Page 129 of Ward Willing
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
THE PROTECTOR
Zoe
After an hour of waiting, they finally bring me back for an X-ray, only to be told that my wrist is sprained, not fractured, like Liam was worried about. I do have to go back in a week for another X-ray to double check. The nice doctor gives me a wrist splint and tells me to manage the pain with over-the-counter painkillers. It’s a best-case scenario. I won’t be able to use my wrist for a week, but at least I don’t need surgery. I guess it’s something that’s common with this type of wrist fracture.
When I walk into the waiting room, my smile drops from my face when I see Liam bent over with his hands in his hair. As if he can sense me, his head snaps up, and his eyes find mine immediately. We meet halfway, but when I wrap my arms around him, he stiffens slightly and pulls away.
“Just a sprain,” I tell him. “Though I have to come back next week to confirm, as sometimes fractures don’t show up the first time.” His face blanches, and I can’t help but laugh. He looks like I’ve given myself a death sentence. “It’s okay. I’m in good hands. And it’s not my dominant hand, so that’s good.”
It’s as if the news doesn’t placate him at all. Instead, his brows pull together slightly. “Let’s get you home so that you can rest.” He walks off without another word, and I quickly follow him.
“What about the hotel?”
“I’ll go to the hotel and collect our things after I drop you off at home.”
Cold. Unemotional.Distant.That’s how he’s acting—like he’s pulling away.
I swallow the worry that begins to eat at me as he helps me into the car. His eyes linger on the wrist splint before they move to my face, devoid of any emotion. It breaks my heart to see it, and I make a mental note to talk to him about it.
All in all, the events of tonight went from bad to worse, but it doesn’t mean we can’t salvage something.
And it definitely doesn’t mean we can’t continue our night together. He may be spooked, but I’ll make sure he knows that this isn’t going to deter me.
When he drives out of the parking lot and toward the main road, I almost ask him if everything’s okay, but he quickly turns the music on, drowning out any words that may have left my lips.Fine.We live together, though; it’s not like he can avoid me forever.
Twenty minutes later, we’re pulling up to the house. He puts the car in park, but he doesn’t turn the engine off.
“You have your key?” he asks, jaw hard as he looks at me.
I nod and pat my purse. “I always do.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later.”
Unease slithers through me. “Liam, you need to stop beating yourself up.”
“I can’t talk about this right now, Zoe.”
“Please–” My voice cracks.
“No, I don’t want to talk about it.”
I start to panic, and my words come out much wobblier than I intend. “Liam, you need to listen to me?—”
“Red,” he murmurs, looking sad.
I stare at him, unbelieving. “What?” I whisper, my voice breaking.
“I saidred,” he grits out. “This is my boundary, and I’m using the safe word.”
Shaking my head, tears begin to well in my eyes. “You can’t weaponize the safe word just because you don’t want to talk right now. That’s not fair.”
“Well, you were pushing me, and I didn’t know how else to get through to you. I do not want to talk about what happened tonight. Okay?”
Hot tears stream down my face as I use my good hand to unbuckle myself. “Fine. You’ve made it crystal fucking clear,” I add, opening the door and slamming it closed behind me before he can respond.
As I walk to the front door, I let the tears free, and I don’t look back as I unlock the front door and let myself into the house. Once I close and lock it, I slide down onto the floor, clutching my wrist as sobs wrack through my body.
