“Thanks,” I say as she peers into the darkness my attacker disappeared into. “Is he gone?”
“I think so.” She bites her lip as she looks down at me again. “Can you get up? Or is this one of those times where you’re not supposed to move because it could make things worse?”
“I can get up,” I assure her. “I just won’t be moving very fast.”
“Can I help you?” She reaches for me but stops and quickly drops her hands. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here. I’m making everything worse.”
“You’re not,” I tell her as I get my hands under me and push myself up.
The pain in my wrists and chest makes me wince, but it’s the pain in my side and knee that makes me gasp as I try, and fail, to get to my feet.
“Are you sure?” she asks, looking torn. “You know who I am, right?”
“I know who you are.” I let out a long exhale that turns into a groan, and it’s then I notice that my temple hurts. I gently touch the spot and wince at the sting of pain. It feels wet and tacky, and I pull my hand away to look at my fingers. There’s a smear of blood on them, probably from when my head scraped against the wall when he shoved me headfirst into it.
Pulling in a shaky breath, I slide my gaze back to Eden. “And you just saved my ass, so if you’re willing to help me, I could definitely use it.”
“You’re not worried about what will happen if I do?” she asks as she moves so she’s beside me.
“What’s your stepbrother going to do to me?” I ask as she grips me under one arm. “Kick my ass? Take a number, dude.”
“He can do more than that,” she says. “On three, okay?”
I nod.
“One, two, three,” she counts down.
With her help, I manage to get on my feet, but the world around me spins as my vision flickers, and I lean back against the rough bricks of the building to steady myself so I don’t fall over.
When the dizzy spell passes and I can see again, I carefully step away from the wall and shoot Eden what I hope is a smile, but something tells me it probably looks more like a grimace. “I’m not afraid of your stepbrother. If he wants to come after me because you helped me, then that’s a him issue. I’ll deal with it if I need to. I’m Damon, by the way,” I add belatedly.
She lets out a soft laugh and adjusts her grip on my arm. “Yeah, I know. You’re as famous as I am. Or would we be infamous?” She shakes her head. “Doesn’t matter. Can you walk?”
“I think so, but not without help.”
“Should I call the school doc?” she asks, wrapping my arm over her shoulders and holding on to it.
She’s short enough that I have to bend down a bit, but the support helps, and I try not to lean too heavily on her.
“No. I don’t want to deal with them.” I blow out another breath as the pain in my knee flares when we take a small step forward. “And I don’t need this getting back to my father.”
“What about campus security?” she asks as we take a few tentative steps down the path.
Well, she starts walking, and I limp beside her as I take stock of my hurt body. Thankfully nothing seems broken, and I start to relax as we move a bit faster.
The worst of the pain is concentrated in my knee and side, but my throat and lungs still feel like they’re on fire. At least some of the tightness in my chest is fading, and we pick up speed as the rest of my muscles loosen up.
“Not them either,” I say quickly. “I didn’t see his face, and I doubt there are cameras back there. I just need to get back to my room and get off my feet.”
“Do you have a friend or someone who can come help you?”
“Friends?” I huff out a laugh. “What are those?”
“Right?” She snickers. “I haven’t had those in years. Well, that’s not true. I have one friend, but that’s pretty much it.”
“I have one friend too,” I admit. “But he’s off campus for the weekend.”
“What about your frat brothers? Isn’t this the sort of thing you’re supposed to be able to count on them for?”
