He rolled his eyes. It was hard to keep his temper in check when she was doing her best at being a smart ass. He flared his nostrils. Clearly, she was traumatized by what happened, by what might have happened to her before this that led her to his place, to his sister. He wanted to be patient with her. But how could he help her if she kept pushing him away? How could he do anything if she wouldn’t open up to him?
“Look,” Alec said, the hum of the microwave filling up the space between them. Her back was to him. She stood just off to the side, her upturned face staring at the machine. “I get that maybe you don’t want to tell me everything that’s happened to you. I can respect that. But after everything that’s happened, I need something to go off of, you know? I mean, you come out of nowhere, you’re staying with us, Pat Zummo and you talk and you tell him that you’re my girlfriend. And then, some crazy asshole shows up at my door, wanting to take you with him and probably would have if a neighbor wasn’t willing to call the cops. I punched said asshole so hard I think I bruised my fingers, which already sucks because it’s going to affect my play, and if my play of affected, people are going to assume I really am a shitty player who can’t keep his dick in his pants.”
Noah turned, arms across her chest. He didn’t understand it, but Alec absolutely hated when she did that. It was like she was saying she didn’t trust anyone; she didn’t trust him with her thoughts and feelings, and felt she needed to protect herself.
“You think you bruised your fingers?” she asked in a small voice.
Alec glanced down, as though he could see for sure. He didn’t want to be the drama queen that made a big deal out of nothing. However, as he curled his fingers into a loose fist just to test it out, he flinched.
“I don’t know,” he admitted, just as the microwave beeped.
Noah continued to stare at him, making no move to fetch her hot chocolate. Instead, she pushed onto the balls of her feet and grabbed something from the top of the fridge. It took Alec a moment to realize it was a first aid kit. Lily must have pointed it out to her at some point.
“Can I see it?” Her voice seemed both shy and concerned at the same time. “Maybe I can help.”
Alec hesitated. It wasn’t as though he didn’t trust her. In truth, he trusted her more than he trusted most people. The problem was, that didn’t answer his question, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to figure out just what the he’ll happened without Noah being willing to talk to him.
“Sit,” she murmured, gesturing at the kitchen table. “I have no idea what I’m doing but I can try to help.”
“Noah,” he said through a breath. He hadn’t moved. It was almost as though he didn’t trust her, didn’t trust himself to get close to her because the second he did... Well, he wasn’t sure what was going to happen if he did. Part of him wanted to demands answers and refrain from anything else until he got them. The other part of him wanted to back her up into a wall and kiss her until they both couldn’t breathe anymore.
She looked down, her eyes scanning the floor. For what, Alec didn’t know.
“I’ll tell you everything,” she said. “I will. Just, please. Let me check your fingers. I have no idea what I’m doing but I want to try to see if I can help them.”
Alec paused. That seemed like a fair exchange. He walked into the kitchen as Noah pulled the hot chocolate out of the microwave. She took her spoon and began to mix up the drink before setting the spoon down and taking a sip. She jumped, and Alec guessed it had to do with the drink being hot. That didn’t seem to deter her in the slightest. She kept drinking until Alec took a seat at the dining table.
When she finished, she set the cup down and grabbed the medical kit she grabbed from the fridge. Wiping the residue away with the back of her hand, she stepped forward.
“May I see your hand?” she asked after clearing her throat.
Alec held out the one he punched Aaron with. Noah knelt down between his legs, causing Alec’s eyes to widen. He hadn’t expected her to willingly place herself in such an obvious compromising position. As his eyes watched her, however, he realized that she probably didn’t even realize what she was doing. She seemed focused on his fingers. As her own fingers brushed his, he winced slightly.
“There don’t seem to be any cuts on them,” she said, meeting his gaze. “The only thing I can do for them is get you some ice. Other than that, there’s nothing else except maybe resting them.”
“I think I can do that,” Alec said. He tried to make it one of his usual cheesy quips but it came out more serious than he intended it to. It must have to do with her fingers on his, the way she was on her knees in front of him. “Uh, you haven’t told me anything and you said you would.”
“Right.” She forced herself to stand up, running a hand through her hair with her free one while the other reached up to put away the kit.
Alec couldn’t help but notice a sliver of flesh that was revealed by Noah’s movements, and he immediately chided himself. After everything that had just happened to Noah, he was really checking her out. Was he this much of a monster?
“Aaron was my high school sweetheart,” she said, turning around. Her fingers started to tug at each other.
“I don’t remember him,” Alec said, leaning back in the chair.
“He wasn’t
