Page 118 of Surviving Slater
"What happened?" Levi asked when he saw me walk out of the kitchen with my hand bandaged.
"It was nothing," I said, not making a big deal about it. I didn't want to go into details but I had to tell him something. "A glass broke in my hand."
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. I nodded.
"I checked her hand. She doesn't need stitches."
Heaven knows what I was going to tell Steven but I didn't want to think about that now.
"I'll take her home," Slater told Levi.
Levi looked to me and I nodded, and Slater led me through the party and out to his car. Once I was in I closed my eyes and leaned my head back.
"I don't want to be alone." He remained quiet as he started his car.
The car ride was silent and it wasn't long before he pulled into his parking lot and switched off the car. We were at his place. He turned to face me while I stared out the windshield.
"Jordan," he said softly, pulling my eyes to his. His hand went to my shoulder.
"If you don't want to be here I can take you home or anywhere else you want to go."
I had an out but I didn't take it.
"I want to be here."
My eyes met his as he opened my door. He helped me out. He put his arm around my shoulder and I rested my head against him. I had been fighting this closeness with him for so long but this time I allowed myself to lean into him and take his strength.
Maybe it was because I still felt so vulnerable from my episode with Steven in the kitchen. I felt mortified when I thought of what Steven thought of me. It was something I could handle another day, so I pushed the thought from my mind.
Once inside, I sat on his sofa, and he sat down beside me. I sent Levi a text to tell him I was at Slater's.
I was waiting for him to ask what happened but he didn't. He sat silently beside me.
"I'm sorry," I said, feeling self-conscious about what happened. Even thinking back to it made me shiver.
"It's okay." He put an arm around me and pulled me closer. I burrowed deeper into his arms and he held me. It would be so easy to ignore what happened and just stay safely wrapped in his embrace.
"Do I need to teach Steven a lesson?" he asked. His question took me by surprise.
I lifted my eyes to his. "No. He didn't do anything wrong."
I had. I should have elaborated but I didn't. I lay my head against his shoulder and just breathed him in. The chaos inside began to settle as I exhaled. I was reminded of why I had kissed Steven and I didn't like the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"He called me baby." Slater's arm tightened around me.
"Usually when I start hooking up with a guy I tell them up front I don't like to be called that. For some reason I never got to that conversation with Steven."
His arm around me remained tense.
"Why did he call you that?" His eyes found mine, making me feel worse for what I was about to tell him.
"I let him kiss me," I said, feeling the need to reveal it. I don't know why. He stilled for a few moments, taking in my revelation before he pulled away from me and stood up.
The fear of losing him gripped me and I clasped my hands together to stop myself from trying to reach out to him, making me wince.
He had every right to feel hurt and angry. I had used Steven to try and get over him. It had felt so wrong but that hadn't stopped me.
"Say something," I whispered, waiting for him to get angry and yell at me.
