He looks away, his face red. “I never claimed to be smart.”
I laugh this time, and he joins in, looking a little more at ease than he was when he walked in earlier. When our laughter dies down, I tip my drink down the sink and start washing the mug.
“If I ask you to leave, will you?”
When I look up, Marcus is staring at me, his expression serious.
“If you don’t want me in your house, Lexi, that’s fine, but I’m not leaving. I’ll stay out in my car.”
I shake my head, “How long is this going to go on for Marcus? Until my mum comes home? She won’t be back for a while.”
“For as long as it takes for the cops to find your fucking brother and lock him up.” The angry admission from Marcus shocks me. I’ve never really heard him sound so serious and demanding. He reminds me of Ayden when he’s like that.
“So even if my mum comes home, you’re still going to be here babysitting me?”
“It’s not babysitting. And yes. She can’t protect you. If she could, then this would never have happened.” His lip curls when he speaks of my mum. Wow! I haven’t seen this side of Marcus before.
But he has a point.
“You can’t give up your life to watch over me, Marcus.” My hands land on my hips before I can stop the movement, and I see Marcus try to hide his smirk. Smart arse.
“Well, that’s why it’s not just me. It’s the other guys too, and we aren’t giving up anything. Your safety is more important than anything else.”
“I can look after myself.”
“Maybe, but we are going to be here anyway.” Marcus declares.
I can see that I won’t win this argument tonight, and if I’m being honest with myself, having him here does make me feel safer and less lonely. My mind wanders to Ayden again. The stupid thing is controlled by my broken heart. All I can think about is Ayden and what I’ve lost.
“He’s okay, you know,” Marcus says softly, gaining my attention again. “He checked himself into rehab on Monday, so he’s doing the right thing and getting the help he needs.”
“But... He didn’t relapse. He was forced.” Muz had threatened to shoot him and then have his way with me before shooting me if Ayden didn’t inhale whatever the white powdered lines were. If I ever see Muz again, I’m going to take that gun and ram it up his arse and smile while I pull the trigger!
“Even so, the addiction is strong, and now he needs to get his head right so he can get back on track. The place he’s at has great counsellors to help with that. It’s a voluntary clinic. He can leave whenever he wants.”
I turn away from Marcus as my eyes glass over, my anger waning briefly as I consider what Ayden must be going through. I didn’t know my heart could break anymore, but in this moment, it does.
CHAPTER TWO
A warm body shifting behind me pulls me from sleep the next morning. My mind instantly thinks of Ayden, and it takes a moment for my brain to remember that Ayden isn’t here. I stiffen as the scent of Marcus reaches me, and my eyes shoot open.
“You don’t have to look so terrified to be waking up next to me.” Marcus nudges my shoulder, and I glance over it to see a foot. My confusion must show on my face, which is obviously why Marcus starts pissing himself laughing.
Sitting up, I push my messy blonde waves off my face to take in the situation. We are on the couch in the front living room. Marcus is up one end of the couch, and I’m up the other, and we share the same blanket. Did I sleep next to his big smelly feet all night?
“What happened?” My voice is hoarse, not ready to be used yet. I don’t miss the way Marcus’s eyes darken and lock onto my lips. Shit! Ayden really wasn’t kidding about Marcus having a crush on me. I need to make sure he doesn’t get the wrong idea about what’s going on here.
“You fell asleep ten minutes into the movie. I wasn’t sure if I should wake you and tell you to go to bed.” Marcus pulls himself up to sit, dragging his hand through his dark hair to try and tame it. It’s no use, though. He’s going to need a shit ton of water to get rid of that bed hair.
My memory slowly clears as I watch Marcus. Last night we decided to watch a movie after I revealed I’d been having trouble sleeping. Knowing me better than I thought, Marcus put on Guardians of the Galaxy, one of my favourite movies. That’s all I remember.
“So why didn’t you wake me?” Keeping my eyes trained on his, I search for the truth in his response.
He shrugs. “You said you hadn’t been sleeping lately. If I had woken you, then maybe you wouldn’t have gone back to sleep. Turns out you slept all night, so not waking you was the right decision.” Marcus grins smugly.
It’s true. I slept all night. The last time that happened was when I was in Ayden’s bed, wrapped in his arms. Memories of my time with Ayden fight to devour me, but I push them away, not ready to feel the slicing pain in my heart.
Looking across my living room to the other couch lining the wall, my brows shoot up before returning my glare to Marcus.
“You could have slept on that couch.” I point to the very empty, unused couch.
“Nah, you were kind of hugging my feet, so I couldn’t move without waking you. I paused the movie and went to sleep too.” Marcus smirks, “Well first, I watched you drool for about ten minutes, and then I went to sleep.”
I instinctively grab the cushion I’d used as a pillow
