Fall To Pieces(30)

*****





Kyle





Fury, pure fucking rage was coursing through my veins. I needed to hit something. I needed to break something.

Ignoring her protests, I lifted Lee into my arms and carried her into my room. No fucking way, was I letting her out of my sight. Not now, that Cam had lost her damn mind.

“Should I call a doctor?” I asked, as I sat a trembling Lee down on my bed, and moved away to lock the door.

“No,” she whispered. “I’ll be alright. It was just the shock.”

“I can’t believe she did that,” I muttered, rooting in my wardrobe for some clean clothes. “Cam’s lost her damn mind.”

Passing Lee an old red t-shirt, I turned my back so she could change, and rummaged around for some sweats.

“Maybe she had a point,” Lee whispered. “I mean, I think I get what she was trying to do.”

I jerked my head back to stare at Lee, standing next to my bed, dwarfed in my shirt.

“No,” I said as calmly as I could. “Nobody is going to do that to you. Do you hear me? I won’t allow it.”

“Kyle,” Lee sighed.

Sitting on my bed, she played with the hem of the shirt I’d given her.

“I’ve been home with over two months, and for the most part, I’ve been afraid to even walk, too close to that door. Cam was wrong in trying to force me, but she right in what she said. It isn’t healthy. I’m not dealing.”

I shook my head, trying to take in what Lee was saying. “So, what are you saying? Do you feel, like you need to see a therapist, or something?”

I crouched down in front of her, placing my hands on her knees. “Whatever you need, baby, you tell me and it’s yours.”

“Maybe a new bathroom?” Lee joked, cracking a smile. “But seriously, I need to take a shower, and I think I need to go in there, and just…deal.”

I shook my head. “You don’t have anything to prove, princess. Not to Cam, or me, or anyone else.”

“I need to prove it to myself,” she confessed, staring right into my soul with her deep, gray eyes. “I need to know that I’m strong and that night didn’t break me. I need to claim my life back.”

I pulled her into my arms, probably squeezing her too tightly, but I needed to feel her in my arms. I needed that proof for myself.

“Will you come with me?” she whispered against my chest, and I couldn’t breathe.

I didn’t dare breathe.

She pulled back, looking into my eyes. “I know it’s weird, and we’re not together, but I just…I really need you with me right now.”

Lee pushed away from me, and unlocked my bedroom door. I followed her across the hall, my heart thundering in my chest.

I stopped at the door.

“You’re sure this is good idea?” I croaked out.

Lee took a deep breath, pushed the bathroom door open, and walked in slowly.

Standing in the middle of the bathroom, she turned to face me.

“I’ve never been much good at knowing what’s good for me.” Lifting the corners of her shirt, she pulled it over her head. “But right now, I’m sure about what I need.”

I closed the door behind us, and made my legs move towards her.





*****





Lee





There was a completely new bathroom installed upstairs, two days later, reminding me of how much money Kyle had.

I stood in the doorway, looking in. It looked nothing like the last one.

The old tiles had been replaced with gold and white ones, along with a white toilet, sink and glass double shower. There was an additional feature that hadn’t been there before. A white, oval shaped bathtub, sat against the center of the back wall.

Derek joined me in the doorway.

“Damn, that guy moves fast.” He let out a whistle. “Do you think you could ask for a pool, next time, or one of those hula-hula girls with the grassy skirts and coconut bikini tops? Lee, with you around, the possibilities for this place are endless.”

I laughed. It felt good. I hadn’t felt much like laughing since my fight with Cam.

I was hurt, and confused, and really embarrassed.

What I had asked Kyle to do; to shower with me…I cringed thinking about it.

He had been so gentle with me. He had held me in his arms, stroked my hair, my back, my arms.

We had stood completely naked, under the warm spray of water, holding each other.

It had been one of the most intimate moments of my life.

And nothing had happened…Nothing, not even a kiss.

“Have you spoken to Cam, today?” Derek asked, stirring me from my reverie.

I shook my head, and headed downstairs. “No, I haven’t seen her since the other night.”

Cam was doing a pretty good job at avoiding me.