I Found Home

Chapter 12

He stands up and heads to the kitchen leaving his flashlight behind . Beth is already asleep and probably unaware of the chaos going on right now . The woman tends to go to bed as soon as she finishes washing the dinner dishes .

My mom keeps patting my hair and back and shoulders , assessing me carefully like I'm a doll made out of glass .

« Mom , it's nothing . I will be okay ... »

Mr Oliver walks back in , I have no idea how he managed to find his way in the darkness but he did and he brought a bag of ice with him . He kneels down again before me , takes my foot to put it on his lap and starts pressing the cold bag to my ankle . I wince from the pain and the frostiness invading my senses suddenly . He stays like that for a while , both me and mom watching him as he takes care of my injury , not focusing on anything else besides it . I watch him , my heart beating so hard I fear it might stop from the intensity of the beats .

The lights turn on again , mom and I stare at the ceiling . She exhales heavily and pulls my head down on her shoulder , then presses a kiss to my forehead . My face turns red at the gesture .

I mean , come on I am a senior and my mom is treating me like I'm five in front of my teacher . I steal a glance at him and notice him grinning . His eyes meet mine as if he felt me glaring at him .

His grin only widens as he focuses back on his task .

« We should probably wrap it with bandages . » He says looking up at mom .

« There is an emergency kit in the guests bathroom upstairs . » She says still holding me against her shoulder .

He nods then averts his eyes to me . « Can you walk on it ? »

« I don't know ... »

« Try to stand up . »

I nod and try to do just that with my mom's support . Once I am up on my feet I let go of her then try taking a step forward but damn it hurts like a bitch to the point I almost fall down again if it weren't for both mom and him grabbing me by my arms to steady me .

« How are you going to get to your room ? » Mom asks looking between me and the stairs .

« I can lean on the railing and walk up there . » It is going to be a painful little trip but there is no other option , is there ?

I let go of them both then take another step , this time backwards .

Holy shit it hurts !

« I can carry her upstairs . » His cool emotionless voice startles me , it feels as though a cold bucket of water splashed down on me , freezing me in place . My mother nods looking at him with gratitude .

« No ... no need ... I ... » He doesn't give me time to protest as he scoops me up in his arms and starts walking up the stairs . He smells like old books and freshly baked lemon tarts . I just want to keep inhaling his scent forever . I clutch his shoulders out of fear from being dropped , but he carries me with such diligence , as though I am made of fine porcelain . Mother follows after us , carrying the bag of ice that started melting . Once we reach my room he kicks it open swiftly and walks in . My mom walks in next and adjusts my bed for me to lay down , removing all the books and papers and my calculator .

Okay fine I am a nerd , so what ?

« Thank you , Kane . You can put her down now . »

He does as asked , putting me down slowly and very carefully .

I try my best not to meet his eyes because I can feel my face is flushed .

My mom tucks me in like a baby , making the flush on my face spread further dow my neck . Mr Oliver stands there watching me as I try hard to just ignore him completely . She doesn't cover my injured foot, since I still need to keep the bag of ice on it .