“Did you miss me that much?”
Joking aside, the guilt for standing her up is sitting on my chest. Enemy’s little sister or not, I don’t break promises.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” She says but I hear it in her tone, the hurt. Fuck, I’m such a prick.
“Come here,” I open an arm for her, “I’m sorry.”
She turns her head away, “You don’t need to be sorry; you don’t owe me anything. I just had a bad day is all.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I keep the space at my side open for her, but she doesn’t come to me.
“No, I don’t,” She answers, putting everything back into the kit and then throwing it down onto the floor.
“Then lie with me, Marly. And just breathe with me for a minute.”
She eyes me skeptically but begins to move slowly, “Where do you hurt?”
I point to my ribs, “You’re on the good side.”
Marly lowers herself slowly and when she’s close enough, I pull her to me, settling her against my side.
“Was it on purpose?” She asks me, her face hidden against my chest. I know she’s asking about the fight that caused these injuries.
“Yes.” I don’t lie.
“Don’t make me promises, River,” She says after a beat of silence.
“Why not princess?” I whisper.
“Because it’ll hurt even more when you no longer show up and we become strangers again.” Her sigh is loud in the silence after her statement, her hand moving across my abdomen and up so she can rest it across my steadily beating heart.
My eyes close and my own heart does a painful little thud. I can’t even lie and tell her I’ll keep coming, because one day, I won’t. So, I don’t lie, and I simply say, “Okay.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
It’s been three days since he turned up at my place, beaten half to death and the bruises are only darkening by the day. I’ve been scared to touch him, but he doesn’t seem to be bothered by it, carrying on like he’s fine and not black and blue.
We’ve spent every day together, usually here at the garage during the day and at my place during the night, where he still insists on climbing through my window instead of using the door like a normal person. He’s never winded after the climb either, just hops right on through and gets into bed with me. We haven’t had sex again though he’s given me plenty of orgasms over the past few days. But he doesn’t let me touch him and it’s making me feel some kind of way.
Trying not to think about it, I place a fresh coffee on the workbench beside him, letting my eyes drag up his bare arms, covered in grime and oil from the engine he’s working on, his skin a little shiny with his sweat. It shouldn’t be as sexy as it is.
“Thanks, princess,” He says, straightening from where he was bent over the hood with a torch and reaches for the mug, leaninghis hip against the car as he looks at me. “You know how to check oil?”
“I’m not allowed to do that,” I admit quietly.
He makes a disgruntled kind of sound, “Come here.”
Placing my mug down, I walk toward him but stop a foot in front. “Don’t get your dress dirty,” He reminds me, “But I’ll show you.”
And then he does, showing where and what to do, going over the steps a few times to make sure I memorize it. It’s so basic and understandable, I feel stupid not knowing how before.
“What about changing tires?” He continues and then sighs when he sees my face. I’ve never been shown how to do any of this stuff.
“They don’t think it’s necessary when I can just hire someone to do it,” I explain.
“What happens if you get a flat in the middle of nowhere and have no cell service?” He sounds impatient as he asks.
I shrug, “I don’t go anywhere, River.”
