Page 43 of Petal

It’s an effort to move.I don’t know how I just fucked Callie in the shower, because my legs feel like they will fold under me as I dry myself off with a towel, hissing and wincing at the sharp pain.

I toss the blood-smeared towel onto the floor, then put on my boxers, drag my feet to the bed, and take a seat on the edge of it.

I am an ass, I know. I just took my girl like a brute without paying attention to her needs. But she has that effect on me.

I am so exhausted I can’t think straight. I can only gaze at Callie as she pads across the room with the towel wrapped around her.

I am sleep deprived. I could sleep for several days.

“Did you sleep at all?” she asks as if reading my thoughts when she comes back with a bottle of water and the first aid kit.

I smile but don’t answer. I barely have the energy to check myself for wounds. I can feel the aches here and there. The left side of my jaw feels numb. My lip hurts, though kissing Callie might cure it much better than ointment.

Callie looks lost when she studies my body.

“I can’t see the wounds very well,” she murmurs and flickers a glance at me.

She is so cute, playing a nurse. My heart warms at the sight of her on her knees in front of me.

“I don’t think I have any bad ones,” I say as I feel up my torso slowly with my fingers.

I have multiple bloodied bruises, possibly split skin. But nothing is broken. I’ve done enough wrestling to know how to assess injuries.

“They just need to be treated with iodine,” I say, and Callie nods, pulling out a wipe and soaking it with the brown liquid.

I show her where the wounds are, and she dabs them with the wipe, then smears ointment on the broken skin. No bandages. The wounds will heal faster this way. We learned all sorts of tricks living in the wild on the Eastside. I could’ve done it myself, but I am so exhausted that I don’t care if Callie gets to feel my fucked up skin.

When we are done, Callie cups my face and gently dabs my broken lip with her thumb.

“I should do something about it,” she says.

“Yeah, kiss it,” I say, smiling, even though smiling hurts. And she kisses me like it’s the first time—timidly, even though only minutes ago in the shower she was lapping at me like a cat.

“Kai,” she says softly when she pulls away.

“Yeah, baby girl.” I stroke her shoulders as she stands on her knees between my legs. I want to unwrap that towel and see her naked body again.

“I really didn’t know about the fire.”

Shit.

I should’ve known from her expression that she would bring it up again.

“Let’s not talk about it,” I say.

“But I want to,” she insists. “I didn’t know, Kai. I found out about the fire months after it happened. I didn’t know it had to do with that night. Not that it’s an excuse or anything.”

“Callie, stop. I don’t want to talk about it.” I can’t deal with pity right now.

“It’s my fault, Kai. I left that day. If I hadn’t, the fire wouldn’t have happened.”

I take her face between my hands and lean over. “Callie, listen to me.”

We are in this together. For each other. And I feel alive. I don’t know what tomorrow brings. More fights? Until I am crippled? But being with Callie, going through all this shit together gives me more strength and hope than I’ve ever had before.

“I’d rather be in a hardcore mess with you than sit peacefully on a paradise beach without you,” I say. She smiles at me. “You can’t blame yourself for something that wasn’t your fault. Alright? I don’t like hearing this. That was a long time ago. I came to peace with it.”

“I want to be with you, Kai,” she says, and the determination in her eyes is new and makes my heart thud heavily. “Wherever you go, I go. Whatever you do, I do.”

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