Page 74 of Show Me How to Heal
In the middle of the night.
More precisely at… two thirteen AM?
I stared at my phone with furrowed brows. Who the fuck would show up here at this time of the day? The paparazzi? No, it was too dark to get good photos. Besides… they’d never even find my driveway without knowing where it was. Which meant it had to be someone local.
Corbyn? He wanted to meet up with Raphael, Walker, and Mel in The Bar tonight. Maybe they thought I needed cheering up. Which I definitely did, even if I didn’t want it, but making the trip over in the middle of the night?
The doorbell rang again, and a spike of fear hit me in the chest. Sammy growled again, shifting so that he was shielding me, which was all kinds of cute because he was still a puppy and very much looked the part, all big paws, long legs and this cute puppy face.
“Let’s see who’s there,” I mumbled, not convinced this was a good idea since I couldn’t be sure it was Corbyn outside.
But when the doorbell rang a third time, I knew the person wouldn’t just go away.
I stood, wincing at the sharp pain shooting up my leg when I put pressure on my knee before grabbing a leash, attaching it to Sammy’s collar — just in case — and taking the crutches from where they’d been leaning against the wall. Having to use them again felt like a failure, but even I wasn’t stupid enough to skip using them. Been there, done that, got my ass handed to me by my PT.
The doorbell rang a fourth time just as I walked down the last couple of stairs.
“Ich bin ja auf dem Weg!”I murmured, rolling my eyes. Had they seen the size of this fucking cabin? The walk from my bedroom to the front door felt like it was a kilometer long, though it was probably closer to a hundred meters.
Sammy was walking two steps ahead of me, tail straight, his whole body tense.
I turned the light switch on the wall next to the front door, illuminating the porch area, so I wouldn’t get any unpleasant surprises. Then I looked through the small glass window in the front door to check who was there.
I blinked, not trusting my eyes, but even after blinking a couple of times and pinching myself for good measure, the picture remained the same. A ruffled Zayne stood on my porch, nervously shifting from one foot to the other, his arms protectively wrapped around him to shield his body from the cold.
I tore the door open, scowling at him. “Bist du vollkommen bescheuert, hier nur in einem Hemd aufzukreuzen?”
“What… uhm… hi?” Zayne said, forcing a smile to his lips. He looked… bad. Still attractive and everything, but he looked even more worse for wear than yesterday. “Sorry… could you repeat what you just said? In English?”
Blinking, I tried thinking back to what I’d said mere seconds ago. I’d said that in German? Huh, I hadn’t realized.
“I said: Are you out of your mind only wearing a button-down shirt in this weather…. Or something like this. Come in!” I raised my hand to beckon him to come closer but lowered it again after realizing I was holding a crutch in my hand, almost accidentally taking a swing at Zayne.
Damn, I was tired and definitely not on top of my game.
Zayne yawned as he tried walking past me while Sammy excitedly jumped up and down in front of him. Gone was my protector, the happy puppy was firmly back in place, licking Zayne’s hand, letting out quiet barks of joy while his tail wagged so hard I was pretty sure he managed to bruise my calves.
“Uhm… do you want a… coffee or something?” I asked, heading for the living room. I already missed my warm, comfortable bed, but Zayne was more important than sleep, though he looked like he could use goodnight’s sleep, too.
“No, thank you,” he said, still hugging himself. His hair was ruffled, and his cheeks a deep red from the cold. “I…” He yawned. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Okaay?” He wanted to? Past tense?
“Yeah, but actually… can we maybe talk tomorrow? I’m afraid I’d fall asleep mid-conversation.” He looked towards the huge couch in the living room. “If you don’t want to share a bed, I can take the couch.”
If I… he wanted to share a bed with me? After everything that’d happened?
My heart skipped a beat, already realizing his words, while my brain was still trying to process them, wanting to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.
“My bedroom’s upstairs,” I told him, yawning, too. Dammit, he’d infected me!
“Oh, great… so… lead the way?”
I nodded, turning around to head towards the stairs.
This was weird. So fucking weird. Not that I minded Zayne showing up here. Quite the contrary, on the inside, I was partying hard while terrified he would wake up tomorrow having changed his mind. But it was still weird. The atmosphere was stiff, like none of us knew what to say or do. How to behave around the other.
“Your house is gorgeous,” Zayne told me as I led him to the master bedroom.
