Page 72 of Stop and Seek
His lip split open, red seeping down his chin. One of his cheekbones already starting to swell.
Theo swallowed hard, pulse roaring in his ears.
“Jesus,” Noah mumbled. “You—” He turned his head, spit out a mouthful of something pink and shiny. “—you feel better now? You hit like a damn truck.”
Theo should’ve said sorry—should’ve apologized a dozen different ways.
Because, seriously? Noah didn’t deserve that. Theo had meant to shove him off not… this.
His gaze dropped to the blood, the bruises, the absolute fuckingwreckhe’d made—and for a split second, it did something to him.
Somethingwrong.
Somethinghot.
He liked the way Noah looked right now. Raw. Hurt. Still staring up at him like Theohung the goddamn moon.
Stop it. Stop it right now.
Apologize.
Holy shit, say something.
Sweat—or tears—blurred his vision, and all he could do was watch Noah swim in and out of focus.
“It’s alright, baby,” Noah said after another moment. “I’m gonna let go now, okay? Can you stand?”
Something must have clicked back into place in Theo’s head—he could almost hear it snap together.
“I—I’m… uh….” Theo licked his lips.
What the hell was he supposed to say again?
Are you okay,seemedreallystupid. Obviously, Noah wasn’t.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered instead.
His heart was still going too fast when Noah released his grip.
Theo stood, slowly, holding onto the brick to keep himself steady.
Noah followed. Less slow. He smeared his hands over his face, looked down at them, then wiped them on the black shorts.
“You ever think about getting into boxing?” he asked, laughing.
How the fuck was helaughing? Noah should’ve been pissed, or at least angry—not…
“I gotta go,” Theo said, faster than he meant to. The words came out all at once.
He heard Noah saying something, but it meshed together with the shit in his head, and he couldn’t pick it apart.
Pulling open the front door, he bolted up the stairs two at a time. Holding onto the railing for dear life. He wasn’t shaking when he jammed the key into the lock. His heart wasn’t pounding anymore.
There was just a sense of eerie calm, and that? That was worse than losing control a minute ago.
Theo shoved the door closed behind him. The ceiling fan jumped. He leaned the back of his head against the wood, forcing air through his nose, out his mouth—big deep breaths, until he felt more like himself.
At least,closerto himself.
