Redemptive (Combative, #2)(17)
I felt him approach and the next moment, he was sitting next to me, his bare arm brushing mine.
I turned to him. “Maybe we could get to know each other a little bit? That way it might not be so awkward when we’re around each other.”
He smiled, and my stomach flipped in response. “That could work.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile,” I blurted.
He arched an eyebrow.
I looked away.
“I should go,” I told him, standing up. “I didn’t realize it was so late when I came in, and I’m sure you’re tired.”
He shook his head, his eyes wide as he looked up at me. “I’m wired now. I must’ve fallen asleep early.” He reached over for his phone on the nightstand.
“You know you don’t have any clocks in the house,” I told him.
His gaze trailed back to mine. “I don’t?”
I shook my head. “I’ve searched every room in the house, and I can’t find a way to tell the time.”
He froze, his face pale and his eyes narrowed. “Every room?”
I nodded slowly, afraid I’d done something wrong.
“Including the one at the end of the hallway?”
I nodded again. “I’m sorry,” I said, but it came out a question.
He set his phone back on the nightstand and lay down on top of the covers. I watched him for a few seconds as he stared up at the ceiling, his bare chest rising and falling. “Don’t go in there again, Bailey.” Even though his voice was quiet, I heard the threat in his words.
“Okay,” I whispered, stepping toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To let you sleep.”
He moved his hands behind his head, his eyes never leaving the ceiling. “Are you tired?”
I shrugged, even though he couldn’t see me. “Not really.”
He sat up and moved until his back rested on the headboard. “What happened to you, Bailey?”
With a nervous swallow, I asked, “What do you mean?”
“How did you end up where you were that night? I don’t just mean in the field, I mean in your life, Bailey.”
“It’s a long story, Nate.”
He pushed off the headboard and motioned for me to sit back down. “I have all night.”
I sat down at the foot of the bed, facing him with my legs crossed.
“So?”
“Before I tell you, can I ask you a question first?”
“Sure,” he said, moving closer and copying my seated position.
“Do you use what you sell?”
His eyes seemed to widen slightly, surprised at my question. “No. I mean, I have in the past, mainly to test, but I don’t make a habit of it.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
“I just don’t like them. Drugs. I don’t like what they do to people and how they can change someone.”
“You’ve had experience?” he asked, his head tilting to the side, assessing me.
“My dad and his girlfriend.”
I didn’t need to see him to hear the surprising anger in his voice. “Did they hurt you?”
“Not so much my dad, but his girlfriend.”
With the same tone, he asked, “What did she do, Bailey?”
“She just hit me a lot.”
“So you ran away and ended up on the streets?”
I shook my head and looked back up at him. His eyes bored into mine the second they made contact. “I didn’t run away. They just up and left one day. They left me alone and with nowhere to go.”
Nate sat up straighter, his jaw tense and his eyes distant. He ran his thumb across his bottom lip again. “What’s her name?” he asked.
“Why?”
He responded by lifting his eyebrows, waiting for me to answer him.
I didn’t.
Finally, he let his shoulders relax. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about the shitty life you’ve been handed. And about what happened to you that night. And everything that led to you being here.”
“I’m not,” I said quickly.
“Not what?”
“Not sorry I ended up here. It could’ve been a lot worse. Besides, when you think about it, it’s kind of ironic, right? Your guys probably supplied my dad with the drugs that led me to where I was… and now you’re here, supplying me with what he should’ve been giving me in the first place.”
“That’s not ironic, Bailey,” Nate said, lying back down and linking his fingers behind his head again. “That’s just bad f*ckin’ luck.”
12
Nate
She curled into a ball and fell asleep in my bed.
We spent a couple of hours talking. Mainly me asking her questions, questions about her life and her family and about the night it all went down. She answered every one and after a while, she allowed the exhaustion to take over. I watched as her eyes started drifting shut until her body gave in, her breaths calm, her features relaxed. I wondered for a moment if she could ever relax. If she were ever able not to worry about her next meal, her next step, her next decision.
At some point, I must’ve fallen back asleep because Tiny’s phone call had me startling awake. I blindly reached over for my phone and told him I’d be out in a minute. The last thing I needed was for him to come in and get the wrong idea about her being in my bed.