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“But—”
“Now.”
Her eyes flicked towards me, and I gave her a little salute. “Tell everyone I died heroically.”
“You’re not dying,” she huffed.
“Ruining my legacy already.”
Dee looked ready to kill me himself. And when Madison finally disappeared down the trail, he turned towards the boys. “Cabins.” Nobody moved and his voice dropped lower than I think I’d ever heard it before. “Now.”
That got them going. Fast.
“Cowards,” I shouted at them as they ran off.
Dee spun on me. “What the hell were you thinking?”
I stared at him. “What was I thinking?”
“Yes.”
“I was thinking Trevor got jumped this morning.” I stepped closer, despite the sharp protest from my ribs. “His face beat in, his arm broken, his—”
“I KNOW!” Dee’s shout ripped through the woods and silence followed. He dragged both hands down his face. When he looked at me again, the anger was still there, but something underneath it looked more prominent. “Come on.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“It adds character.”
“You already have too much character.” He grabbed my arm. I jerked away.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” I yelled at him, and the stare he gave me in return could have stripped paint.
“Then walk, asshole.”
So I did. Mostly. By the time we reached the infirmary, pride was the only thing keeping me vertical.
“Nurse?” Dee shoved open the door, only to find the room empty. He looked towards the back room. “Nurse?”
“Excellent,” I said. “Love the medical standards here.”
“Sit down,” Dee ordered.
“I can bandage myself, thank you very much.”
“Alvin.”
There was something in his voice that made me stop and sit on the edge of the examination table. Dee found a first-aid kit in a cabinet and dropped it beside me. He stood between my knees. Too close. I noticed because apparently getting beaten half to death by teenagers did absolutely nothing for my terrible decision-making skills. And everything for my dick.
Dee wet the gauze beneath the sink and returned. “Hold still, idiot.”
“I am holding still.”
“You’re talking.”
“My mouth isn’t the injured part.”
