Page 30 of Sunflower Persona
Nathan’s fist crashes into his jaw in a nasty uppercut, and the asshole drops to the floor without finishing his sentence.
“Go. I’ll take care of things here.” He tosses me his keys and flashes me a cheeky smile.
“Thank you,” I tell him and sweep Kori into my arms.
She’s so weak—so goddamn fragile. It only adds to the storm. I have half a mind to let Karis and Evelyn take care of her so I can teach that fuck a real lesson, consequences be damned. Her tiny whimper as she burrows her head into my chest is the only thing that keeps me from turning around.
The world around me is still a blur as I walk through the door. My entire focus is on the woman cradled against me. I’m sure I’ll have a mess to clean up tomorrow—if I even have a job to come back to—but I’d do it again in a heartbeat to keep her safe.
Maybe once things calm down, I’ll examine what that means.
A pit forms in my gut as I work to get her situated in Nathan’s car. She doesn’t react at all to being manhandled and positioned so I can fasten her seat belt. Her head lolls and her body sags against the strap as I pull away.
Fuck.
Whatever he gave her is strong.
“Can you hear me, doll?” I run a knuckle down her clammy cheek, and not even her lashes flutter in response.
Fuck.
Fear churns in my core. She needs to go to the hospital, but a bill like that could ruin someone. It would ruin me. Hell, it did. Can I live with myself if I fuck her over like that? Can I live with myself if I don’t take her and she ends up seriously hurt?
Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I back out of the spot and head toward my apartment. If she gets worse, I’ll take her in, but I can’t risk screwing her over like that. The drive passes by in a blink. One minute I’m getting on the loop, and the next I’m pulling up to my unit, with no real memory of what happened in between.
As soon as I park the car, I throw open the door and jog around the front to get Kori. She stirs, letting out the softest pained moan as I pull her back into my arms. The sound stabs straight into my chest, but it’s an improvement. At least she’s responsive.
“We’re almost there,” I murmur.
She doesn’t give me any answer—not that I expect her to. I doubt I’ll be hearing anything from those perfect lips for several hours. And I doubt she’ll want anything to do with me once I get her home either. It’s my fault she’s in this state. If I hadn’t invited her out, none of this would have happened. She should be safely tucked away in her dorm, painting her nails or watching a monster movie, but I fucked that up by opening my stupid mouth.
Getting her inside is harder than I anticipated. It doesn’t help that my knee screams with every step I take. Every ache and pain in my weary body is intensified as the adrenaline fades from my system. Maneuvering her through the door while protecting her unconscious form is another thing entirely, but I manage and take her to my room, placing her on the bed with all the care she deserves.
Bile rises in my throat as I assess her state without danger clouding my perception. A fresh sheen of sweat coats her forehead, soaking the stray hairs around her ashen face. I grab a damp washcloth from the bathroom and wipe away the worst of it. My chest tightens painfully as she whimpers and stirs under my fingers.
I’d give anything to swap places with her.
“I’m so goddamn sorry,” I whisper into the void. The thick knot in my throat makes anything more than that impossible.
Never have I felt so helpless. Not even when I was stuck in bed after my surgery; my recovery was at least in my control then. Now all I can do is wait while Kori suffers.
Exhaustion seeps into my limbs, weighing them down like lead, but sleep and I won’t be getting acquainted tonight. Watching over her is more important than my own needs. If anything, it’s my penance for not keeping a close enough eye on her and letting this happen.
There isn’t a good spot in my room for me to post up. The space is too small for more furniture than my bed and dresser, and I’m not about to crawl under the sheets beside her. I would be as bad as the man who drugged her if I did that. The floor isn’t an option either. It’s too low for me to keep her in my line of sight, and I’ll be damned if I take my eyes off her for a moment. Never again will I let my negligence cause her to come to harm.
I lean against the wall, watching for any change in the subtle rise and fall of her chest. Tonight I’ll be her sentinel, unwaveringeven when the gloom finds me in the dark. It swirls around me, spewing vitriol instead of the normal seductive promises of peace. Somehow, this is easier to ignore. The evidence of my failures is here in front of me, and I already hate myself enough for letting it happen. My gloom can’t make that any worse.
***
It’s nearly sunrise by the time Kori starts to stir. She lets out a soft groan as she rolls over and kicks off the blanket I wrapped around her when violent shivers racked through her body. After several minutes of her tossing and turning, her lashes flutter open. Once…twice…three times before she loses the fight to keep her lids from falling shut again.
I know the feeling. My tired eyes burn from staying awake all night. Every blink feels like I’m grinding them against coarse sandpaper, and they grow heavier with every minute that passes. Her movement wipes the exhaustion away in an instant, and I push away from my post to crouch by the side of the bed.
“You’re all right,” I croon as I run a knuckle over her cheek.
