when you walked in | D.S. Whitlock

Chapter IX | can't afford another broken nose

Maddie gasped loudly and we all froze—Nick running into me—as I stared down at what was happening on the kitchen floor.

Will was on top of Dax, fist flying and Dax hardly able to shield himself from each of the blows with his hands. I could see the flashes of red against Will's knuckles and blood gushing from Dax's nose.

"Will!" I could hear Maddie scream.

Jace rushed to pull him off of Dax, throwing him to the side as Nick jumped onto him, grunting on the impact. They both struggled to keep him down as I rushed to Dax's aid.

My heart raced as I knelt beside him.

He was a bloody mess; his nose looked broken and his face was already starting to bruise, a purple shade appearing on his forehead.

I tapped on his face as he laid there, groaning in pain. His eyes were barely open.

"Dax, hey," I said softly, trying to hide the panic in my voice. Inside I was numb; I didn't know how to feel. My brain wasn't processing what was going on and my mind truly did not want to.

My hands started to tremble and shake uncontrollably as I felt his cold blood against my fingertips. I touched him softly, afraid of causing him more pain.

I ran my thumb over a split on his lip. I could see him wince in pain.

"Dax?" I whispered again. The pounding in my ears was so loud I could barely hear myself. Now I was wondering if he could hear me with all that pounding in his ears.

I swallowed hard as he continued to lay there, blinking to keep the tears from falling. Panic pulsed through me and I didn't know what to do. "Come on, Dax, I need you to get up."

I needed to know what happened. How the fuck did they manage to get in such a huge mess? They couldn't be left alone for an hour?

"Tal, did he break anything? A nose or two?" Nick rushed over, shaking my shoulders. I ran my sleeve over my eyes, wiping away the tear that was threatening to drop.

I shook my head. Then shrugged. "I— I don't know, Nick," I said, my voice cracking as my lips trembled.

Nick let out a stranded sigh. "I'll call Rhea, she'll know what to do."

I turned back to Dax and stared at the mess in front of me. The glass, the chair that was once tucked into the table was now splayed across the kitchen floor all the way across the room.

I held my breath as I watched his eyelids flutter for a split second. His lips parted and he let out another groan.

Finally, I could breathe properly.

Well, not properly.

I let out a shaky laugh, clutching his face in my hands as my hair fell over his face. "Oh my God, you're okay—"

"Ouch—"

I quickly withdrew my hands away from his broken face, sucking in a breath of sympathy as he tried to scrunch up his face. It looked painful. And I'm pretty damn sure it was hella painful.

For a moment we just looked at each other, Dax hardly unable to open his eyes as his eyelids quivered, threatening to shut again. He gave me a weak smile and slowly, his hands crept up my cheeks to tuck my hand behind my ears, keeping them out of his face.

"I fucked up, big time," he said, the corners of his lips upturning to a weak smile.

A tear fell down my cheek and I smiled, shaking my head, amused at how—even after getting beaten to a pulp— he could still crack jokes and make me smile.