Page 15 of Protecting Tiffani

“No. Come on. Cupcake, open your eyes, goddamn it.” I have only ever wanted someone to open their eyes so severely once before; my dad. She has to open her eyes, and open them now. After what feels like hours, her eyelids flutter open and close slowly. Once they open and stay open, I breathe a sigh of relief.

“There are those stunning blues.” I watch a blush forms on her neck and spreads to her beautiful but shallow cheeks. That feeling of something being amiss with her hits me full force, and I vow I’m not leaving here until I learn what the fuck’s going on.

“Wh-What happened?” she weakly asks me. At the same time, her stomach growls so loud it sounds painful. Her hands go to her stomach, and tears fill her beautiful eyes.

“I don’t know. I came in and saw a dead man hurting you.” I move my hands away from her face and slide them behind her head. “Here, let’s sit up slowly. You think you’re okay to do that?” I’m unsure how hard she hit her head, but I don’t want to hurt her more. She doesn’t answer me, but she does nod. Painfully slow, I pull her up into a sitting position. Her whole body slumps forward. While she is leaning forward, I pull her short hair out of the tight ponytail and run my fingers through it, checking for any wounds. When I don’t feel any wetness from any blood, the ache in my chest eases just a bit, but she could still be hurt.

“Levi, I’m fine. It’s just hot in here, and I fainted.” Her voice wobbles with emotions. I can practically taste the lie that’s rolling out of her.

“Come on, let’s get you off the dirty, wet floor.”

I slide my left arm under her legs, leaving my right one under her head, and lift her into my arms. I’ve held her plenty of times to know that she has lost a considerable amount of weight, and my jaw tenses. I swear to all the fucking gods out there that if she’s starving herself, I will bend her over my knee like a child. In high school, she had the typical insecurity that she was too big, but she has always been perfect in my eyes. She is my fucking dream girl. Even though I’m going to pay for it later, I hold her as close as possible to my chest. I’ve missed the feel of her in my arms, and a specific previously dead body part is taking note that its favorite person is close by.

“Levi, put me down. I can walk,” Tiffani says, trying to push my hands away.

“Not a fucking chance. You just passed out, and I don’t believe the lie that you just fed me. Stop fucking trying to get down.” I drop my voice for the last sentence because little ears are around. I sit her in one of the metal chairs that line the room’s outside wall. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” She crosses her arms and legs while rolling her eyes at me. Fuck me, I love when she’s a brat. I stifle a groan, turning around, I take advantage of the fact that my lower half is hidden behind washers and adjust my hard dick.

The young mother is pulling her clothes out of a dryer. When she sees me approaching, she smiles what I assume is supposed to be a flirty smile.Not in a million years, I think. “Is that poor girl okay?”

“She will be. Are you almost finished? I’m going to close up and take her to get checked out?” I lie through my teeth. I’m not going to take her anywhere unless Tiffani says she wants me to, but I have a feeling she won’t. I do, however, need everyone to get out so I can find out what she’s hiding.

She looks taken back by my question. “Oh yeah, I’m done. Say, what’s your name?”

I don’t blame her for shooting her shot, but I am embarrassed for her because she is wasting it on me. “Levi.”

“Well, that was heroic and hot what you did there protecting a stranger.” She bats her eyes at me. Her son pulls on her shirt, becoming impatient, just like me.

“Thank you, but it’s not heroic to protect what’s yours. And she isn’t a stranger,” I say, leaving her behind to figure out what I meant. Another lady was here when I walked in, but I didn’t see her. By the time I walk to the office and back, the young mother is gone, leaving me alone with the one person I should never be alone with. No matter how much I want to be alone with her, it isn’t safe for us or my heart.

My eyes find Tiffani sitting in the same chair I left her in. Crossing the room, I don’t look anywhere but at her. She seems exhausted, with black bags under her eyes, which are currently closed. A grimace screws up her face while her hands rub her stomach. Stopping in front of her, I hold my hands out and say, “Where are the keys to lock the door?”

