Page 17 of Bleed Me

Nervous, I peered around to make sure everything looked okay. All seemed tidy as usual. Delilah’s little desk was organized with her reading lamp and laptop. Her big bookshelf was all organized. But, on the floor was her yellow comforter. I jolted at what this girl would consider disarray.

Delilah’s shower was running, so, without taking my eyes from the yellow pile, timidly knocked on the door. “Darlin’?”

“K-Kenny?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s me.” I was so confused that I wasn’t sure I was hearing correctly, but could’ve sworn I heard her crying, so I offered, “You need me to come in there?”

“No. No, I’m fine.” After a pause, she asked, “You okay?”

She sounded shaken up again. “Um, yeah, I’m good, but… I–I don’t remember—” Not wanting her to think I was nuts, I stopped talking.

Surprisingly, Delilah said, “Thank you for bringing me home when I asked you to, Kenny. I, uh, got cramps, ya know?”

Epic relief washed over me. Oh, thank God. I did right by Delilah. “Anytime, darlin’. I’ll be downstairs.”

Before heading to her bedroom door, I was shocked when I saw a little blood on the center of her unmade bed. Cramps. Maybe she took a nap. Thinking her menstrual cycle was really troubling her, I stripped her bed and headed downstairs to the oversized—and incredibly organized—laundry room.

I’d barely got the machine started when Tucker came charging in like a bull, slamming me up against the wall. He was bent over so his face could be in mine. “You pulled Lilah from school?”

I didn’t even know what time it was to know if the school day had ended. “Whoa! Fuck, brother! She had cramps and asked me to take her home! Calm the fuck down!”

His nostrils flared in disgust. “She got her fucking period?”

“Yeah. Damn! Ya good?”

Releasing me, he looked guilty as hell, almost falling backward. As if exhausted, Tucker leaned against the doorjamb, his fingers intertwined in his dark hair in a stressed manner. “Fuck. I just saw red when V—”

“She hates me, dude. Can’t believe shit she says.”

He shook his head with his eyes closed. “She got me all kinds of riled.”

“When does she not? That girl knows how to crawl under your skin.”

He smirked. “Yeah. That hot bitch is a pain in my ass.”

Now it was my nostrils flaring. “Tell me you are not going to the dark side.”

“What?” Tuck acted shocked but was lying like a Mo-Fo. “No way.”

“Duuuuude. Noooooo.”

“Fuck off. Nothing is happenin’ with me and Diesel’s sister. I’d like to keep my dick attached, thank-you-very-fucking-much.” He changed the subject. “So, Lilah’s fine?”

“In the shower as we speak.”

“Good. Good. Do me a favor. Don’t tell her I was here, ‘kay? She’d probably think I was accusing her of skippin’ or somethin’.”

“Mum’s the word, brother.”

Feeling so much better after teasing Tuck, I headed to the kitchen. After chowing down a sandwich, I grabbed a bottle of water and headed back up to Delilah’s room.

Looking stunning, Delilah was sitting at her desk in a little robe. Her long hair was damp but still gorgeous. She was staring at her laptop.

Before taking another sip of my water bottle, I asked, “Whatcha doing, darlin’?”

Delilah peered over her shoulder and sounded extremely calm—almost surreal like. “I’m doing some research. Wanna join me?”

Due to how much I craved her, I ignored the ping in my stomach as I stepped over the blanket still on the floor and grabbed a chair to sit next to her. “Cramps better?”