“Yeah, okay,” I said with a huge roll of my eyes.
“Alright, get out of here,” he told me playfully. “Oh, can you take Chry with you?”
“I was going to anyway,” I said and gave him and Chris an overly dramatic wink.
I wasn’t dumb. I knew they needed some alone time every now and then. I was sure it was just a bonus to his little speech to get me running out the door.
Thirty minutes later, we were on the road headed for the compound.
The closer I got, the more nervous I began to feel.
When I got there, I headed for the kitchen to see who was around and maybe even hoped to catch Mouse out of his room. Something about being behind closed doors and alone with him made butterflies swarm in my stomach. I didn’t think I could handle that yet.
“Give me that little guy,” Abigail said the moment she saw me. Her arms went out automatically and Chry practically jumped into them. “What are you doing here?”
“I was looking for Mouse,” I told her with a smile. I knew her question sounded a little accusatory but she didn’t mean it that way.
“I haven’t seen him all morning. He’s probably still sulking in his room. I’ll watch this dude while you go, if you want.”
I was hesitant only because I needed Chry as a buffer or something. But I could tell she really wanted to play with him so I didn’t have the heart to take him away from her.
“Sure. Thank you,” I replied as I set his bag down on the chair beside us.
“Take your time. I don’t have anything to do for, oh, another five hours,” she said with a laugh and I knew she was talking about making dinner.
With a smile, I left them and headed up to Mouse’s room.
I knocked tentatively almost hoping that he might not hear it. If he didn’t answer the door then I could walk away and not feel too badly about it, right?
But he must have had bat hearing because a few seconds later, he was pulling open the door.
“Oh, my gosh,” I said in one quick, shocked breath. “Your face.”
His smile was sad like he was trying so hard to make it appear just for me. I realized what I’d said was a little rude but I couldn’t help it.
His eye was swollen and only halfway open. His face was more black and blue than flesh tone. And his poor lip was split open and puffy.
My fingers inched their way to his face but I stopped short because I was afraid I’d hurt him more. But there was something in his eyes that told me he was desperate for my touch despite his wounds.
So, not thinking about it too much, I let my hand lightly cup his face. His skin felt hot to the touch and I almost could have sworn I could feel it pulsing beneath my palm. Maybe that was just my heart beating out of control.
His eyes drifted closed for a second and he calmly leaned into my touch.
With a deep inhale, almost like he had to work up the strength, he carefully moved away, giving me enough room to step inside.
“I’m really happy to see you, Ingram,” he said after he closed the door behind me. “But I’m not all that sure why you’re here.”
“Ky told me to come,” I said and I was trying to be funny. However, as Mouse’s eyes jutted around to look at different points around us like Ky might jump out of a wall or something, I felt like I might have failed. “He’s not here. We had a talk last night and then more talking this morning. My point is, he basically said this is where I need to be. For both of us. Maybe need isn’t the right word…”
I was rambling, I knew it. Sometimes I hated that I couldn’t get my thoughts out the way they sounded in my head.
I flopped down on the edge of the bed and looked at my feet.
“I think he understands that we have something more than… well, I feel like he sees that this is where I belong. For me, you know.”
I still wasn’t saying it right.
“Ingram,” Mouse said and his almost sad tone made me lift my head to look at him. “Thank you.”
