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“Dov is fine. It was just two brothers going at each other. It happens. Sometimes it’s good for them to get it out of their system.”

It’s not Dov and Levi fighting that worries me the most; it’s that Dov hurt me. It was Dov’s biggest fear, and now it’s happened. How will he be coping with that?

Blake strokes my hair again. “Get some rest. Everything is fine.”

But a darkness knots at my center, and even though I want to argue that everything is most definitely not fine, I don’t seem to have the strength.

51

ASPEN

I wake the following morning to a blinding headache and, as I discover when I go to the bathroom, a bruise that won’t win me any beauty pageants any time soon. I take some painkillers, which dulls the pain to a steady thud, and apply a little makeup to hide the bruising, then go back to bed. I don’t want Dov to see how bad it is. It’ll only make him feel worse. What happened was an accident, and I don’t want him to feel guilty about it.

“You should stay in bed,” Blake tells me. “There’s no reason for you to get up. I’ll bring you coffee and breakfast.”

I appreciate him making a fuss over me, but I don’t want to stay in bed all day. I’ll drive myself crazy with boredom.

“It’s okay. I want to get up. I’m all right, I promise. No lasting damage.” I bite the inside of my cheek. “Does Dov know that I’m all right?”

“I haven’t seen him yet, sorry.”

“What about Levi?” I ask. “Has he seen Dov?”

Blake shakes his head slowly. “No idea.”

I swing my legs out of bed and then regret moving so fast.

“Take it easy,” Blake warns me.

“I know, I know. But I want to go downstairs and see them.” Something is worrying me, and I can’t put my finger on it. I won’t feel content until I’ve spoken to them both and know we’re able to move past this.

“Okay, fine,” he relents.

I use the bathroom, then Blake helps me downstairs. We find Levi in the kitchen, the scent of coffee permeating the air, but there’s no sign of Dov. This, in itself, isn’t unusual, but after yesterday, it bothers me.

Levi catches sight of me and winces. “How are you feeling this morning? I’m sorry about yesterday.”

I brush off his concerns. “Have you seen Dov this morning?”

“No, he’s most likely doing what he always does and is skulking around in his room.”

“He was seriously upset, Levi. You should have made sure he was okay. Dov was just starting to trust himself around me, and now look what’s happened.” I gesture at the bruise on my forehead.

“He hurt you, Aspen. I don’t want to fucking talk to him. Let him rot in his room.”

“Not intentionally, and you hurt me, too, when you pushed me against the wall, but I know it wasn’t on purpose, and I’m not holding it against you. Please, I’m worried about him. You know it’s not good to be alone for too long in Windridge Hall. We need each other, and now Dov is shutting himself off from us.”

Blake looks at Levi. “She has a point.”

“We all go, then,” Levi says.

Together, our small group leaves the kitchen and heads to the east wing. We traipse up the stairs, then down the corridor to Dov’s room. The door is open a crack, and my stomach churns with nerves.

Blake raises his fist and knocks on the door. “Dov?”

No answer.

Blake opens it and steps inside.