Page 37 of Bound by Affliction
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Green
“Yeah,shit’s good here. Leah’s comin’ around. Taken’ it slow, but she smiles more so I think she’s makin’ progress.” Finally. Damn, these have been a rough few weeks, or months, I can’t remember, but now she’ll let me touch her and kiss her, which is progress. Not wearing long sleeves and pants, we’re workingon.
“Glad to hear it.” Cooper clears this throat. “When you comin’ back,Green?”
The dreaded question, not because I don’t want to go back to Sumner, but because it’ll mean leaving Leah. That I’m not ready for, and getting her to pack up and leave with me, at this point, doesn’t feel like an option. And I really don’t think I can leave her. Fuck, I knew this wascoming.
I listen to the shower still going. “Don’t know, brother. There something that needshandled?”
“Always.”
Something inside me twists. Fuck, I’m going to have to go. “When do you needme?”
There’s jostling around on the other end of the line that sounds like crackles. “Holdin’ my dad off for now. May be able to give ya another week, two if you’re really fuckin’ lucky, but brother, I need to tell ya, you need to get back here sooner rather than later. We got shit todo.”
Rubbing my hand over my face, I heave out a deep breath. “Got it. How’sBristyl?”
“Pissed, but I’m fuckin’ it out of her. She’ll befine.”
I chuckle. “Right. Gotta go and talk to Leah. I’ll keep intouch.”
“Later.”
“Later, brother.” I slide the phone off to disconnect and stare at the bathroom door. What in the fuck am I going to do? I don’t want to leave her, but I don’t know for sure that she won’t come with me either. We’re going to have to chat, and I fear the outcome. Fuck. If I could just tie her up and take her with me I would, but that would be cruel under hercircumstances.
One fucked up conversation, coming rightup.
* * *
“What’s wrong?”Leah asks, coming to the kitchen table where sandwiches are laid out for lunch, and she sits in the chair opposite ofme.
“That obvious,huh?”
It still gets me how well Leah can read me. Even before all this shit, when we talked on the phone, she could pick up little details in my tone of voice and called me out on it. Damn, I loved it. No one in my life had been able to do that in the way she did or does. Another reason why thissucks.
“Yeah, you’re doing that pinched brow thing where you look mean ashell.”
With an eyebrow lift, “Really?” Iask.
She digs into her sandwich, turkey and cheddar on wheat, nodding. “Yep. You did it a few times in the hospital and… before.” She wipes her mouth with a napkin then looks down at the table like she’s remembering. I fucking hate it when sheremembers.
“Must be pretty fuckin’ sexy if you remember it thatclosely.”
Leah rolls her eyes and looks up to the ceiling, one of her quirks that I’ve missed so damn much. Too bad the reason I get it is because ofthis.
Her pointed stare comes to me. “I remember everything, Green.” The words are loaded with so much meaning and while I’m glad she remembers before and what we had, I don’t want her to remember being hurt. But that’s just me. I’m a guy who doesn’t want someone he cares about hurt. Fucking sueme.
“Right. Talked to Coopertoday.”
Her sandwich falls to the plate, eyes wide, and panic all over her. “What? Is Bristyl okay? What’s wrong?” The questions come out in one long stream and I realize I’m fucking thisup.
“She’s fine. Perfectlyfine.”
She visibly deflates in relief. “Good. Okay. What’swrong?”
“Gotta goback.”
