I was looking directly at him but not seeing. My pulse was thrumming so loudly in my ears I couldn’t think. Couldn’t move as the laughs and murmurs of Antonio’s associates echoed in the back of my mind.
I vaguely heard Roxy voicing her frustrations. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Idiot. You stupid idiot.
Dean’s eyes dropped to my lower legs.
There was no pain, but I didn’t want to look just in case as I clutched the tray. Beyond mortified at the mess and the noise that caused everyone in the room to look.
“I’ll get a broom,” Jen said as she hurried into the back room behind Dean. Xavier moved carefully around the glass, moving chairs aside.
As if my body was on autopilot, I crouched down and began hastily collecting the pieces of glass and placing them on the tray with shaky hands. Until I collected too much in one hand and a shard broke in two, slicing a long cut into my palm. I dropped the glass as the blood pooled quickly in my hand.
A quiet sob slipped past my lips, but I continued picking up the glass.
“And now she’s crying,” Roxy scoffed from nearby.
The broken glass crunched under black, lace-up boots before Dean crouched down in front of me. Without a word, he moved his hand behind mine, lightly skimming his calloused fingers to my wrist before he gently took hold of it and stood, leading me with him.
Dean didn’t care that the blood from my upturned palm dripped onto his wrist as he said, “Do you have a first aid kit up here?”
The question wasn’t to me. He was looking to his left, to Roxy who was scathing nearby.
Antonio and his men were no longer inside. Their slurred voices were just outside, muffled by the front door, which meant Antonio would be waiting for Dean, who was wasting time with me.
Roxy folded her arms and narrowed her eyes on me. “She knows where the bathroom is. She can wash up there. And maybe do it soon before she drips blood all over the floor.”
Dean’s jaw clenched, but before he spoke, I took my hand back.
“I’ll clean it myself,” I said quietly, stepping past Dean as I hastily retreated to the bathrooms in the back. I kept my palm face up to prevent any blood dripping on the floor and almost bumped into Jen as she returned with a broom.
The tears came the second I stopped in front of the cracked bathroom mirror, crying quietly to myself out of view of everyone else. I turned on the water and pressed my hand under the faucet, whimpering at the sting as the blood swirled down the drain.
I was frustrated with myself for getting upset so easily over something so stupid.
“You idiot,” I whispered to my reflection. My face was red and strands of hair stuck to my tear-streaked cheeks.
Movement in the mirror brought my attention to the bathroom door as it opened quietly, and Dean walked in. First aid box in hand — it must’ve come from the staff room.
I turned to the sink, wiping my eyes on the back of my other hand. The last thing I needed was for him to see the blotchy, flustered state of my face. It was embarrassing. All of it.
He stopped at my side and put the box down beside the sink. There was a casual calm about him as he flipped open the lid and checked for what he needed. He turned the water off next and motioned for my hand.
I hesitated.
Why was he doing this?
The bleeding slowly started again, but I brought my hand closer to him. He took it carefully.
“Did any glass get in it?” His voice was low and seemed to warm the space.
When I dared to look up, I found his attention solely on the cut, a slight furrow in his brow as he held my hand like it was something fragile, examining the cut closely. The warmth from his palm spread along my skin, and when I realized I hadn’t responded yet, leading him to meet my stare, I quickly averted my eyes.
“No. I don’t think so,” I murmured.
He pulled out an alcohol wipe and used it without hesitation to clean up some of the blood. I flinched at the sting, and he glanced at my face with an apologetic frown. “Sorry.”
I kept my eyes down and watched as his tattooed, lightly veined hands worked nimbly to patch up my own. My skin was fair against his naturally tanned complexion. He applied a layer of gauze before wrapping it firmly in a bandage.
