Kicking Tawny out of his house had left Kieran feeling more alone than ever. After all, even though she had always chosen manipulation, Tawny had been there with him for years. Through thick and thin. Her company had kept him sane once in a blue moon. But he couldn't lead her on anymore, and that's why she had needed to go.
He was okay with that. But it didn't make moving on any easier.
Hindsight was always 20-20, and Kieran knew now that he should have sent Donovan after late night snacks. Going by himself had only landed him in the middle of a torrential downpour. As if the sky had broken as much as his fragile heart.
The haze of water through the dim street lamps lent an eerie atmosphere to the dark night sky. Kieran had never liked his neighborhood, but that night it felt especially dangerous.
He could take care of himself in dangerous situations, easily, but something inside of Kieran spurred him hastily homeward.
The splash, clop of his shoes created noise that would cover most any other sound around him. It wasn't ideal for staying safe, but since when had Kieran cared?
The orange glow of the streetlamp nearest his building came into sight. Kieran adjusted the umbrella in his hand, a wry smile working its way onto his lips. He had never been particularly attached to this apartment, but it was the closest thing to home that he had. He should be glad to see it.
Instead, Kieran simply wanted to get out of the rain as quickly as possible.
With his bag of snacks tucked up against his chest, Kieran jogged toward the door on the other side of a ramshackle wall.
Something shifted among the broken-down boxes and falling-apart furniture pieces stacked there.
Normally, Kieran would have ignored it and moved on. This time, some instinct deep in the pit of his stomach begged him to look.
Kieran stopped walking.
In the shifting shadows of the warbling orange street lamp, another small movement caught Kieran's eye. He ventured closer, always prepared to fight or flee.
A broken-down cardboard box, soaked through with the rain, slid away from the creature hiding by the wall.
Kieran blinked as recognition hit him like an out-of-control baseball. "Naomi?"
She didn't respond, but then again how could he expect that of her when she seemed to be... sleeping? Who managed to fall asleep out in a thunderstorm?
Considering that Naomi couldn't hurt him—and fueled by a sickening amount of concern—Kieran picked his way closer.
Naomi's arms wrapped around her torso as if she had meant to use them as a blanket. From head to foot, she dripped water. Not that Kieran had thought that the cardboard box had done much to keep her dry in the first place.
Kieran squatted beside her, his umbrella managing to stop the downpour over her head. "Naomi," he called, unwilling to touch her if he didn't have to. It would only start their tragedy all over again.
Her eyes fluttered open, then closed again. She might have muttered his name, but it was too quiet for Kieran to tell. Whatever the case, she didn't look so good.
"What are you doing here?" Kieran asked, mostly to himself.
Naomi's brow furrowed as if she might cry, her lips turned down into a frown that bespoke utter despair. In a voice barely louder than the rain, she uttered a sentence so pitiful that it broke Kieran all over again.
"I didn't know where else to go."
Kieran didn't know what had happened, but he couldn't leave her out in the rain. Not like this and definitely not on this street.
"Wake up and come inside." He stood, but Naomi showed no signs of moving from her spot against the wall. It was Kieran's turn to knit his brow. "Naomi?"
Still, nothing. And her eyes had closed again.
Kieran dropped his snacks, stepped closer, and leaned down to shake her awake.
Naomi limply swatted at his hand, managing to push it up her shoulder, toward her face. Her wet skin flamed hot against Kieran's touch.
A fever? How long had she been laying there? Would she have stayed there all night if he didn't walk by? Kieran hated to think of what might have happened had someone else found her first.
Forget it, Kieran chided himself. You can't leave her here.
Kieran ditched the umbrella next, only because he couldn't carry it and Naomi at the same time. Her drenched clothes and hair made her heavier, but no matter how much she weighed Kieran would have carried her. It was only a few flights of stairs. A few flights of stairs that—leaving his snacks and umbrella behind—Kieran traversed with the utmost care.
His empty apartment greeted him as he had left it. Good thing that he had sent Tawny away, or this would all be much more complicated.
Kieran hesitated inside his apartment door. He should get Naomi out of her wet things, but he didn't dare. He wasn't that kind of man when it came to her. For the first time in a long time, Kieran found himself at a loss as to what to do with the woman in his space.
Getting her dry took priority. Kieran set her on the makeshift couch while he scoured the apartment for every towel and spare blanket that he could find. Her jacket, he had no qualms stripping from her arms, along with her shoes and socks. That left her in a t-shirt and lounge pants.
Kieran wrapped the spare blanket around her as tightly as he could, then grabbed a towel to set to work on drying her hair. It was only after he had begun that he took a good look at her.
On top of the fever, Naomi's face had begun to bruise and swell on one side. The darkening area looked suspiciously like a handprint.
Kieran reached out before he could stop himself, his fingers ghosting over the afflicted area.
Naomi stirred and whimpered, but she never fully woke. Not enough for him to ask any questions.
Kieran wasn't sure who would hurt Naomi like that, but it made him angry just thinking about it. Knowing Naomi, it was unlikely that she deserved the beating.
I didn't know where else to go. Her words echoed in his head like a siren's call. She must have run away from home. Kieran's gut told him that the bruise on her cheek had something to do with it.
But first things were first. Naomi had come to him, so he would doctor Naomi through the night. He could ask his questions when she finally woke up.