The first aid kit.
I bring it out and set it on the marble sink and open the tap to hot water, adjusting the temperature of it.
“What are you doing?” he asks from behind me.
I look at him in the mirror, standing tall under the overhead light, looking beautiful even with the nasty bruises. “Something that I thought I’d never do again.”
“Yeah, what?”
“Cleaning your wounds.”
His wolf eyes sparkle with memories. That time when I was so eager to clean his wounds that I locked him inside the storage closet of the auditorium.
I never thought that I’d tend to him again. I never thought I’d want to.
But here I am.
“It’s fine.”
I knew he’d say that. “I know. It always is.”
“So —”
“And I know that my brother is fine too.”
“What?”
When the water is to my liking, I turn around and walk up to him. “You didn’t fight back, did you? When Ledger came for you last night.”
“Why don’t you ask him?”
“I’m asking you.”
“He’s fine. I spared him.”
“Like you did two years ago,” I say, studying his damaged face. “When he came for you for breaking my heart.”
The harsh lines of his face become harsher. “It wasn’t anything I didn’t deserve.”
“I know that too,” I whisper, swallowing. “But you didn’t deserve this.”
He scoffs. “I —”
“Because if you deserve to be punished for her.” I press my hand on my belly and as always, he glances down. “I deserve to be punished too. You didn’t do this alone.”
His chest contracts and I hear him breathe out. “I’m not interested in talking about who did what. And as I said, I’m fine.”
I feel the flutters under my palm. “And as I said, I know. But I’m doing this for later.”
“For later?”
“Yeah. It’s still dark out so maybe my brothers don’t know I’m missing. Not yet. And I also know that no matter how many times I tell you, you won’t put me in a cab. You’ll bring me back yourself. Because for some reason, you’re weirdly protective of me.”
He shifts on his feet. “What’s the point?”
“The point is that when you do bring me back yourself, they’ll only beat you up again. This time for kidnapping me. So I want to clean your wounds before you get new ones.”
Reed studies my face and probably sees the determination in it. Because I’m not budging.
