Page 80 of Huge Games

"Jesus, Celine."

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"You should go. Call him back and tell him."

"No way. I'm coming to the hospital with you. That's my priority. My dad's flying surprise visit when he'sbasically been ignoring me is not."

He's quiet for a while, but I can practically hear his brain turning. He's wondering how I can turn down seeing my dad and risk my financial support for him. He doesn't realize that I know he'd do the same for me if the situations were reversed.

Elias is more important to me than my dad, and it's nothing I'm going to be embarrassed or sorry about. People do what they want, and my dad has proved he doesn't care about being a father to me. Elias proves over and over that he's a good person who cares about me.

He's worth any sacrifice.

When we arrive, he leans over to kiss my lips softly. "I can't believe you did that," he says.

"You'd do the same, wouldn't you?"

We're so close that I can feel his breath on my lips and see the little scar he has on his eyebrow. He rests his hand against my cheek so tenderly that a knot of emotions ties tightly in my throat. "Don't worry about Eddie," he tells me. "He'll pay for what he did, one way or another."

"I don't want you to do anything. I mean it." I especially don't want him to think he owes me something now because I turned down one ridiculous dinner offer.

He blinks his long, dark lashes, and I can tell he hasn't heard me. I'd rather leave Eddie to remain unpunished so that Elias doesn't get into trouble. My desire for revenge has withered behind my care for this man.

"Please. Don't do anything."

He kisses me again and reaches across me to open the door. He's telling me to get out without saying the words. "I'll see you later."

"Okay. Call me."

As soon as I'm out of the car, I miss him. I watch him drive away in his rust bucket that makes a strange noiseand belches out a cloud of toxic fumes, wondering what we're doing. I don't think either of us knows.

Dornan is waiting on the steps to my building with his earbuds in and his eyes closed. He's pretty in the same crazily masculine way Elias is. He's the light to Elias's dark. The easy to Elias's tough. I'm glad he's here.

When I get close enough that he senses me, he opens his gorgeous blue eyes and stands, tugging his earbuds and dropping them into his shirt pocket. "How did it go?" he asks, bending to press a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth.

"They were vague about everything."

"So they're not investigating?" He sounds annoyed, and I shrug because none of this feels important to me now. Eddie's my past. If I keep looking back all the time, I'll never move forward.

All I want is for the video to be taken down and for Dornan, Elias, and Travis to be in my life. I want us to be happy, not bogged down by drama and issues. I want to be able to focus on them because they deserve that.

They deserve love, and I do, too.

My heart swells but then contracts because what I want and can have are two very different things.

"They're looking into it but without evidence…"

"Isn't evidence gathering part of police work? I mean, what the fuck do they want you to do? Turn up with the case wrapped up and present it to them like a Christmas gift? What are they getting paid to do?"

"I think they mean that without witnesses, it will be hard to prove."

"FFS."

"You wanna come up. I have beer."

"I can't. I have classes. I just stopped by on my break on the off chance you might be done."

I rest my hand on his arm, touched that he cared enough to go out of his way for me. "Thanks."

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