Page 33 of Salvation

She wrinkles her nose. “It's not even September yet.”

“It’slike the end of August. It’spracticallySeptember.” I argue, crossing my arms.

She gives me a ‘really?’look, and I pout. “You’re no fun.” Then, I stick my tongue out at her like a five-year-old. She rolls her eyes, opens her door, and reaches into the back to grab some of the bags. I go to follow her, but the minute I reach for the car door, I trip. The world spins, my arms flail, and then – faceplant. Pain lances up my exposed thigh and face. I cry out as I make contact with the hard ground.

“Shit!” Elain screeches, scrambling over and dropping to her knees beside me. “Are you okay? Ew. Ew. Ew!You’re bleeding!”

I groan as Elain continues to shout, rolling over onto my back. I lift my head to look down, seeing a bloody tree branch broken in half right next to my leg. I’m covered in dirt, and I can feel tiny rocks digging into my skin.

A fucking tree branch? Who cuts themselves on afucking tree branch?I’m screaming at myself in my head. Or maybe out loud. I don’t know. I throw my head back against the dirt road. “Thank you so much for pointing out the obvious.”

I go to shift into a sitting position, but wince. A few tears breach the corner of my eyes. It hurts like hell, but I think most of it's from the fall. The cut's bleeding, sure, but it doesn't looktoodeep.

“Maybe you shouldn’t get up.” She squeaks.

I wave her off from where I lay. “I’ll be fine. Just give me a minute.”

“Just – just wait here for a second, okay?”

I mumble a few curses, relinquishing any efforts to pull myself up. Elain quickly disappears. I stare at the blue sky above me, praying it would turn cloudy and thunderous and a lightning bolt would just strike me right where I lay pathetically against the ground. I’m not sure how much time passes while I wallow in the pitiful unfortunate events of my life, but footsteps drawing closer cause me to pop my eyes open.

"You've always been a little too clumsy for your own good." A rough voice grates against my ears as Wesley falls to a crouch beside me.

“Really?” I lift my neck to shoot a glare at Elain. “Him?” She doesn’t even try to hide her evil little smirk. She’s holding what looks like a bunch of medical supplies.

“Come on, up you go.” He wraps one arm behind my back and the other under my knees. He hefts me up, effortlessly, and cradles me to his chest. I flush when I feel his muscles shift beneath mine. We make our way inside, and he sets me on thebathroom sink. I don’t miss the way he seems to know the layout of the house better than I do. Elain drops the stuff off on the counter and shuts the door behind her as she leaves. Wesley taps my knee, and I blush when I realize he’s telling me to open my legs so he can get closer. Once he does move in, he reaches over and grabs some of the alcohol pads he brought with him.

“Might have to amputate it.” He quips.

“That’s no good.” I breathe out. Trying not to focus on how his hand nearly takes up my entire thigh. They’re so warm, so big, I can’t help but imagine how they would feel everywhere else.

“Is that blush because you enjoy the sight of me between your legs, Blake?” He doesn’t even look up as he says it, focusing on cleaning up the blood and dirt. But that so-calledblushon my face disappears in a second, and that same feeling from the coffee shop comes back with a vengeance.

“Careful.” I say, “Not sure your girlfriend would appreciate you talking to someone else like that.”

His head snaps up at my tone. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

I scoff. “Right. So, you’re just fucking, then?” Venom drips from my tongue, and I hate how annoyed I sound. It shouldn’t matter who he’s seeing. And it sure as hell shouldn’t matter that it’s Brittany. He pauses, then drops both palms on either side of me, effectively caging me in. The bathroom is small, and with the layout of it, we had to close the door for this position to even work. It feels more suffocating. Like I’m stuck in a cage with a wild animal, and I’m the prey. He’s so tall that even though I’m seated on the sink before him, he still needs to dip his head down to look at me. It’s too similar to the situation in Ana’s kitchen. The lack of space. Howeasyit would be just to lunge forward and run my fingers through his hair.

“Does it matter to you who I’m fucking, Blake?” The way the wordfuckrolls off his lips sends a thrill shooting through me, and I almost forget what this conversation is even about.

I’m going tokillhim.AndElain. “Why-” I ask through gritted teeth, “Would it matter tome?”

He chuckles and then bends down, blue eyes never leaving mine. He blows on the wound he’s finished wiping down. Goosebumps cover my flesh. I try to keep my breathing under control, praying he can’t hear my heart beating against my ribcage.

“Can you hurry up?” I snap. “I don’t want to catch anything with you being this close.”

He breaks our staring contest when he straightens back to his full height, slapping a huge bandage on my thigh. He only meets my gaze again when he says, “All done.”

“Thank you.” I say, but it comes out as a whisper.

He’s so close, and I find myself locked on his eyes. How bright they are, and how they just get a little bit darker around the edges. He’s still standing between my legs, and I swear I see his eyes drop to my mouth for just a split second. But then he’s stepping back, and a cold draft that wasn’t there before floods my system. Clearing his throat, he nods and extends a hand to me, helping me hop down from the sink. “Anytime,neighbor.See you at the bar this weekend?” He asks.

I nod, not able to form any words. Not sure I trust myself with speaking. Because I’m sure I’d ask him to kiss me until I die from the lack of oxygen if he sticks around any longer.

Chapter 34

Blake

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