Page 45 of Fighting for Ella

Good.

That was something he could fix.

“I don’t like the look of a couple of these,” he told her. “You got any antibiotic cream?”

“There’s some in the bathroom cabinet,” she replied, a little of the weariness in her eyes wiped away by curiosity.

“You have to try to stay off them if you want them to heal,” he reprimanded, knowing she’d really had no opportunity to do that. It was himself he was frustrated with. He’d known he shouldn’t have let her come home alone, he should have insisted on taking her. If she’d needed to be by herself, he could have stayed in a different room, or even in his car in her driveway, anything so she knew she wasn’t alone anymore.

Heading up the stairs, he located the master bedroom and was unsurprised to see the huge canopy bed littered with frilly pink and white pillows, the overstuffed armchair in the corner, and the little knickknacks on top of the nightstands and dresser. There were photos on the walls, and he knew when he saw all the happy family snaps of Ella with her parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews, that he was right about her.

She was everything he wasn’t.

She was sweet, and light, and wanted the whole fairytale romance. He was darkness that could destroy her if he let himself.

Something he couldn’t afford to do.

Protectiveness and friendship were all he could offer.

Nothing more.

Locating the antibiotic cream in her bathroom cabinet, he headed back downstairs to find Ella right where he’d left her on the couch. There was something in her eyes he couldn’t let himself acknowledge as she watched him sit down beside her and lift her legs again, so they rested on his thighs.

When he began to rub the cream onto all the blisters, Ella sank back against the cushions with a small sigh, and he knew he’d made the right choice in going there instead of heading home. He’d told Luis and the others that he’d support Ella and be the friend she needed when she felt betrayed by everyone she knew. Miguel was still determined to do it, but he realized with each passing second that it was going to be a whole lot harder than he had thought it would be.

How was he supposed to spend time around Ella and not fall for her?

It wasn’t something he could allow to happen.

Never could he allow himself to forget that his mother’s blood ran through his veins. There was only so much his foster parents could do and while they had been everything he couldhave hoped for in parents, it hadn't been enough to undo biology.

Addiction had come for him.

What had started as just smoking a little pot with his friends in high school had spiraled out of control. It had taken everything he had to pull himself out of that hole, to get clean, to get his cravings under control.

There was no way he could risk ever dragging anyone else down with him if the addiction he managed to keep on a tight leash of control should one day snap.

Especially not a woman like Ella.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

February 8th

7:12 P.M.

AllowingMiguel to touch her didn't seem wise.

Especially since Ella knew what kind of man he was and the kind of relationships he had with women.

Crushing on him for the last couple of weeks, there was a reason why she hadn't approached him that went beyond the terrible timing and her fear for her friends and the drug they had created together.

They were too different.

She wanted marriage and a family, Miguel wanted fun and no commitments.

Neither of them was right, and neither was wrong, they just didn't want the same things. Ella knew she was vulnerable right now, with too many emotions and no appropriate outlet. Allowing a man who had saved her life, who had believed in her, who had come to check on her even though he barely knew her, to touch her and comfort her, was asking to get her heart broken.

The problem with believing in dreams coming true was that you looked for those answers everywhere.

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