“That’s bullshit, Nate.” Quinn the avenger was in full protector mode, disbelief painting her face. “They need to be punished. They should get kicked off the football team, and—my God, you could’ve gotten really hurt. Worse than this.”
“No, Quinn.” He was adamant. “Don’t say anything. I don’t want you to do anything, or I’m going to be really pissed, got it?” He shifted his gaze to me. “Go along with whatever Brent says happened, and I will, too. I tripped and fell. That’s it.” His eyes drifted shut. “Quinn, you got that? Tripped. No one’s ... fault.”
And then he was asleep. His mouth opened a little as his breath evened out. Quinn’s back bowed, and her inhale was ragged.
“Mia, he’s going to be okay.” I put a tentative hand on her shoulder, but we were interrupted when the door opened, admitting an orderly.
“We’re taking him up to CT right now. You can wait in the family area down the hall.” The orderly stood back, waiting for us to pass. I slid my hand down Quinn’s back, guiding her into the corridor.
An older man stood just outside, typing into a computer tablet. He glanced up as we emerged.
“You’re here for Nate Wellman?” He cocked his head, scrutinizing us. “Family?”
“Yes. We’re just waiting for his parents.” I lifted my chin, daring the doctor to argue with my claim to be related. “Is he going to be all right?”
The doctor sighed, running his finger down the side of the tablet as he skimmed his notes. “Seems that he is. Now, we won’t be sure until we do the scan, but he regained consciousness, and he was completely cognizant. Knows his name, where he is ... he’s fully oriented. Probably a mild concussion, but a little rest and he should be good as new.” He drew his brows together something else in the file caught his attention. “He has some ongoing health issues, though, doesn’t he? We’ll have to run through some extra tests, just to make sure nothing else is going on.” Tapping the top of the computer, he turned and walked away from us without saying anything else.
“Let’s go find the waiting area.” I reached for Quinn’s hand, but she jerked away from me, and when she turned to face me, her eyes were stormy.
“How could you agree to that? You didn’t mean it, did you? You’re not going to let Brent and those other guys get away with what they did to Nate.”
I blew out a sigh, slumping against the wall. “Mia, you heard what he said. Nate doesn’t want anyone to know what really happened. It’s his decision.”
“He has a head injury, Leo. I don’t think he’s in any state of mind to know what’s best.”
I rolled my eyes. “Did you ever stop to think, Quinn, that maybe it’s better for Nate this way? What do you think is going to happen if he points the finger at Brent and the guys? They’ll get kicked off the football team, and that’s going to piss off the whole school. It’s not going to make things any easier for Nate. He’ll get picked on even more.” I paused. “If that’s even possible.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Quinn stood with her hands on her hips, her face stormy as she stared me down.
My blood was beginning to boil just a little. I was getting over the fear that had gripped me since I’d seen Nate at the bottom of those steps, motionless, and now that it looked like he was going to be all right, I had to think about how this was going to play out. Nate’s insistence that we protect Brent, Tim and Karl made my job easier. The only obstacle to helping this whole thing go away was standing in front of me, eyes blazing and full lips pushed together.
And I wanted her.
I’d been trying to ignore it and deny it for so long. But looking at Quinn, I couldn’t remember anymore why we weren’t together. I couldn’t remember why I’d been fighting the idea of us. I couldn’t pinpoint any of my many reasons—or why I was convinced that I wasn’t good for her. That I’d ruin her, dragging her into situations she’d hate.
All I knew was the pounding of my heart, the way my dick was going hard and how much I needed to taste her. I almost reached for her—she was just about an arm’s length away, and I knew I could have her body pressed against mine in a matter of seconds. But before I could act on that, she starting talking again.
“You think it’s our fault that people—and by people, I’m assuming you mean your new pals, your little football buddies and the groupies—that none of them like Nate and me. All those people who you call friends now—the ones you party with, get drunk with, all the other stupid things you do.” She arched one eyebrow, leaving no doubt about where she stood on all those topics. “You think we like being made fun of, being teased—you think we bring it on ourselves. You as much as said that yesterday, didn’t you? When you had to pull Trish away right before she started getting rough with me.” Something changed in her expression; pain or something like it passed over quickly. “Sorry about that, Leo. Sorry that you had to choose between the person who’s known you forever and one of your slut buddies.”
Ouch. That one stung. I’d never slept with Trish—hell, I’d never even looked twice at her—but I’d banged my share of cheerleaders. I wasn’t proud of it, necessarily, but when a girl threw herself at me, and I was maybe more than a little drunk, it wasn’t easy to say no. Not when there wasn’t any good reason to deny myself the pleasure they offered.
But that wasn’t anything I wanted to discuss with Quinn. Not when it washermy body was burning for right now, not when it washerlips I wanted to crush to mine. The sting and the lust were probably why I went the direction I did, lashing out at her without thinking about it first.
“Maybe if you made a little more effort to be nice to people instead of putting them down, and maybe if you gave a shit about how you look, what you wear, you wouldn’t have to be jealous of my slut buddies. Maybe then I wouldn’t have to make a choice.”
Quinn reacted as though I’d slapped her face, jerking back as her mouth fell open. Disbelief and betrayal filled her eyes, and my heart sank.Shit.What had I done?
Before I could get another word out or stop her, Quinn turned and sprinted down the hall and out of the hospital.
