Until the End (Sea Breeze #9)(23)

I had walked away from him, and he’d let me. From the looks of it, he had moved on. Now here he was again. I didn’t understand him at all. There was a good guy under all that sexy. Not only had he wanted to help me get to the hospital, but then he had stayed and dealt with Fandora. Why would someone who had a future to think about waste time with me and this mess?

“No bottled water, and I wasn’t sure the tap water was clean, so I poured milk. I’ve seen you drink it at lunch, so I thought that was a safe choice.”

Rock was once again filling up my small bedroom with his presence, making everything seem less scary. Less hopeless. And he knew that I drank milk at lunch. My heart did a silly flutter.

“Milk is good,” I told him. There weren’t any other options but beer in the fridge. But he didn’t point that out. I was also not supposed to drink the milk, but with Rock here I felt safe. Fandora couldn’t get to me if Rock was standing between us.

He opened the two bottles of pills and shook my dosage out into his palm. “Always thought it was cute that you drank milk at lunch,” he said, flashing me a grin that made me forget that my eye was swollen shut, my wrist was broken, and my ribs were fractured.

I drank milk at school because it was healthy, and I didn’t get much of that at home. It was supposed to make your bones stronger, and I needed strong bones living in this house. I wasn’t telling him that, though.

“Thanks,” I said as he held the glass of milk and pills out to me. I quickly took my pills, being careful with my split lip. It had stopped bleeding and I wanted to keep it that way.

“Drink all the milk if you can,” he instructed me.

I didn’t argue with him.

Once the milk was gone, he took the glass from me and set it beside my bed. “Lay back,” he said, and like with everything else, I did exactly as he said.

Rock then proceeded to tuck me in and make sure my wrist was propped up and my ribs were okay. Watching him work over me with a serious expression kept me from speaking.

When he was satisfied that I was comfortable, he stepped back. “I’ve got a beach towel in the truck and a duffel with a change of clothes. I’m going to grab those and get changed, and then tonight I’m sleeping on the floor in here. I won’t get any sleep if you don’t let me. So please don’t tell me I can’t.”

The pleading look in his eyes combined with all that he had done tonight for Krit and me—I knew I couldn’t tell him no about anything right now. The idea of Rock being in my room gave me peace. I never felt at peace in this trailer. Or anywhere. But Rock was giving me that. I wouldn’t freak out now. I would just embrace it. I needed it right now.

“Okay,” I whispered, and he smiled at me.

I wanted to smile back, but it would hurt my lip. He winked at me as if he knew that, and then he turned and left my room.

Krit had a comforter on his bed he didn’t use. I’d get him to let Rock sleep on it so he didn’t have to sleep on the worn carpet.

As if on cue, Krit’s bedroom door opened and my little brother stepped into my room with a frown. “He coming back?” he asked.

“He’s getting a towel and a change of clothes from his truck,” I assured him.

Krit let out a noticeable sigh of relief. He wasn’t up for dealing with his mother again. Rock had taken that weight off Krit’s shoulders, which I always tried so hard to do.

“He’s sleeping on the floor in here. Bring him that comforter you never use so he can sleep on it.”

Krit nodded. “Yeah, I’ll bring him a pillow, too. And he can have my blanket as well. I’ll go grab a quilt out of Mom’s room.”

The door to the trailer closed as Rock came back inside. Krit walked into the hall, and I heard him speaking in low tones to Rock. I knew they were talking about me and Krit was needing reassurance from Rock. I didn’t want Rock to make any promises to my brother that he couldn’t keep. Krit didn’t need that kind of disappointment in his life. He had enough.

Krit walked back into the room a few minutes later with a pillow, his comforter, and his blanket. “He said he didn’t need anything and he was just going to sleep on his beach towel, but I ignored him. He’s getting changed in the bathroom.”

He was trying to make it easy on Rock so he would stay. But Rock couldn’t stay forever. He was a kid too, with a football career in his future. He didn’t have time to save us. “He can’t stay forever, you know. He has a life and a future. We will be okay when he walks away. We have each other,” I reminded him.

Krit didn’t respond. He kept making Rock a bed on the floor beside my bed.

“You know that, right?” I asked again, needing Krit to acknowledge that this wasn’t something he should get used to.

When Krit dropped his pillow on the makeshift bed, he turned his gaze to me. “No, Trisha, I don’t know that. I think . . . I think you may be more important to him than football.” Then he walked over and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “You’re special. The kind of girl a guy does crazy shit for.”

I started to say something, but Krit left my room before I could think of what to say.

Moments later Rock walked back in, wearing a pair of what looked like board shorts and a Sea Breeze Football T-shirt. His gaze landed on the spot Krit had made for him on the floor, and a small grin tugged at his lips. Then he turned his attention to me. “I think he likes me,” he quipped.