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“Yes boss,” I giggle, falling back into the bed with zero grace and elegance. As soon as my head hits the pillow, the roomreallybegins to spin. Like, waltzer level of spinning, and I whimper. “Kaiden?—”
“Shh, I know, babygirl. Sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning.”
He kisses my forehead in a way that sends tingles all the way down to my toes, and my eyes are closed before he’s even switched off the light.
Mother and Father are fighting again. It’s always about me. Mother doesn’t want me to touch guns, so Father hit her.
I have said I will learn to shoot. That made Father happy and Mother cry. But at least he stopped hitting her.
I’ve been through a lot of shit. Like,a lot.And I’m no stranger to pain. But, fuck my life, nothing quite hurts like the blade of light piercing my eyeballs when I crack open my sticky lids the next day. Something has died in my mouth, and I swear I can feel Tequila seeping out of my pores.
Lurching to my feet, I make a run for the bathroom, relieved to find that there’s only one possible door it can be. Last night there seemed to be dozens.
Even thinking the word Tequila makes me gag, and I heave the remnants of last night’s pizza into the toilet. I’ll never touch the stuff again, for as long as I live.
Tequila that is, not pizza. Though I totally blame the pizza for the way I’m feeling right now. Maybe it’s food poisoning?
Speaking of living, I apparently survived last night. Didn’t think it was going to happen, out here in a run down hut reminiscent of something from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but here I am. Although, with the way my head is pounding, I kinda sorta wish I was dead.
I wonder if Axel’s okay.
I can’t believe I shot him. I think he deserved it. No, Iknowhe deserved it, but I probably should have hung around to make sure I didn’t kill him or he didn’t bleed out or something.
Fuck.
I want to know if he’s okay. But I really don’t want to reach out to him. There’s a gentle tap on the door, so I quickly spit, flush and then rinse my mouth before calling out.
“Yeah?” My throat is sore from all the retching and my voice comes out cracked and croaky.
“Just checking you’re alive in there, babygirl. Heard you calling to God.”
“Haha.”
“Listen, there’s plenty of hot water and clean towels, and there’s some toiletries in the cupboard under the sink. Help yourself. I’m going to make some breakfast.”
“Bacon?” I ask hopefully. Kaiden laughs.
“Freshly delivered this morning.”
That’s actually a relief. I don’t remember seeing a fridge out there yesterday. But a shower sounds seriously good. It’s onlyonce I’ve located a bottle of all-in-one hair and body wash under the counter – next to a first aid kit – that I stand up and take stock of my surroundings. This bathroom is really nice. The tiled floor is actually warm under my bare feet, and there’s a chrome heated towel rail on the wall, with folded plush navy towels hanging from it. The white bath has a built-in shower over it, and there’s a navy shower curtain pushed back against the wall. Yeah, it’s not the luxurious multi-head power shower of the flat, but it’s still a lot nicer than the rest of the shack.
I take my time showering. Kaiden wasn’t wrong about there being lots of hot water. I’ve definitely been in here longer than most tanks would last, and the steam shows no signs of letting up, but I only get out when Kaiden calls that the bacon’s ready.
Wrapped in two towels, one for my body and one for my long hair, I join Kaiden in the main room, where all evidence of yesterday has been cleared away and a pretty gingham tablecloth covers the scarred table we ate at last night. There’s two plates loaded with doorstop bacon butties, glasses of fresh juice, and even a small vase with some fresh wildflowers in it.
I raise a brow at Kaiden.
“Did you do all this?”
He shakes his head. “Well, sorta. I put the stuff out, but everything was included in the breakfast basket one of Saint’s lackeys dropped off this morning.”
“Does he usually bring you flowers?”
“Oh no. This is all for you. You must have made quite an impression on him last night.”
I laugh, but it’s slightly uncomfortable because I don’t remember much about last night after demolishing the pizzas, but I’m sure there was something to do with a boat?
“Come on, tuck in while it’s hot,” Kaiden tells me, and I eagerly take my seat, suddenly ravenous.
