Following Me(83)

“Alright. I know a thing or two about concussions, but if it gets worse, I’m taking you to the hospital. You might need an MRI to check for brain damage. I’m not going to f**k around with head injuries just because your ex might find you. Deal?” he asked.

“Deal.” She was able to relax now that she knew she wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to get you some ibuprofen and an ice pack.”

He returned with the medicine and a large glass of water, which she took without complaint. She placed the glass on the nightstand and then leaned back into the bed. He adjusted the ice pack to the back of her head and Devon winced slightly at the tender spot. She already felt much calmer and so comfortable. She just wanted to sleep. Her eyes fluttered closed. It felt nice.

“Hey,” he said, sinking into the bed next to her. “No sleeping just yet. I want to make sure you’re alright.”

“No sleeping. Got it.”

Brennan found her hand and circled his thumb against her palm. “Can you tell me what happened? It might help you stay awake.”

She nodded slowly. She had been planning to tell him that night anyway. Now, she was here, like fate had reasoned that this was their night together. Too bad fate had taken a pretty disastrous turn.

“Yeah. Where should I start?”

“The beginning, I suppose. Wherever is good for you.” He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. “I’m here for you.”

Devon smiled and started from the beginning, the very beginning. “When I was in high school, I was dating this guy, Mason,” she began. “I’d known him all of my life. His mom was my mom’s best friend. I think they had arranged for us to be married while we were still in the womb. I think it’s how I got my nickname, Dixie.”

“Dixie?” he asked, unable to hold back his chuckle.

Devon nodded. “Mason and Dixie. Mason Dixon. I’m sure you get it.”

“How Southern, Belle,” he said, squeezing her hand lightly.

“Exactly. My mom still calls me Dixie even though I’ve told her a million times that I hate it. Anyway, long story short, Mason and I dated through almost all of high school. I was a cheerleader, and he was the quarterback. I know, big surprise. It’s really cheesy and embarrassing.”

“That sounds like everything in high school.”

Devon smiled faintly. “Yeah. Well, as we grew up, we grew apart. It was only natural. We weren’t the same people anymore. I didn’t want to be a country music singer or Dixie or anything related to my parents’ life, which included him, and he just wasn’t okay with that.”

“I could see that if you had been together all your life,” Brennan said.

“We had this abandoned house that we used to meet up at.” Devon’s cheeks flushed. “I’m sure you can imagine what for. Anyway, I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore. He freaked out and slapped me. I started crying and swore I was going to tell everyone, but he apologized and then freaked out even more. It never happened again, but I think it was part of the reason I chose to go to Wash U,” she whispered. “When Reid hit me the first time, I just thought that he was like Mason …that he wouldn’t do it again, but he did…”

“You made the right choice by leaving,” Brennan said, drawing her closer.

Devon shook her head. “I’m not sure my choices were ever right. If I’d made the right choices, then I would have outted Mason. I would have outted Reid. Then, maybe all of this would have turned out differently.”

“And maybe then, I never would have found you,” he said, softly kissing her swollen cheek.

“I would have found you,” she whispered.

“Good. I wouldn’t have wanted another life that didn’t include you.”

“Me either.”

He smiled. “Tell me the rest of the story.”

And so she did. She told him everything she had told Garrett that night she had mistakenly decided to trust him with her secret. It hurt just as bad the second time. She hoped that the pain would dampen over time. She also hoped that she wouldn’t have to tell the story that much. She knew at least two other people who needed to know—her mom and Hadley. Maybe if she was completely honest with them, they would be able to forge a better relationship again. She knew it would take time.

When she finished, she found that her tears had dried up, and Brennan had his arm around her shoulders. She didn’t feel like he was trying to control her. She only felt that he wanted to comfort her…be there for her in any way that he could. She turned her face up to him, and then she felt his lips land softly on hers.

“Belle,” he whispered against her lips.

“Yeah?” she asked.

He said stared down at her intensely, and she found herself gripped in his gaze.

“I think I knew you were running the first time I saw you,” he said. “Those big stormy eyes telling me you were lost with nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. I just didn’t know what you were running from, but I think, all along, you were running toward me.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Following Me

SLEEPING THROUGH THE night and much of the next morning had been a surprise to wake up to. More ibuprofen waited for her on the nightstand. She smiled and then immediately winced from the pain in her face.