Forces of Nature

The Sick and Injured

I laughed, stopping abruptly when my tender stomach twinged in pain.

"Where is Mel now?" I asked, not spotting her anywhere in my dimly lit bedroom. Not that I'd expected to, seeing as how she hadn't come running when I'd cried out earlier.

He shrugged, jostling my head, causing me to whimper softly. "Shit, sorry No." He brought his left hand up to cup the side of my face, gently pushing my damp, tangled hair away from my forehead. "I don't know where she is. Either downstairs or in the guest room."

I raised my eyebrows. "She's still here? I thought she would've gone home by now."

Riley shook his head. "I asked her to stay. I have no idea what to do in a situation like this, and though I suspect she doesn't know much more than I, she seemed to have everything under control by the time I got home."

I cast a glance downwards at his crumpled suit. He'd shed his jacket and tie, both of them laying haphazardly at the foot of the bed. I looked beyond the bed to see his briefcase and laptop bag near the door. They looked as if they had been thrown there in haste. And seeing as he still had his shoes on, I'd say my guess was accurate.

"When did you get home?" I asked, stifling a yawn. Despite seven solid hours of sleep, I was still bone tired.

"Mel called me just after she'd tucked you into bed, so about six."

"And you didn't think to grab a shower and some food before camping out in my room?" I asked. Though he didn't stink. Through my blocked nose I could just make out the scent of his Calvin Klein aftershave.

He chuckled. "No, I had more pressing matters on my mind, like the state I found my baby sister in when I got to her room. You forgot to clean all the blood off your face before you passed out."

I grimaced, knowing I looked a mess. When Mel had gotten me home I'd gone to the bathroom long enough to glance in the mirror, and just about leapt out of my skin thinking it was Freddy Krueger staring back at me rather than myself. My nose was red and puffy, something that was hard to see with all of the dried and drying blood smeared across my face. How I managed to get it across my forehead and pushed back into my tangled hair I will never know. My eyes were red rimmed and slightly bloodshot, the undersides a little puffy. As a whole, it looked like I'd gone ten rounds with a champion fighter, not one round with a parked car, Aidan, and the pavement. I'd grabbed the glass sitting on the sink and downed a couple of painkillers. Then staggered back to my room, flopped into bed - which was very stupid given the immense amount of pain it caused me - and was out like a light before Mel could say "Sweet dreams". Those painkillers worked a charm. Not only did they dull the pain, they knocked you right out. Or, given my sensitivity to pain medication, I could have been having a particularly unique reaction to them.

"I'm guessing she called you at work?" I asked, breaking from my thoughts.

"She did." He looked at me with such serious eyes I gulped, thinking I was in major trouble. "What I want to know is why you didn't tell me some boy was bothering you in the first place." His voice was stern, making me cringe. I opened my mouth to speak but he cut me off. "Yes, you mentioned it in passing a few of weeks ago, but you forgot to include the little details like the fact that you ended up in the E.R during summer vacation because of him."

Guilt washed over me. He was right. I should have told him, and yet I was fairly confident at the time that I could handle Aidan on my own. How wrong I had been.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, turning my face into his shoulder and ignoring the sting in my nose as I did so.

He sighed wearily, running a hand softly through my hair. "I'm not angry at you," he said, voice softening. "I just wish you'd told me, that's all. I would have stopped things from going this far. Hell, I would have stopped things from beginning in the first place." He paused before saying, "Let me see your hand."