Page 16 of Shattered Pieces

Tilly was allowed to stay with me while I got checked out, and once they’d applied a burn dressing, I was sent to my room.

My hair was tangled from it starting to dry without brushing it, and I forced myself to keep my head high and face free of emotion as people looked at me. Probably didn’t look too tough with the towel wrapped around me, but I refused to let them see the pain I felt.

The girls were all hanging out watching TV when I returned, and I brushed Tilly off as I went into my room to change out of my wet pants.

“Hey,” Lexi said as she leaned against my door frame.

“Came to check me out?” I asked dryly, making her chuckle as I peeled the towel off, leaving me in wet pants and my bra.

“Absolutely. Damn, Donovan. You’ve been hiding that body from me?”

“Flattery gets you nowhere with me,” I scoffed, turning to glare at her. “Can you get out and shut the door?”

“I could,” she hummed as I gave her my back again to grab fresh clothes, hearing the door shut like I’d asked. Glancing over my shoulder, I found her leaning back against the closed door, her arms crossed as she watched me.

“Skeet carved you up?” she asked flatly, her jaw tight.

“Bryant, get out,” I huffed, kicking my pants off and making them splat in a pile on the floor.

“How bad’s the burn?”

“They didn’t rush me to the hospital, so not too bad.”

It was obvious she wasn’t leaving, so I bit my tongue and kicked my wet panties and bra off since I had to be naked in front of everyone in the showers anyway. That would take some getting used to.

I grabbed the towel to pat my skin dry, very aware of her staring at me.

“You could at least take me on a date first,” I deadpanned, pulling some dry panties and a bra on before turning to face her, grabbing my hair brush to get the knots out.

“That’s just wasting time when we could be coming on each other’s faces instead,” she joked, some of the tension leaving her. “Why did he cut you?”

“It’s Skeet,” I shrugged. “He’s a possessive asshole.”

“You’re dating those Ashburn Academy guys too though, right?”

“Yeah. They weren’t too happy about it.”

“And you?”

I smiled, putting the hair brush down as I got the last knot out. “I like it when the knife comes out.”

I grabbed the pants and pulled them up my legs, yanking the shirt on next.

“You need to find some girls in here. Safety in numbers,” she sighed, sitting on the edge of my bed.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m not exactly popular.”

“I know.”

“How come you climbed the ranks fast just by being Archer’s girl, but I’m hated for being Skeet’s?” I asked, and she raised an eyebrow.

“You might be Skeet’s girl, but you were on TV being dragged out of the leader of the Devils’ house. If you can’t be loyal to the Psychos, no one in here will trust you to be loyal either.”

“I’ve never touched Hunter, but you have,” I spat, and she rolled her eyes.

“You can say it until you’re blue in the face. No one believes you, and as far as everyone’s concerned, he’s just my friend.”

“Skeet believes me.”