“What?” I bark into the phone, not even checking to see who it is.
“Let me in.” Callahan’s voice sounds more tense than I have ever heard it before.
“Go away.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Ugh.” I can’t sit up or stomp my feet, so I settle for rolling my eyes.
Absolutelyoverthe last twenty-four hours, I don’t need any more men coming in here, pissing me off.
“I’m not leaving.”
Apparently I don’t get a choice in the matter.
“Fine. The door is unlocked.”
I hear his heavy footsteps, and I try to fight the shame of him seeing me like this. While he may have seen me naked, he hasn’t seen me splayed out on a floor with all my rolls pressed and contorted. Not to mention the fact that I’m pretty sure I have throw-up on my cheek.
I hear his steps stop at the door and then retreat again. Not surprised that he couldn’t handle the image of me right now, I scoff. When he comes back and I feel something soft land on my body, I gasp. My head gets lifted, and a pillow is placed under it.
“That better?”
It would be if the idea of him being nice to me didn’t upset my stomach for some reason. Before I can get comfortable, I lurch for the toilet again.
His hand rubs my back while the other holds on to my braids. The movement is steady and strong, calming me down a little.
“It’s okay,” he says.
But it’s not.
I want to cry and curl into a ball. It’s like a demon has possessed my body and someone poured holy water down my throat. I’m trying to tear something out from inside of me that is determined to stay.
I try to lean back, but find myself against his chest. He lets my hair down and hands me a water. I fight back the urge to say thank you, refusing to acknowledge his help.
“Why are you here?” Sounding so ungrateful, part of me wants to say sorry. The other half wants him to leave.
“Rowan said you were alone.”
Of course. On top of not being helpful, Charlie had to chuck the responsibility onto someone else.
“Well, I’m fine.” It would probably be more believable if I didn’t lean forward and upchuck the water I just drank.
“Mhm,” is all he says, rubbing my back again.
I want to tell him to go, but when I lie back on his chest, I find I have no more fight in me. When he puts the blanket back on me and begins to rock, I’m so soothed I want to cry different tears. This is what I needed last night. This is all Charlie had to do. But he was never capable of this level of stepping up, and I should have realized that sooner.
“You always this hard-headed, or is this a cancer thing?”
“Always.”
“That shouldn’t be sexy, but it is.”
“Nothing is sexy about me right now.” Happy that he can’t smell my breath, I wipe my face.
