Absolution(81)

She snorted quietly. “Don’t forget the metal rods in my back.”

Starting slightly, he vividly recalled the conversation with the young doctor the night of the accident. He had almost forgotten about the surgery and the rods. Out of sight, out of mind.

He concentrated on keeping his fingers working at the same speed. Since the kiss the other night, they had barely touched and he pushed aside all thoughts of the night of the accident and its ramifications, instead focusing on her smooth skin beneath his hands.

“You said the other day that Callum helps with massage and stuff. Is this the kind of thing you meant?” he asked casually.

She stiffened and he eased up on the pressure a little.

“Yeah. He’s not a bad masseuse.”

It was like drawing blood from a stone. He could feel her reluctance to discuss it, but something deep inside told him to push on regardless. He threw caution to the wind. “So that’s what you guys were doing the other night, with the yoga mat?”

“That’s enough for now,” she snapped, leaning away from him. “Thanks for your help.”

His hands fell away and the connection they shared was gone.

Shit.

“Look, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry, I’ve just been wondering, that’s all.”

She just sat there with her back to him, saying nothing. After a few moments, he tried again. “I asked Callum about it, but he said I should ask you, so that’s what I’m doing.”

“Oh really?” she glared up at him over her shoulder. “He said that? I should’ve seen that coming.”

She leaned forward, preparing to stand, as he searched for something to say to make things okay between them again.

“I’m sorry,” he said, as she practically forced him out of the way, turning to push herself upwards and lock her braces through her jeans.

“It’s fine. Forget it.” She slid her arms into the cuffs of her crutches. “I think you should go.”

“What?”

One step forward, two steps back. What the hell is the deal with this damn mat?

She turned away from him and he reached out to touch her shoulder. “Hey, come on – let’s not do this again, okay? I’m completely in the dark here, I don’t even know what I said wrong.”

He could feel her trembling beneath his hand and he squeezed her shoulder gently, trying to keep some semblance of calm in his voice.

“I don’t want to get caught up in the middle of this thing between you two,” she said tightly.

“What?”

“You and Callum!”

“What thing? Look, I don’t know what’s going on here – I just know that he said I should ask you about this and I agree with him. What’s the big deal? Come on, whatever it is, can we just talk about it and get it over with? Because it feels like things are getting a little out of control here, don’t you think?”

His mind went completely blank as she turned to face him, her eyes burning with open hostility.

“He thinks he’s being clever,” she said icily. “He knows I don’t want to talk about this, and he knows you’re desperate enough to do anything so he’s pushing me from one angle and pulling you from another!”

“This isn’t some kind of game, Ally. I just want you to talk to me, that’s all, it’s no big conspiracy, nothing sinister.”

“He’s playing you!”

“I don’t think he is,” he said carefully, trying to keep calm in the face of her anger. “I know there’s a lot of stuff I don’t know, but I thought that maybe if I asked you when I’m not sure, we can shorten that list a little bit, y’know?”

She huffed out a frustrated breath. “Why are you making a big deal out of this?”

“I’m not making a big deal out of anything. I’m just asking a question, that’s all.”

“So go ahead then, ask it!”

“Alright. What’s the deal with the yoga mat? Is it a massage thing? Or an exercise thing? Or something else, because I gotta tell ya, my imagination is running wild right now.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and a chill crawled up the back of his neck.

“How about I tell you all about that, once you tell me where the hell you’ve been for the past four years?”

Whoa. What the hell just happened?

“Look, I’m sorry –“