Page 8 of Mayhem

It doesn’t go away until he lies me on the couch. I let my head fall back, conceding to the fact that this might be more serious than I thought.

Still unwilling to let him win, I say, “I’m only staying until Nate gets back. The least you can do is feed me since I alerted you to that asshole.”

He growls, making me open my eyes. “What were you thinking? Why in the world would you get involved?”

I shrug, uncomfortable with the change in subject. “He didn’t look like he was coming for a visit, you know, considering he was sneaking through the woods. We might not be friends, but we aren’t enemies either.”

“You could’ve gotten killed. You shouldn’t involve yourself in other people’s business,” he scolds.

“Okay. Fine. Next time some creepy guy is trying to murder you in your sleep, I’ll look the other way and sleep peacefully. Why would I care if he murdered an asshole like you?”

“He wouldn’t have gotten close enough to murder me, but thanks for the vote of confidence. You need to rest, but don’t fall asleep. All of this talking isn’t helping your head. I can see you wince every time you throw a glare at me.” He rubs his face in frustration.

I narrow my eyes but cringe when it hurts.

Asshole is right.

“Fine. You can leave me in silence then.” I wave my hand, dismissing him.

He shakes his head. “Yeah, right. So you can try to leave again?” he says bitterly. “I’ll sit here and do some work.”

I watch as he moves to the chair across from me, grabbing a laptop from the table to prop on his lap.

After several moments of silence, I give in to the urge to close my eyes.

As I drift off, I try to focus on anything but the throbbing pain in my head.

“Willow, don’t fall asleep.”

I open my eyes and sneer at him. “I wasn’t.”

“You’re breathing was evening out. Don’t lie.”

“It’s not a lie. I don’t feel like Iwasfalling asleep. However, the argument can be made that how would one know if they are falling asleep? Isn’t that why they call it falling? You know, because you succumb so quickly.”

“Smart-ass,” he mumbles under his breath.

“I’m just saying.”

After what feels like an hour of Chase checking on me every five minutes or so, Nate comes back through the door.

I jump up, grimacing at the intense pain.

“Be careful,” Chase chastises me.

I ignore his comment, choosing to speak to Nate instead. “What the fuck took so long? Were you getting your dick sucked too?”

Nate chuckles. “Aw. Did you miss me? Or are you just hangry?”

“Neither. The quicker I eat, the sooner I can leave and pretend tonight never happened.”

Nate shakes his head, setting the pizza down on the table in front of me.

“Whatever you say, Wills. I’ll go get some plates. You want soda? Water? Beer?”

“Nate,” Chase growls.

He holds up his hands. “Fine, no beer.”

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