“Yeah, I’m okay. Are you? Oh my god, Miles, you’re bleeding!”
I pull a sliver of glass out of my arm, blood pouring from the wound. Quickly, I grab one of Chase’s shirts hanging from his closet and wrap it around my arm tightly to stop the bleeding.
“I’m fine. Who the fuck threw a fucking brick through the window?”
I kick the remaining shards of glass from the window and look around outside. No one from below is even paying enough attention to look up. The music from the party must have muffled the sound of the glass shattering.
The thought that whoever threw the brick could be on the roof crosses my mind. Without thinking, I’m climbing out of the window, ready to find whoever tried to hurt my girl.
“Oh, my god…Miles.”
I look back at Maddie to see her trembling on the bed. She’s staring at her phone. The blood drained from her face, one hand covering her mouth, the other gripping her phone tightly as she shakes. If someone is on that fucking roof, they’re lucky she is more important. I climb back inside the window and kneel in front of Maddie, grabbing the phone from her shaking hand and looking at what has her so scared. On her phone is a text message from a blocked number.
Unknown: The next time he fucking touches you, the brick is going through his skull.
What the fuck?
A million thoughts are going through my head, but one in particular stays at the forefront.
“Who did you see earlier, Maddie?”
Her whole body is shaking now as she sobs quietly. I stand from where I was kneeling in front of her and sit back on the bed, pulling her onto my lap and holding her close to me. I run my hand across her curls, soothing her until she finally stills. She pulls away, taking her glasses off and cleaning them with the bottom of her shirt, and puts them back on. I grab her face to have her look at me. Her honey eyes are glistening from the tears she shed.
“Baby, whoever you said you saw tonight could have done this, and I can’t protect you unless you tell me who that is.”
Tears rim her lower lashes and she nods in understanding, taking a deep breath before she speaks.
“A guy from back home. He was my best friend growing up, but he couldn’t have done this. He would never hurt me. And there’s no way he could have known where I was. He’s in Alabama. I never told him I was leaving.”
“Did anyone else know you were leaving that could have told him?” She stills, a look of utter terror on her face at the question I just asked.
“What? What is it?” I’m searching her face for any answer as to why she’s so afraid right now. Aside from the fact that we almost got taken out by a fucking brick.
“No. No one else knew I was leaving.”
“What about your parents? Could they have told him you were leaving? You said you were staying with your aunt before. Does she know him?”
She starts to cry again and I wonder if I overstepped, but honestly, I don’t care. I need to know who the fuck did this. She looks down at her hands, curling her fingers together, and shakes her head.
“I don’t have parents. Not anymore. And my aunt doesn’t know who he is. There’s no way for him to know where I am.”
Fuck. Whoever this guy is, I’m going to fucking kill him.
“Alright, well, if you’re okay with it, I think it would be best if you stayed with me at my place tonight.”
“No!” She practically yells in response and I pin her with my gaze. If she honestly thinks I’m going to let her out of my sight after everything that just happened, she’s fucking crazy. Some weird ass guy from her past is out there trying to keep her from me, and I’m not going to let that happen. I’ll tie her to my bed if I have to.
The thought of tying her up and doing what I want to her makes my cock throb painfully against the zipper of my jeans. Now is not the time, but this head has a mind of its own.
“Miles, I don’t even know you. We just met the other day and apparently, us being around each other is already a problem. You’re going to get hurt. It’s going to be my fault, and then I’m going to feel like shit for it.”
I snicker at the thought. She’s actually worried about me getting hurt. What’s even funnier is she’s more worried about feeling guilty about it. Her eyes bore into me now, and I realize I pissed her off by laughing.
“I would rather go back to my dorm. Oh my god, I have to find Kaitlin. I hope she’s still here.” She stands and heads for the door, but I grab her arm and pull her back into me.
“Let me at least take you home. I don’t want to put your safety in someone else’s hands.” She eyes me suspiciously, probably wondering if I’m as drunk as she is right now.
“Haven’t you been drinking tonight? I don’t think driving is a good idea for you.”
