When Our Worlds Collide (Our Worlds #1)(62)
Chapter Thirty
-Graham-
Tonight makes having an abusive father seem like a walk in a park. I’ll admit that treating girl’s right isn’t my strong suit, but what Craig has done to Kennedy is unforgiveable. I know Craig…he’ll have an excuse for what happened. That he drank too much or that she was into it but I saw the look on Kennedy’s face when I stormed into that room.
She was lying on that bed curled into a ball looking smaller than I have ever seen her trying to melt into the sheets. Kennedy was attempting in the only way she knew possible to disappear. No one should ever make someone feel how small she looked.
I feel my heart leave my chest and fall to the floor when I see the tears running down her cheeks. She has ownership of everything. She has my heart and I didn’t realize it until it is too late. Until I allowed her to run off with Craig. I pushed her into his arms and now I’m trying to pick up the pieces of my mistakes. I don’t know what to do, dammit. How do you fix something like this? I’m too young for all of this. This isn’t supposed to be happening.
Kennedy turns her body around to face me, but she doesn’t look up. She silently looks down at her feet letting the water cascade around her slim body. She’s silent for a while. I wasn’t expecting her to say anything. She needs time. No amount of talking will make this night easier. When she’s ready to talk I’ll be here I silently promise.
The look on her face is something I’ll never forget---a look that will haunt me until my last breath. Her eyes are swollen from crying. She’s broken and heavy, utterly broken. I want nothing more than to drive back to Craig’s and finish what I had started. If I could take all of the pain and anguish from her body and put it into mine, I would. I’d give anything to stop any pain from getting to Kennedy. That will be the only way I can get the pounding ache in my chest to leave.
I brush her long wet hair from her face pulling her chin up towards me. “How about we get you to bed?” I whisper. She nods in agreement as I reach behind her to turn the faucet off leaving her standing there naked in front of me. I’d be lying if I didn’t appreciate her body. I’m only human, okay. Every move I make is calculated to ensure she’s comfortable. Having her feel nervous around me isn’t a burden I want her to bare. I want her to feel a comfort around me. She doesn’t need some horny teenage boy (me) man handling her after she was nearly…she was nearly…
I can’t even say it without wanting to throw up.
I grab a towel from the cabinet that’s next to the shower wrapping her shivering body with the material. The jolts could be from being wet and cold or from being in shock. She steps out of the shower with my assistance allowing her eyes to scan down the length of my body. I look down to see water dripping from my clothes onto the bathroom floor. I rip every last piece of clothing as quickly as possible wrapping a matching towel around my waist.
Kennedy’s eyes scan over my chest. Something changes beneath the clear blue of her irises. Although she still looks dazed and disoriented there’s a hint of the uninhibited girl I met in this bathroom just days before. Her gaze is blazing into my chest as her breaths start to shallow. Unabashedly running her eyes up and down my body, taking her time to appreciate and take in every inch.
“Come on,” I reach a hand out to her trying not to crack a smile knowing damn well what she was just thinking about. She holds on tightly to my outreached hand. I pull back the covers on her bed helping her ease into the soft mattress before turning around to head back into the bathroom.
“Where are you going?” Kennedy’s whisper sounds urgent as if being separated from me caused her irreversible pain. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thrilled feeling needed by her.
“Baby, I’m just grabbing my cell phone out of the bathroom. I’ll be right back. I promise,” I explain smiling softly at her.
Kennedy sits straight up in bed giving me a halfhearted smile. “Please stay with me tonight.”
“Where else would I go?” I walk into the bathroom to grab my phone. I leaned my hands against the vanity counter bending my head down before looking up into the mirror. I take several deep breaths to try to get my shit together before I head back out to Kennedy. I find Kennedy already asleep. She deserves an easy slumber. I sit on the edge of the bed to brush the wet hair out of her face spending a few minutes to admire every line and bend of her angelic face. She has the daintiest nose I’ve ever seen. It fits perfectly on her. There’s peacefulness to her as she sleeps. It’s the only way I ever want to see her.
Kennedy shudders in her sleep as she starts muttering something under her breath. I don’t know what she’s saying until I lean forward and hear her whisper, “I don’t know why, but I think I might love you.” It’s eerily quiet that I barely recognize the words.
Moving is becoming a chore. I don’t want to disturb her sleep, but I don’t know what else to do. There’s something between her and I. Maybe there always has been. Pinpointing it is the problem. Whenever she’s around there’s this magnetic pull between us. It’s like when she walks into a room, even if my back’s turned, I can feel her presence.
Perhaps what I’m feeling is love, but how can you be sure that you love someone? Everything between us has happened so quickly. I’m afraid that we aren’t ready. I don’t know if I’m ready, but when I look down at this girl who has the biggest heart and the kindest soul I wonder if it’s possible for me to love her. I’ve never been in love. Loving Kennedy would be easy.