“Has he ever threatened you or beaten you? Why would you think he’d do it now?”
“Dammit, Zane, I don’t know.” My heart is pounding in my throat, in the back of my skull. “Please, man. Just do it.” I close my eyes, the effort of looking up at him too much.
I don’t care what my dad does with me. The main thing is to keep my brothers safe. And Tessa.
“Is that so?” Zane asks. “You think we’d go and leave you behind?”
I frown.
“Tough, fucker. Not gonna happen. Besides. Your brothers and Tessa would never let us live it down if we let anything happen to you.”
I swallow hard and open my eyes again, squint up at him. “Didn’t realize I said anything out loud.”
He chuckles and draws back. “You’ve been talking in your sleep a lot. Sleep, fever coma, whatever. You’ve been saying these things over and over again. About needing to make sure your brothers are all right. About Tessa.”
Damn. I clench my fingers, grabbing handfuls of blanket, and look past him, at the wall. A flush is trying to make its way up my neck. “Have I now?”
“Relax. It’s cool.” He grins. “Finally fessed up to Tessa? You’ve been telling everyone how much she means to you, but have you fucking told her? Does she know?”
“Everyone?” Alarm makes my voice even hoarser. “Who’s everyone?”
“The guys. We’ve all been around these days, taking shifts. Tyler and Erin, Asher and Audrey, me and Dakota. Rafe. Your neighbors.”
“And Tessa?” I clear my throat. “Was she here?”
Maybe that was a dream, too.
“Fucker.” Zane shakes his head. “She’s been here all day every day, and every night, too. Girl only leaves to go to work and return. Audrey loaned her clothes, ’cuz she hasn’t even been back to her apartment yet. Doesn’t want to leave you alone even for one fucking moment.”
A grin spreads over my face. It makes my cheeks hurt, as if I haven’t used those muscles in a long while. “She doesn’t, huh?”
“Smug bastard. That girl’s golden. She loves you. She always has. Question is, are you gonna stay with her this time round, or will you change your mind again?”
“I’m not gonna change my mind.” I tug on the blanket. “I never have. She was always the one I wanted.”
“Took you a while to realize that. To get in touch with your feelings and shit. Motherfucker.” He’s smiling, though, so I don’t think he’ll punch me just yet. “You’re lucky you’re still sick, or I’d have kicked your ass seven ways to Sunday already.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I try to find a comfortable position. My joints still hurt.
“Hey, man, take it easy.” Zane helps me settle on the bed. “You’ve been out of it for three days.”
Three days. Wow. “I think I remember going to the doctor.”
“Tests came back positive. Lyme disease. Caught it just in time. Tessa’s the one who suspected it. You owe her one.”
I shake my head. “No,” I say. “Not just that. I owe her everything.”
***
Voices outside my room wake me up sometime later. I’m lying on my back, buried under my winter quilt and several blankets.
It’s dark outside my window. My bedside lamp is on, and the faint light stabs my eyeballs.
“Who’s there?” I call out, my voice rusty.
Asher pokes his head through the half-open door. “You awake? There’s a football team, and they demand to see you.”
His dark hair is standing up in crazy spikes. I wonder if Jax, his nephew, has been tugging on it. Random crazy thoughts.
Wait… Football team? “I’m awake.”
Ash winks and grins like we just shared a joke—a joke on me, probably—and opens the door wide.
In pour several guys, talking in loud voices and laughing. They fall quiet when they see me, and I suddenly wonder what I must look like after days lying in bed.
“Hey, man,” Alonzo says, a tall, black guy who used to be the tailback in the team. I wonder if he’s the quarterback now I’ve left. “Good to see you.”
“Good to see you, too,” I say truthfully. I haven’t seen the guys in months, and I missed them.
They stand around the bed a little awkwardly, all big shoulders and long legs, crowding the already cramped space.
“Coach said you’re coming back to the team,” Jeff, our fullback, a huge blond guy says. “It’s about time. This team sucks without you.”
Martin cuffs him on the head and chuckles. “Yeah, you have to come back, or we’ll be stuck with Jeff taking the lead.”