Playing A Dangerous Game

◄ Chapter 25 ►Stay As Long As You'd Like

◄ Chapter 25 ► Stay As Long As You'd Like

I close the door behind me as Derek begins to take off his boots. When the door was locked I slipped past him and back into the living room.

"Monica who was at the.." My mother walks into the living room and her voice trails off when she sees Derek.

I look over my shoulder and he looks up, showing her his cut lip and bruised eye. She lets out a pained sound and I look back at her. She was now covering her mouth. My mom had wanted to be a nurse and she was for a while, a children's nurse for an elementary school. She had a soft spot for anyone who was hurt and I guess that's where I got it from. How she became principal was a mystery to me.

"You poor thing." She says moving her hands.

My dad was no where in sight and I'm pretty sure if he was he wouldn't be to pleased with Derek being here.

"What happened?" She took slow steps towards us.

I felt Derek's presence behind me and I sucked in a deep breath. The sudden warmth he brought wasn't shocking but it wasn't expected either.

"N-nothing." He stammered and she frowned.

"Derek, please tell me." She tried urging him.

"Mom he doesn't want to talk about it." I say and she turns her gaze towards me.

"Ok." She says softly before looking back at him. "At least let me tend to your wounds." She reached for him and I quickly grip her wrist.

"No." I say sharply. "Let me." I looked up at Derek and he nodded his head.

◄►

I held his chin in my hand and lightly dabbed his eye with a wet washed cloth. Seeing it up close I noticed it was bruised and the skin was also split open as well.

The cut on his lip had scabbed over and stopped bleeding. He stared at me as a I dabbed his eye. Every once in a while he would wince and grip my wrist, pulling it away. Every time he did this it came as a surprise and I would quickly apologize. He would just shake his head and remove his grip on my wrist.

"I can't believe he hit you." I say shaking my head and putting a small pea sized dab of arnica cream on my thumb.

"I can, he despises me. He'll do anything to show it." He sighs as I tilt his head upward to an higher angle.

"Why did he hit you?" Slowly and gently I began to rub cream on the bruise.

"Because I kidnapped his son." He scoffed as I rolled his eyes.

"Did you tell him that you didn't and Tyler wanted to hang out with you?" I arch my brow.

"Yes and even Tyler told him. Then his mom went ballistic yelling at me to stay away from her children. So I just left. I don't want to be somewhere I'm not welcomed." He snorts.

"Well your always welcomed here." I finish rubbing in the cream and let go of his face.

"Thanks." He takes my hands and holds them.

They begin to heat up and I try to hold back the smile making it's way to my lips. He takes my hands and places them in his hair, and just begins to aimlessly run them through it himself.

Slowly I began to take over and he closes his eyes, letting my hands go. He lets out a sigh. He seemed more relaxed than when he first came over. As if he felt safer here than his own home, which might be the case.

I still felt horrible but I know he doesn't want my sympathy and I couldn't empathize with him. There was no way that I could show him how much I hurt for him. How much I wish he had better parents.