The Author and Her Bodyguard

Chapter 31

I woke up at 2 am to an empty bed that was covered in bloodstains. And not gonna lie... that was a terrifying way to wake up. The last memory I had was watching Aiden sleep, his face relaxed, oblivious to the world as I dipped into my large supply of bandaids. 

It felt weird peeling off his bloody shirt to inspect the wounds. His back and arms were covered in blood. Walking into the bathroom, I picked up a washcloth and dapped at the blood, relieved when I saw how shallow the cuts were. 

Ignoring how amazing his toned, muscular back looked, but taking a mental picture of it because it was breathtaking, I focused on covering every possible scratch with bandaids. He stirred slightly as I ran my fingers along the curve of his back inspecting the scratches. His skin was hot below my fingertips. 

I kept moving, not wanting to sit gawking like some drooling freak. After finishing up, I spotted his suitcase and found a large t-shirt. Poking him, Aiden groaned. "Sit up Aiden," I urged. After several mutters of protest, He sat up and I helped him put on his shirt, then he fell over, falling back to sleep.

But now, Aiden was gone. And I was staring at an empty bed covered in blood.

"Aiden!" I gasped connecting the dots. Where'd he go?

I scrambled from the bed and looked around the dim room, alarm bells going off. "Aiden?" I called tentatively. I slowly moved towards the front door, fully intent on bursting Tate's door down and demanding to know where Aiden was. Something clearly had to be wrong if he had vanished into thin air. He said he had no intention of leaving me alone. 

Light peaked out from under the bathroom door. "Aiden?" The silence that followed scared me. Did he pass out in the bathroom?

Tentatively, my hand covering my eyes, I pushed the door open, not sure what I was expecting to find. I could hear the shower running and tried to back out of the room. But the exit didn't quite go as planned. I accidentally knocked the door shut with my butt, trapping me for a long awkward pause in the bathroom with a most likely naked Aiden. 

OH MY GOSH... GET OUT. Or look— nope. Get out. Stay?  Turning, I tried to find the door handle, one hand still up to my eyes. 

"Um... Laliana?" Aiden's voice echoed through the bathroom. 

"I'm so sorry. I'm just trying to find the door handle. I didn't know you were in here. I haven't seen anything. I promise. I have my eyes closed. I'm leaving." I babbled in a panic. 

He started to laugh. "You can open your eyes."

"Uh...." Was the only word I seemed capable of as I continued to blindly reach for the door handle. 

"I'm not in the shower Summers." 

I stopped. "Oh." Lower my hand I turned and nearly threw my hand up again. 

Aiden stood next to the sink, shirtless. Hello hotness my whole body responded.

But when I saw the bloody towel in his hands, the heat that had risen inside turned to ice. He read the shock on my face. "I'm fine," he insisted as he reached for one of the countless bandaids on the sink. 

"Just have to change these out."

Something snapped in my brain. The blatant lie shattered what little calm I had. I shook my head wildly. "How are you standing!?! You should be getting a blood transfusion!" 

Aiden placed a bandaid on his shoulder, eyes on his reflection in the mirror for precision. "I have plenty left." 

I walked into the bedroom, dragging a chair back to the bathroom. "Sit." Aiden raised a brow. "Sit before you pass out."