“Nothing,” I mutter, sliding down into the cushions. This couch is comfier than the inch thick mattress I call a bed. Sighing with a mix of a groan, I let my eyes flutter closed.
I canhearhim grinding his teeth.
“No, no, no,cariño,” Ty says quickly, squeezing my hand, “You have to stay awake. Now that you’ve woken up, we’re going to have to keep waking you up to make sure you’re alright.”
Asher walks in with the painkillers in hand and my fucking god, do I want one. Two. The whole freaking bottle, I’m in so much pain, but I won’t let that show. Not for a moment. I watch with close attention to how the seal sounds when he pops the top under the safety plastic. Once the top is off, he sets it down and peels back that annoying protective layer before dumping one out and handing it to Ty.
Ty, who’s already looking at me.
He’s watching every move I make, or maybe it’s the absence of moves that has him so interested.
Ty takes the pill, dry swallows it and holds his hand out for more. Asher waits for me to look at him and does the same.
“I promise, on my life, they’re just painkillers,” Ty says the words so strongly and so resolutely that they’re like a vow.
A way to show how serious he is. A way to tell me and ask me to trust him.
“Okay,” I whisper and nod.
“As many as she can,” Ty says to Asher quietly and Asher nods, dumping out four white pills. I can see the manufacturer label printed on each pill. I watched him open the new bottle. I watched both of them take one. They can’t be…
But that fear will never leave me for the rest of time.
Ty opens a water bottle and I sigh when I hear the seal crack open, before he sets it down and helps me sit up. Each movement feels like a breaking bone, a heavy ache, a sharp pain. This is…this is definitely the worst I’ve had. Physically.
“Just a little higher, Rox,” Ty encourages me as I grit my teeth to keep from letting any sound escape. “There.”
“Goddamn, fuck.” The boys laugh when that leaves my lips, but not in a cruel way. In a way that says they know I’m hurting because they’ve both been here. Probably in the same position I’m in; on the couch, aching, hurting, bleeding.
“You want to tell us when you came back?” Asher asks, crossing his arms over his chest and my eyes nearly pop out of my head. Where Ty’s grown up, andverynicelyI might add, so has Asher. Shaggy hair that’s too long, the start of a tattoo sleeve with open spaces dotted through, and where he was tall and lean back then, it’s like they’ve both been hitting the gym and eating only chicken and beef while chugging protein shakes.
“Asher,” Ty snaps.
“I’ve been in Oaktown,” I confess softly, resting back and sighing.
“Oaktown? That’s four hours away.” Ty sounds shocked.
“Yeah,” I roll my head to look at him and there’s so much meaning in the pause between us. Asher clears his throat, as if to say, ‘get on with it’. “I got in the car that day and my foster parents had requested that I give back my phone since it was theirs. And I didn’t have a computer so there wasn’t any way to contact you right away.”
“It’s been years,” Ty says the words so softly I almost don’t hear them, and I know that was on purpose. Ty takes a deep breath and looks at Asher, gesturing with his head to give us a minute.
Asher grumbles and mutters, “I was there the whole time and would like answers myself, but fine, I’ll leave you to it.” His child-like grumbling makes me chuckle and I hold my rib where it’s stinging.
Ty sighs exasperatedly, rolling his eyes at his friend. I’m so glad they stayed together.
When Asher leaves the room, Ty shakes his head, and looks at me. There’s a fear there, like he didn’t quite think I’d still be there. Like I’m a ghost haunting him.
I never wanted that.
That’s the one thing I never wanted.
“It’s been years, Roxie,” he repeats, the words now coming out like an accusation. “Six of them to be exact.”
“You keep saying that like I don’t know it. Like I haven’t been counting the days myself.”
His eyes flare with a fire that’s been stoked. “It felt like it!” Ty snaps angrily, his voice sharp as a whip and I flinch like I felt it crack against my skin. “It felt like you turned your back on me, on Asher, on this whole place and said ‘to hell with him’.”
I take a steadying breath, one that hurts for more than one reason.
