I blink at him. “I-”
Nathan shakes his head. “The lack of shame in this house.”
He strides past me, wasting no time exiting through the front door, and I just stand there like an idiot, wondering what the hell just happened. Shaking off Nathan’s comment, I glance down the hall, waiting for Eli to emerge from the kitchen.
“Eli?” I call when he doesn’t. Before I can investigate, though, Eli rushes by me, his face twisted in anger like I’ve never seen it. It makes me wonder how hard it was for him to assume his usual easygoing demeanor in that conversation with his father. Clearly, he wasn’t as unaffected as he appeared to be. “Are you okay?”
“I’m going out.” His response is muttered, and he doesn’t even look at me. “See you later.”
And then he’s gone, too, and I’m left here in this big house that’s not mine, with no sister and no mom, the fighting words and family dysfunction that I’ve somehow become entwined in still bouncing off the high ceilings, echoing, echoing, echoing…
I’m left standing alone, wondering why I ever came here at all.
* * *
The crash wakes me out of a sound sleep, and I jerk upright, fumbling across the nightstand for my phone. The lack of sunlight filtering in through the blinds means it’s either really late or really early, and sure enough, when I squint down at the screen, it reads 2:30 in the freaking morning.
Trying to calm my out-of-control pulse, I throw back the covers and creep toward the bedroom door. Cracking it an inch, I peek my head into the hallway, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Surely, no one broke in, and it’s not some kind of burglar or murderer or rapist. Not in this neighborhood…right?
“Ouch! Shit! Fuck!”
The long string of expletives gives me more insight into the situation.
Eli.
I push the door open fully at the same time Landon’s door swings wide at the opposite end of the hall. Half-dressed, his body is illuminated by the light from the office, and I try not to stare at his naked chest. My brain’s got other ideas, though, and it starts to short-circuit at the sight of hismuscles abs biceps pecs skin skin skin skin skin skin skin-
“God dammit!”
Eli’s voice snaps me out of it. My eyes lock with Landon’s before we both rush to the stairs, not saying anything as more banging ensues. This time it sounds like an impatient scavenger, cabinets being thrown open and slammed shut over and over again.
Landon throws on lights as we go, but when we emerge into the kitchen, I freeze at the sight before me. Eli’s stumbling around, clearly drunk out of his mind, leaving a trail of blood across the white countertops. I scan him frantically for the source, only to find that it’s coming from his nose. His nose, which is, judging by the current angle of the cartilage, really fucking broken.
“Oh my god,” I gasp, my eyes nearly bugging out of my skull. “Eli, what happened?”
“‘S fine,” he slurs, his gaze hooded and unfocused. “Just a little blood.”
Landon rushes forward, grabs a dishtowel off the counter, and presses it to Eli’s face. “Hold this here. What the fuck happened?” he demands, then wrinkles his nose. “Jesus, you smell like booze.”
“Got into a fight at a bar,” Eli says, his voice muffled by the towel. “Punched.”
“Yeah, no shit,” snaps Landon.
“Don’t you have a first aid kit in here?” Eli mumbles.
“What are you going to do with a first aid kit? We need to go to the hospital so they can set your nose.”
“You’re a doctor,” Eli points out. “You do it.”
“Not that kind of doctor,” Landon grumbles, his annoyance clear.
“Then what good are you?”
Landon rolls his eyes before pulling the towel away. The amount of blood soaking the fabric makes me a little queasy. “We need to go to the hospital,” Landon says. “Now.”
Eli shakes his head, wincing when the movement hurts his nose. “No, we don’t.”
“We do. God, you’re wasted.” Landon sighs, before glancing up at me. “Can you ride in the back with him?”
