Page 20 of Puck Princess

Summer nudges Miles with her toe, flinching when he groans. “We should go before he wakes up.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Callie asks.

Summer brushes it off like what just happened was nothing—like we pummel her abusive baby daddy every Wednesday. “I just want to go home.”

I wipe the blood from my mouth with the back of my hand. “Are you sure? You can come to my place.”

“I have to relieve the babysitter. And I’m pretty sure, with the swat team you have stationed around my apartment at any given time, my place is probably safer. Plus, I don’t think he’s going to be coming around any time soon.”

Callie grimaces down at Miles. “Is he dead?”

“Unfortunately, he’s still breathing,” I grit out. “He’s just going to be in a world of hurt when he comes to.”

“Even more reason to leave,” Summer insists.

The three of us walk out of the alley like we’re coming back for war. Two fights in the same night is a lot even for me. I could probably drive, but I could just as easily leave the rental overnight and let Callie drive.

As we pass Johnny, he gives me a hard stare. Probably because I look worse than I did ten minutes ago.

“You find what you were looking for?” he asks.

I nod. “There’s a dude fucked up back there. Might wanna have someone check him out when you have time.”

If Johnny ever smiled, he’d be smirking right now.

“He never liked Miles much,” I tell Callie as we leave the noise of the crowd behind. My arm is around her, but honestly, I think she’s steadying me more than I am her.

“He’s got a good intuition.”

7

OWEN

When we pull into the complex, we both start talking at the same time.

“If you want to come over?—”

“Can I stay with you?”

We look at each other over the center console, the interior of the car washed in the yellow street light. Electricity charges the air around us.

“Stay with me.”

She gives a small nod, and, with that decided, we head inside.

Callie lets go of my hand in the entryway and moves down the hall to the bathroom. She turns on the shower before I’ve even kicked off my shoes.

She meets me in the hallway, hitching a thumb over her shoulder towards the steam billowing out of the bathroom door. “That’s for you.”

When I look in the mirror, I understand why.Jesus Christ, I need to clean up.Dried blood is flaked down my chin and across my upper lip. There’s a bruise on my jawline that doesn’t smart much yet, but it’ll be hell in the morning.

When I take my shirt off, I feel Callie’s eyes trailing over me. She’s checking me out, but not in the way I wish she was. The look in her eyes is all business as she maps out the scrapes and bruises across my chest and ribs.

She must decide I’m not in imminent danger because she kisses me softly on the cheek before slipping out of the bathroom. “I’ll let you do your thing.”

I step into the water and crank the handle to cold. Partially because I need to cool off and partially because hot water would burn like a motherfucker right now.

I close my eyes and take a minute to decompress.

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