Page 29 of There's No Us Without You
Jesus fucking Christ.
“No, can’t say I’ve had that happen.” I rub my fingertips over my forehead as my heart rate kicks up, and my muscles tense with a protectiveness I’ve never felt before.
Fighting isn’t usually my go-to reaction, but this time it feels warranted. Is this how Wren felt every time he stepped into the MMA cage? Like a crazed animal?
I make a mental note to ask him about that the next time I talk to him.
“With my mum.”
She speaks the words so matter-of-factly, it takes a moment for them to sink in, and at first, I’m sure she’s just pulling my leg until I realise she isn’t grinning like someone who’s kidding around. With her head down, her bottom lip sucked behind her front teeth, she’s assessing my reaction through her dark eyelashes.
“Fuck off... wait—you’re serious?” I stare at her with my mouth open.
She nods. “As a heart attack.”
“That’s—”
“Fucked.”
I nod, blowing out a breath. “On so many levels.”
And here I am, where the worst thing my parents have done is to be overprotective. Especially my mother.
Eden chews on her bottom lip and tentatively reaches out to trace the veins in my forearm with her index finger. “Do you think you could come with me tomorrow to get my things from Kent’s house? I don’t want to go alone.”
I suppress the urge to shiver under her touch as my gaze wanders to the hem ofmyshirt where it sits just above her mid-thighs. That’s all she’s wearing.
And fuck if it doesn’t look good on her.
“Em?” Eden shoves her face in front of mine.
“Yeah? Oh, right.” I clear my throat. “Of course, I’ll come with you—anything you need.”
This seems to satisfy her, although I still feel like the biggest creep from the way I just ogled her body right in front of her.
Bloody hell. This is going to be the longest eight weeks of my life.
Eden points to the crumpled pile of sheets on the floor. “I’ll probably need those.”
“Right.” I jump from the bed, momentarily forgetting I have an injury until I put pressure on my left knee.
A sharp pain radiates down into my shin, but Eden can’t know I’m injured, so I suck in a deep breath and snatch the items from the floor. Her scent lingers on them, and it takes all my energy not to press them to my nose and breathe her in.
Because . . . weird.
I hand the sheets to Eden when she climbs from the bed, keeping my eyes on the floor in front of me.
One after the other, Eden spreads out the sheet, then the quilt, before climbing back under the covers and pulling them up under her arms. Yawning, she shifts to lie on her side while fluffing up her pillow.
Rocking back on my heels, I give her a tight smile. “I’ll leave you to it,” I say, nodding once. “Good night.”
Those green eyes lock onto mine. “You’re a good person, Emerson. Thank you for checking on me.”
My chest tightens. I’m also a liar.
“Anytime.”
Her eyes close on another yawn, so I switch off the lamp, then stalk out of her room, closing the door behind me.
