Page 14 of Pretty When He Bleeds

“Uh-huh,” he says, drawing the word out like he’s not buying a single syllable. “You’re acting weirder than usual, and that’s saying something. Was it Damon?”

His name hits like I slap and I stumble for half a second before catching myself, hoping that Killian didn’t notice. But honestly, this is Killian fucking King, of course he notices.

“Wait,” he says, his grin slipping. “It was him, wasn’t it? What the hell did he do?”

I pick up my pace, hoping he’ll get the hint and drop it, but he still matches me stride for stride.

“Roman,” he says, his voice losing its teasing edge. “Talk to me.”

“Fucking drop it, Kill.”

“No,” he says firmly. “Not until you tell me what happened. Did the fucker start shit with you again? Did he—”

“He licked me, alright!” The words burst out so suddenly that it brings both of us to a stop and I feel the heat crawling up my neck.

Killian looks like I just told him the sky is red. “Hewhat?”

I lean forward and place my hands on my knees to catch my breath, my heart pounding from more than just the run. I didn’t want to tell Killian this because it’s embarrassing as fuck.

“He licked me,” I repeat, glaring at the ground. “The fucker pinned me to a wall in the alley and licked the blood from my lip like it was nothing.”

I look up and see Killian’s eyes are so wide that his eyebrows nearly disappear in his hairline. “Wait, wait, hold the fuck on,” he scoffs. “He licked you… Shit, what did you do?”

I straighten up. “What the fuck was I supposed to do? He had me pinned, and it made me—”

I stop abruptly and shake my head, not wanting to go down that road. “And he said if I ever need to feel the pain of a hit, he’d be more than happy to oblige.”

Killian lets out a long whistle and shakes his head, but the look in his eye is… weird. “Damn, that’s intense.”

“Yeah, no shit,” I mutter as I drag a hand through my hair. Fuck, I could never hide anything from him even if I tried.

He steps closer and places a hand on my shoulder. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” comes out automatically and I wince at the lie. Kill knows I’m not fine, I know I’m not fine, so what the fuck am I lying for?

He studies me for a moment before crossing his arms over his chest. “Okay, let’s unpack this. First of all, why the hell did you let him pin you?”

“I didn’t let him,” I snap and glare at him. “He just… fuck, he caught me off guard, alright?”

“Caught you off guard, huh?” Killian smirks and that teasing edge is back. “That why you look like you’re outrunning your own mind?”

I flip him off and start to jog again, but he follows me. “Oh, come on, Rome. You can’t just drop a bomb like that and expect me not to ask questions.”

“There’s nothing else to say,” I mutter, my gaze fixed on the road.

“Oh, there’s plenty to say,” he shoots back. “Like why was he close enough to lick you in the first place, and why do you look like it’s the end of the world.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then tell me what it’s like, because you look like you haven’t slept in a month.”

“Because he’s in my head, alright!” I snap, rounding on him. “He’s in my fucking head and I don’t know what to do about it!”

Killian stops dead in his tracks, clearly not expecting this reaction from me. “Roman—”

“No, you don’t get it! He’s…” I trail off, struggling to breathe. “He’s Caleb’s brother, Kill. I—last night shouldn’t have happened. I shouldn’t have let him get that close at all. It waswrong. You know what I—what we—”

“I know,” he cuts through my spiral and places his hands on my shoulders. “I know what happened and I know what Caleb meant to you. I also know you’re beating yourself up because you think this is some kind of betrayal.”

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