Page 18 of Derek
“In–” She waves her hand between us, her cheeks pink and eyes glassy.
“Forget it,” her voice cracks as she turns and reaches for the pan on the stove.
“Wait!” I yell, but it’s too late. Indy screams and drops the pan. I rush over and lead her to the sink, turning the cool water on. I place her burned hand under the water and reach into a cabinet for my first aid kit.
“Hey,” I say firmly as I look back at her. She can’t do this. Her tears spill over her cheeks, and that’s it, I’m broken. “Shhh…” I drop the kit on the counter, grab her, and pull her into my arms. “Indy come on, it’s alright.” She lets out a loud sob against my chest, and I feel her tears soaking into the cotton of my shirt.
“I–I’m so sorry Derek!” She sobs out and fuck me. Don’t I feel like a dick.
“It’s okay! Come on now,” I say as softly as I can, pulling her away to look at her. “Let’s see,” I stare at her shaking hand. It’s so small and delicate compared to mine. “Ah, this ain’t too bad.” I try lightly while grabbing a rag and wetting it. “Hold that for a minute while I get rid of whatever got burned.”
She sniffles loudly as she wipes her face and whispers. “It wasn’t your food.” I raise a brow at that. “I ordered some groceries. I was… I was trying to replace the food I’d eaten earlier, but I’m not very good with much beyond baking, and I was in the laundry room separating our clothes because I know having our clothes together bothers you, and I guess I took too long and the alarm went off.” Fresh tears travel down her cheeks. “I am so sorry! And I promise I won’t touch anything. I’ll just stay in the back until I find a different place.”
Asshole, you are a mean fucking asshole that made the literal sweetest human in the world cry.“Indy, it’s fine. You’re fine. It’s just… I’ve been here alone for a long time and am not used to sharing my space.”
She shakes her head, wiping the tears away. I resist the urge I have to wipe them away for her.
“And you shouldn’t have to for me.” She lets out a forced laugh and shakes her head. “Why did you even ask me… no demand for me to come here? You obviously don’t like me.”
“I never said that,” I mutter, and she gives me a deadpan stare that causes me to groan.
“Indyyy, what do you want from me? I was trying to be nice. You needed a place more accessible. Fox made it a point to remind me that–”
“Oh,” she stands straighter, and her body goes tense. “That makes more sense, Fox guilted you. Well, I’m feeling better now, so your obligation to help the sick little helpless Indy is over. You can sleep soundly knowing you did a good job.” Woah, I had no idea Indy actually knew how to snap back.
“Now, listen here. I didn’t say you were an obligation.” She rolls her eyes, and I have to fight an urge to snap at her for it.
“I’ll be gone tomorrow morning.” She states before brushing past me and heading down the hall.
I scoff, “Really? Tell me Little Darlin’, where are you going to go?” She stops at her door, and I wait for her to spin around and snap at me again, but she doesn’t. Instead, she takes a deep breath before glancing over her shoulder at me.
“I don’t know yet, but I’ve clearly worn out my welcome here. Lucky for you, you don’t have to worry about where I go, right? Not my brother, not my daddy.” She gives me her normal high-wattage smile, though this time, with her splotchy face and red-rimmed eyes, it looks… sad.
“Thank you for your generosity, Derek. I’ll never be able to repay you for this.” And with that, she walks into her room and shuts it behind her. Leaving me out here wishing like hell I could erase the last twenty fucking minutes.
Chapter8
Indy
“Bye!” Janie and I wave to the group of kids before heading out of the hospital room. I sigh as I nudge my friend. “Thanks for doing this with me.” I smile, and Janie smirks.
“Hard to say no when you look that cute.” She laughs. I am in my new princess dress. Powder blue, off the shoulders, and sparkly. I got my hair straightened and then curled in massive waves in a half-up-do, complete with a silver tiara, and I even wore white gloves for a more elegant feel.
Janie had dressed in a really pretty yellow dress, but she had been smart enough to bring clothes to change into. Not that it really matters. I have spare clothes at Hel’s, so once we get there, I’ll change. I smile politely at our Uber driver as I grab my dress and slide into the back of the car.
“So, how are things?” Janie asks once we start moving. “How are you feeling?”
“Yellow day,” I smile brightly. “And things are fantastic! I’m so excited to be back at work today!” Today is my first day back since I had my relapse a little over two weeks ago. It’ll also be my first time seeing Derek since I left his place four days ago. I told him I would look for a place, but I lied. I got an Uber while he was in the shower that night and went to Ash and Sunday’s. Then the following day, our mutual friend, Luca, said he would be out of town for two weeks and said I could stay in his apartment if I wanted to. His place is so nice and way too luxurious. But, with luxuries come things like walk-in showers and elevators, so I was happy to take the place.
Looking at my phone, I feel the nervous twist in my stomach return. Derek has been texting and calling me since I left. I never answered the calls or read the texts. I would’ve listened to the voicemails had he left any, but the weirdo didn’t. I didn’t read the texts because I didn’t want him to see I’d read them. Atlas did text me, though, saying that he was going to tell Derek I was okay because he had been “extra dickish”. Considering how much I seemed to pester the guy, I find that hard to believe.
I actually feel awful about it. I hadn’t meant to come in and take over his space. I just thought maybe I could help by doing his laundry, making the place smell nice. It never occurred to me that he liked it a certain way. Which had been short-sighted on my part, and I feel so embarrassed about it. I’ve wanted to call or text him and apologize, but I also thought it would be best to give him some space for a few days and allow him to get back into his normal routine. Maybe now I can apologize, and we can be friends… or whatever Derek would call it.
We pull into the parking lot of Hel’s, and I thank Janie as she helps me out. I’m doing a lot better. My body feels as though it is about back at baseline, which is exciting because I want to go to the tattoo and piercing convention with the group that is coming up. Even still, I look up at the stairs and smile as my big brother, Ash, jogs down the steps to help me up.
“Indy,” Janie calls when she reaches the top. “It’s t-shirt Thursday, so grab one of the new shirts from the front to wear!” I give her a thumbs-up before Ash lets me get on his back.
“I’m yellow. How are you?” I say before he can ask. He laughs lightly.
