Page 103 of Knotted Laces

I can’t lie.

The fatigue catches up with me and pretty soon my eyes are sliding closed and I’m dozing off and?—

I stir when the car comes to a halt, slowly peeling my eyes open, and then gaping at my former partner.

Because Lex hasn’t driven me home.

He’s taken me to Cam’s house.

My teeth click together. “Lex?—”

“Shut it,” he snaps, jabbing a finger in my direction. “I know there’s something going on between you two.”

“There’s—”

“Don’t lie to me. He was out of his mind. And you’ve spent the last week sounding—and now that I’m here—lookinglike a puppy that’s been kicked.” He nods to the house. “So you’re staying here until it’s fixed.”

Only, what if Cam doesn’t want to fix it?

“And by the way,” Lex says, turning off the ignition and swiveling in his seat to fix me in place with a narrow-eyed glare. “I had Cam drop your car at the bio-hazard cleaners, so deal with being here until you both fix it…or I decide you’re ready to have your keys back.”

“Seriously?” I snap. “I’m an adult, you know.”

“I know. And?”

And…

What if Cam doesn’t want me here and I need to GTFO?

“It’s full of blood, Ats”—he jabs at the button to unlatch his seat belt—”same as Cam’s entryway and bathroom were when I found you.”

Guilt slices through my middle, but I hold tight to the anger and grit out, “I could have cleaned it up.”

He sniffs. “When you can’t even get your T-shirt on by yourself?”

I growl.

Then wince.

Both because it hurts and because he’s right—I needed his help to get dressed in the hospital.

Ugh.

And both of which he clearly sees.

He rolls his eyes and unfolds himself out of the car, leaving me with a statement that steals my words almost as effectively as the pain radiating through my insides.

“Fix it, Ats,” he murmurs. “Find a way to fix it before it’s too late. Otherwise”—his eyes bore into mine—“you’ll regret it forever.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Cam

I’m sittingon the couch after scrubbing her blood off the floor, after bleaching the shit out of several loads of laundry, and after forcing myself to not lose my cool, get in my car, and force my way into Athena’s hospital room.

She didn’t need a confrontation.

She needed care.

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