?”

“Everywhere,” I mumble.

He rubs slow, gentle circles over my stomach. Maybe it’s the Advil kicking in, but the pain seems to slip away with every caress of his big, warm hand. “That actually feels better,” I murmur.

“Good.” He kisses my shoulder again. “Go back to sleep. I’m right here. You need anything, just tell me.”

“Okay,” I murmur, already retreating into sleep.

Griff

The door creaks.

“Bro, what the fuck?” Remy’s harsh whisper pulls me out of sleep.

I untangle myself from Molly, brushing strands of her hair out of my face. “Shh,” I hush him.

As lightly as possible, I roll out of her bed, careful not to disturb her. I wave him into the hallway, follow him out, and close the door behind me.

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