Jake gave him a solemn nod. He remained silent, but the look in his eyes was grim.
The two stepped inside, and after some quick introductions, Olivia took Charlie back to his bedroom to complete her exam.
Forty-five minutes later, Derek was standing at the end of his hallway with his back against the wall, staring intently at the closed door.
A storm of epic proportions brewed inside him as guilt and rage collided. The waiting only made it worse.
“They’ve been in there for nearly an hour,” he grumbled.
“Liv knows what she’s doing, D,” Jake assured him. “She’ll take good care of her.”
His boss’s words did very little to ease Derek’s misery. “I should’ve taken her to the hospital.”
Jake shook his head. “You said she didn’t want to go.”
Derek pinned Jake down with a glare. “My guess is she didn’t want to get the shit beat out of her, either.”
His buddy didn’t spout off useless platitudes or pull rank. Jake simply looked back at him with understanding eyes.
Shit.“Sorry, man,” Derek apologized. “I’m walkin’ a thin fuckin’ rope right now, and I feel like it’s about to unravel.”
His friend shrugged. “You’re pissed. I get it.”
“Nah.” Derek shook his head. “I’m not pissed. If I found a scratch on my car, I’d be pissed. This?” He released a humorless breath. “There’s not a word to describe what I’m feelin’ right now.”
Sighing, Jake reached up and squeezed Derek’s shoulder. “I get that, too.”
Jake and his wife had been through hell and back. If anyone understood what he was feeling right now, it was this man.
He looked back at his friend. “Thanks for coming when I called.”
“Told you before, you don’t have to thank me for that.”
Derek rubbed a hand down his weary face. “Yeah. I know.”
His bedroom door opened, and Olivia stepped out. Derek pushed himself off the wall and went to her.
“She okay?”
Olivia nodded. “She will be. She’s resting. The poor thing practically crashed the second I was done checking her over and treating the cut near her eye.”
Unable to stay away any longer, Derek put his hand to Olivia’s arm and kissed the top of her head. “Thanks for comin’, sweetness.” To Jake, he said, “Call you tomorrow.”
He made it to his bedroom door when Olivia’s hushed voice called for him.
“Derek, wait.”
He turned back. “Yeah?”
“Physically, she’s going to be fine, but the other...” Olivia shook her head. A set of big, brown eyes stared back at him with an understanding he wished she didn’t have. “It’s going to take some time. Just be patient with her, okay?”
With a nod, Derek went to his bedroom. Knowing his friends would see themselves out, he pushed his hand against the solid wood door and stepped inside.
Lying in the middle of his bed was the most beautiful, fragile-looking woman he’d ever seen. Even with the butterfly bandage near her left eye and the small bruise forming on her chin, she still managed to take his breath away.Why didn’t you ever tell her that?
If he had, she never would’ve been hurt. Not like this, anyway. If he’d just grown a pair and came clean about his feelings all those years ago, she may never have gone out with that fuckhead, Porter.
Charlie stirred in her sleep. The little space between her eyes bunched together as though she were in distress and Derek couldn’tnotgo to her.