Her eyes shoot open, and a hint of fear is there. What is she afraid of? Me? God, I hope not. “Why?”

“So I can lock up and get you checked out. You could have a concussion from the fall,” I say calmly, trying to put her at ease. My stomach sinks at the prospect that she hates me so much she’s willing to risk a concussion instead of letting me help her. “Look, if you would rather me call someone to take you, your parents, or a boyfriend I will. Just give me their number.” I pull out my phone and get ready to type in the number.

Her head drops down to her chest as a loud sigh falls from her full pink lips. “There is no one to call. Levi…” She pulls her head back up, and I see she has reinforced the walls around her. “Thank you for helping me with that little situation, but I’m perfectly fine. There’s no need to close up or for me to go see a doctor.” She puts her hands under her and pushes up from the chair.

She sways on her feet, and I have to catch her before she faces plants on the floor for a second time. “Okay fuck this. Something serious is going on with you, and I’ll give you two options. You either let me call an ambulance, or I'll put you in the car and drive you my-goddamn-self,” I grit out between my teeth.

“No, Levi. Please.” She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. Just like four years ago, I can’t stand to see her hurt. She might as well have plunged a knife into my chest.

I pull her into my chest and rest my chin on the top of her head. “Okay, Cupcake, but tell me what’s going on. Please.” It’s a long shot. She has every right to hand me my ass and tell me to fucking kick rocks, but I hope to god she doesn’t.

Chapter ten

Tiffani

Thisdaycouldn'tgetworse, even if I were cursed by a voodoo doll. Not only did I fucking faint at work, but I did it when Levi was here. Why is he here? What am I going to do about his two options? I can’t afford to go to the hospital, and Brad will lose his shit if I close early. There have been times when he stopped by unexpectedly to check in, and today is shaping up to be the perfect day for him to do that. The rain outside turns violent and pounds on the tin roof. What I do know is that Levi has to leave because I can’t do this with him. My heart is physically aching with his arms wrapped around me right now. The fact that his scent is the only thing I can smell is driving me crazy.

I tell my body to pull away from him, but the warmth that is radiating off him feels so fucking good. My favorite place has always been in his arms. The way I feel protected and loved in them. No, not love. He doesn’t love me anymore, and I have to stop this stupid fucking hope trying to seep back in.

Pulling my hands from his back, I place them on his chest. “Levi, thank you for what you did for me, but I can’t go to the hospital. The owner wouldn’t be happy if I closed up early. I’m sorry. But please believe me, I’m okay.” I beg him to not see and hear the truth. My stomach chooses the wrong fucking time to speak up. I can’t keep the groan in because the pain is becoming unbearable. Trying to cover the sound, I laugh. “I was so busy I skipped lunch. Get your laundry started. I’ll run upstairs and grab something to eat. That’ll help, I promise.”

I don’t wait for him to answer. I book my ass up the stairs located directly behind him. When I’m safe behind my closed door, I let out all the emotions I’ve been holding in. My chest heaves with sobs, I try to keep silent, my hands shake violently, and my legs give out. I can’t do this. How am I supposed to walk back down those stairs and sit in the same building with him? The ache forming in my stomach is no longer because of the hunger, but because of the loss that his presence reminds me of. I’m a horrible person for keeping this a secret from him. He deserves to know, but I can’t tell him. Wiping my eyes, I force myself to stand and walk to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, my hand is on the bread when my front door flies open and hits the wall behind it.

I scream and turn around. Still unstable on my feet, my legs get tangled and, for the second time, I fall to the ground in front of Levi. Anger at him invading my personal space pushes any embarrassment away. “What the fuck are you doing? Customers aren’t supposed to be up here,” I yell at him. “Get out.”

“No! I could hear you crying from downstairs.” His eyes start roaming around the small space, stopping on multiple things I wish he wasn’t seeing. Like the holes in the wall, the mold where the ceiling has been leaking, the cracked floors, and lastly, the empty fridge that is sitting open beside me. I have always been able to read this man, so I easily see the moment he gets pissed. “What the fuck is going on, Tiffani!”

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