In Love and Diplomacy

Chapter Twenty: Another One Bites the Dust

Concussion. That makes sense.

"That was your fault last time," I mumbled. My hands flew out to grab his shirt as I felt the world tilt. The steady arms cradled me closer.

"I am so sorry, I—" the unknown voice started.

I reopened my eyes as aggressive barks hammered into my brain. The stranger had tried to take a step closer to us only to be forced back by my bristling dog.

"Stay the hell there!" The warm chest rumbled angrily underneath me; my hands still tightly wound in the soft material of his shirt.

"Rolo, stay," Reed said firmly to the dog. I felt the world moving again. There was starting to be two of Reed as I looked up at him. He walked fast, taking care not to jostle me as he strode quickly up the driveway. One of my white-knuckled hands released his stretched shirt and slowly moved upwards. My hand hovered. The sharp angles of his face were tight. It looked sharp enough to slice, but boy, did I still want to touch.

I would welcome the hurt if I could touch him.

His eyes fell and caught on my outstretched hand. I faltered at his gaze, and my hand fell back to the hard chest I was pressed against. My nerve dissipated as quickly as it had emerged. I would blame all of it on the concussion, and I hoped he would, too.

"Keep those eyes open for me, Avery. Just keep them on me," he said as we reached his car. My head hurt, having joined the pain in my knee in torturous harmony. I hadn't even realized I had closed my eyes again.

"Okay," I whispered. He shifted me in his arms to open the car door, gently placing me in the back seat. The two Reeds looked nice, hair ruffled, and shirt crumpled where my hands had gripped.

"Don't move. I'll be right back. Do you hear me? I'm going to be right back," he reassured. He hovered over me anxiously.

"I know."

He nodded, closing the door softly. I laid across the seat, wiggling each one of my limbs and wincing.

I can move all of them. It hurts, but pain is good. Pain means everything is working. Not working well, but still working.

I couldn't hear exactly what Reed was saying, but I could hear the loud boom of his voice through the closed doors. I wondered what he could be saying. The stranger was young, looking like he belonged more on a college campus than wherever here was, and had looked positively terrified when I looked at him.

It was an accident.

I attempted to mull over the events of the past few minutes, but my brain refused to fully cooperate. I drew a painful breath just as Reed slid into the driver seat with hasty movement. He threw a worried glance at me, starting the car and throwing it in reverse.

"Rolo? Is Rolo okay?" I tried to sit up, but fell back with a grunt as my knee spasmed shamelessly. Reed's head whipped around at the sound, his hand flying between the seats to keep me steady.

"Don't move. Rolo's okay. He's inside." His voice was firm and commanding as he pressed a hand onto my shoulder, guiding me back down. I had no choice but to surrender.

"Where are we going?"

I still struggled to grasp what was going on. My brain felt like cotton candy. I must have hit my head when I went down but I didn't really remember.

Was I hit by a car? Did I actually dive in front of a moving car? That doesn't sound right, that's not a smart thing to do. But Rolo's okay. Maybe I'm a genius.

"Avery, stay still," Reed insisted. I hummed in response, my eyes closing. I was tired and achy.

I need a nap. A nap sounds really nice.