Page 62 of Deceiving Grier

I blinked, trying to wrap my aching head around what he could be apologizing for. “What? Why?”

“It’s all my fault this happened,” Jett said, looking up at me, guilt and misery etched into his open features.

“Noneof this is your fault,” I told him.

“But if whoever did this, is breaking in because ofme—”

“First,” I said, cutting him off, “we don’t know for sure that you are the intruder’s target.” Though all signs pointed to yes. “And even if you are, it’s not your fault some whack job is breaking in here and messing with us. Mostly, I’m worried about you.”

“Me?” Jett’s eyes widened as if the possibility had yet to occur to him.

“Whoever did these things, they’re dangerous, and if you’re the one they’re trying to get to, I worry you could get really hurt.”

“But I haven’t been hurt. It’s been you and Alistair.”

“Not your fault,” I said again, hoping my point was sinking in.

“You and Alistair, and even Sawyer and Finn. You’ve been the best friends anyone could ever have. If something happened to you guys because of me…”

“This,” I gestured to myself with my good hand. “Is. Not. Your. Fault.”

Sawyer returned with my pills and a glass of water, handing both to me, and Jett straightened.

“Everything okay?” Sawyer asked, looking at both of us.

“Yeah,” I said. I swallowed the pills, washing them down with the water. The cold liquid felt like heaven against my dry throat.

“I should probably get going. I have work,” Jett said, his voice unusually subdued. If any of my assurances had hit home, he sure didn’t show it.

“For the next little while, we should maybe check in with each other,” Sawyer suggested, sitting on the sofa next to my feet. I pulled them back to make more room, but he gripped them lightly, stopping me. He lifted them gently and set them on his lap. “Maybe you could send us a text to let us know you got to work okay, and again when you’re ready to leave, so we know to expect you home. Actually, we should try to adopt a buddy system so no one is on their own as much as possible.”

It was a good idea but tricky to execute with three people unless with we traveled as a pack, and trickier still when we were going to classes. Someone will be bound to forget to text the rest of us at some point.

“You should stick close to Grier. He’s hurt, and he’ll need your help,” Jett said, folding his arms over his chest. Despite his happy-go-lucky nature, Jett had a pretty big stubborn streak buried beneath all that affable charm, and I doubted he would budge on the matter.

“It will be tough to stick together all the time, but we should keep each other in the loop about where we are and who we’re with—just in case,” I said.

“Okay,” Jett agreed. “But I really hafta go. I’ll text you when I get there and when I’m leaving.”

After he left, I looked over at Sawyer. He was watching me with a faint frown. “How’s your head?”

“Sore.” There was no point downplaying it. “The meds will take the edge off soon.”

“You look as though you’re barely keeping your eyes open. I’ll get your pillows so you can sleep—unless you’d rather go up to your room.”

“Here’s good,” I said, and he was right. Staying awake was becoming more and more difficult. “I need to call Bailey and Lana, though. I’m supposed to work tomorrow, Thursday and Sunday.”

“Don’t worry. I called them,” Sawyer said, “before coming to pick you up. I wasn’t sure if you were scheduled tonight. Lana told me not to worry about anything. Your job will be there when you feel better—whenever that is.”

Sawyer went upstairs to get my pillows from my room so I could sleep comfortably on the couch. Again, I felt that same surge of emotion, making my eyes hot and my throat ache. I had to be tired. No, Iwastired, but I knew it was more than that. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had helped me, taken care of me the way Sawyer had. Hell, even my own parents rarely asked if I was okay, if I needed anything. Instead, every conversation seemed to center on what they needed from me, what they expected of me. I got it. My father was sick. He just wanted to know his company and my mother would be cared for, but if I were really honest, the disregard for my overall welfare went back long before my father was ever diagnosed.

Even now, I dreaded telling him about my fall, the concussion and the broken arm because I knew his primary concern would be on me losing my scholarship. Not that it wasn’t a valid concern. I hated to think about how he’d react if I did lose it, which was a distinct possibility. The season wasn’t over yet, but I knew it was for me.

“What’s wrong?” Sawyer asked, returning with the pillows from my bed.

I leaned forward so Sawyer could set them against me, then sank back into the cushy softness. “I won’t be able to finish the season. They’re probably going to take my scholarship away. Then I won’t be able to finish my last semester, and I’ll have to go back.”I’ll have to leave you. My heart squeezed in my chest.

Even before all of this, I’d been afraid I was falling in love with him. Now I was sure, and not justthatI was falling in love. Ilovedhim. Already I couldn’t imagine my life without him in it.

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