Page 56 of His Heart

I got up quietly so I wouldn’t wake them and went into the bathroom. I was afraid to look in the mirror, but it wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. Granted, I looked awful. My lip was swollen and I had purple bruising beneath my eye. But it could have been worse.

I took a shower and got dressed. Thankfully I had a change of clothes in my bag. I set it down next to me on the bed and carefully unzipped one of the pockets. Peeked inside. It was where I kept the photo of me and Liam at the Valentine’s Day dance, and the box with my engagement ring. I couldn’t look for very long, but I had to know they were still there. Had to know they were safe.

By the time I came out, Sebastian and Charlie were up. Charlie was as big as Sebastian. His hair was lighter and his eyes blue, rather than that mesmerizing mix of green and brown. But they were both so tall, and thickly muscled. Sebastian had said he’d been a wrestler. Charlie must have been, too.

Sebastian smiled at me. “Morning. Feeling any better?”

“Yeah,” I said, trying not to let his smile get under my skin. But it prickled my insides. “The bed was comfortable.”

Charlie snorted. “At least someone was comfortable last night.”

“I slept fine,” Sebastian said.

“That’s because you’re a fucking blanket hog,” Charlie said.

Sebastian just chuckled. He stepped close and touched my chin with gentle fingers. He tipped my face to one side, then the other, his eyes intense and scrutinizing.

I held my breath, torn between wanting to pull away from his touch, and melting at the warmth of his fingers on my skin.

“God, this pisses me off.” He let go. “Sorry, Brooke. I really want to kill the fucker who did this to you.”

“Yeah me too,” I said.

Sebastian glanced at Charlie, then back at me. “I think you need to go to the police this morning. He shouldn’t get away with this.”

I stepped backward. Going to the police opened such a can of worms. What if it made the news, and the Harpers found out? Or I reported it, but Jared went free? He’d already said he’d kill me. This would only make things worse.

And where was I going to live now?

“I don’t know,” I said.

Sebastian put a hand on my arm. “I’ll go with you, okay? You don’t have to do it alone. But this isn’t right. Have you looked at your face? Let’s just go talk to them and see what they say.”

I still wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, but I agreed.

Sebastian drove me to the nearest police station. He came in with me, but when the woman at the front asked what we needed, I hesitated, looking to him.

“Go ahead,” he said. “You’ve got this.”

“I need to report an assault,” I said, surprised that my voice came out so clear.

The officer was businesslike, but compassionate. Sebastian sat quietly next to me while I explained to her what had happened. She asked questions, took some pictures, and got Jared’s name and address. When she asked for my contact information, I wasn’t sure what to say. My phone was broken, and at this point, I was basically homeless.

“Can I give you my number for now?” Sebastian asked.

“And you are?” the officer asked.

“Sebastian McKinney,” he said. “I’m Brooke’s friend.”

“All right,” she said, and took down Sebastian’s number. “We’ll be in touch soon.”

“Thanks for your time,” I said.

Sebastian touched me gently on the back as we walked out of the police station. It was comforting. I’d wanted him to answer all the questions, even though he hadn’t been there. But he’d been quiet until the end, only nodding encouragement when I’d looked at him. His silent presence had helped, as did his light touch on my back, guiding me to his car. I was shaky, and part of me wanted to fall apart. To cry, and drink too much, and go to bed. Get numb and sleep it all away.

But I took a deep breath as I got into his car, and held the pieces of myself together. For now, anyway.

“Breakfast?” he asked when he got in next to me.

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