I swallow against the dryness in my throat. “Aurora,” I croak out. “Why is she in the bathroom?”
Claire chuckles and sits so close beside me I can feel the soft curve of her thigh against mine. “I went to the kitchen to get ice a couple of times. I didn’t want her to wake up, so I set up the baby monitor you got us and moved the crib into the bathroom. It’s a bit snug if you need to use the bathroom, but she hasn’t seemed to mind.”
A few minutes of consciousness is all I have in me. I lift my hand to touch her. My head throbs. My face feels hot. But halfway to her cheek, I let my hand drop, close my eyes, and pass out again.
When I finally wake up again, Ihave to piss like crazy, and my head is throbbing. I squint open an eye and see an empty crib and unfamiliar surroundings. Then I see the play mat on the floor and remember—I’m in Claire’s room.
“Claire?” I whisper, my voice scraping out of my parched throat like razor blades over a two-day growth of beard.
No one replies, so I hoist myself up on the couch. It takes a minute, but I am able to get up and off the couch, my left side screaming with soreness but nothing I haven’t dealt with before. I consider heading back to my room, but my bladder doesn’t have the patience that’s going to require. I stumble into Claire’s bathroom, close the door, and pee until I’m empty.
I wash my hands and face, groaning at the bruises that have popped up on my jaw. I open the door and see Claire’s green eyes wide with worry.
“Savage,” she breathes. “You’re up. I left you alone for five minutes…”
“I’m a big boy,” I tell her, but I need to steady myself against the doorframe. “I’ll get out of your hair now. What time is it?”
Now that I’ve peed, I’m hungry, thirsty, and stiff as fuck from lying on the couch. I have shit to do today, and I’d better get to it.
“It’s three,” Claire says.
“Three?” I echo. “In the afternoon? I slept for almost twenty-four hours?”
She nods.
“Holy shit, I’m sorry. I’ll get out of your space.”
“No.” Her voice is firm. The next thing I know, she’s grabbing my hand in hers. “You’re really hurt, Savage. Come on. I want you to lie down in my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch. You shouldn’t be alone until you’re better.”
I shake my head, but I leave my hand in hers. Her touch is strong, but her skin is so, so soft. “I’m all right,” I tell her. “I’ll take a few more pain relievers and sleep this shit off.”
“No,” she insists. “Listen to me. Phantom’s daughters are here. They came after school. Aurora is having the time of her life out in the front, playing. I want to help you.”
“I need to shower and eat. I probably smell like a three-day-old sock.” I lick my lips. “Toothbrush. I’ve got to go take care of?—”
Claire shakes her head. “You can shower here.” Still holding on to my hand, she grabs her phone from her back pocket. “Text someone to go to your room and pack a bag of your stuff. You can stay here until you feel strong enough to stay alone. And you should probably see the doctor today.” Her lips form a small frown. “I’m so worried you have a fractured rib, Savage. Please.”
I am holding her hand and thinking, but the thoughts are coming too slowly. She trusted her baby with strangers. Holly and Daisy, Phantom and Poppy’s daughters, are amazing and sweet, smart and kind. The fact that she trusted her baby to the girls means something more than I’m able to process right now.
“Shower,” I say. “I feel disgusting. I need to freshen up.”
She leaves me and grabs my cell phone from the coffee table. “Text someone,” she says. “Or I’m going to go knocking on doors all the way down this hallway until I find your room.”
One side of my mouth lifts in a smile, and I swear I’d have a full-face grin if my damned jaw didn’t hurt so much.
Maybe this is just her way of paying me back. Maybe this is her caring. Either way, I’m not going to fight it.
“Hand me my phone,” I say, and when I take it from her, I add, “Thank you.”
I call Tank and tell him what to get from my room—towels, toiletries, and clothes. All the pillows from my bed, because even though she’s been sleeping in her bed, I can tell Claire’s been using a rolled-up towel because I had all the pillows on the couch.
Tank drops everything off in about five minutes, while Claire helps me peel off my socks. Once I kick Tank out, Claire puts my toiletries in her shower and my towels on the bar. She starts up the water while I brush my teeth, and then I go to take off my shirt, but goddamn, that hurts, and I stop moving entirely.
“Let me help.” Claire gently grabs the hem of my T-shirt and lifts it over my middle. As the fabric moves past my ribs, she sucks in a loud breath. “Savage…” She slowly pulls the shirt over my shoulders and head, and then I look in the mirror at us.
She looks pale and horrified, a stark contrast to the ugly purple, boot-shaped bruises on my rib cage. Tears shimmer in her eyes, and she touches my skin with her fingertips. “Oh my God,” she says. “Savage.”
“I’m all right,” I assure her. “Back when I was training for Ranger school, I fell off a twenty-foot-high wall. Landed right on my side because I wasn’t all the way… Thank fuck. Thought I pierced a lung, but it was just some really screwed-up ribs. This isn’t even that bad.”
