Ella
There's a large crash outside, and I swing the front door open and rush outside. Two of the guys are coming up the front walkway, and one knocked into the trash cans next to the porch. Bryce has his arm around Logan, helping him into the house, and I’m shaking my head as if I don’t believe what I’m seeing.
"You've been drinking?” I ask Logan and then admonish his friend. “He shouldn't be drinking, Bryce.”
Bryce holds his hand up. "He said that he hasn't taken any of the pain medicine since he left the hospital days ago. He's fine. If anything, he says his headache is better."
I shake my head and get on the other side of Logan to help him in the house. "Yeah, it probably feels better now. Tomorrow he's going to have a humdinger."
Logan starts to laugh at my language. Once we're inside, Bryce stops. "Are you good? You got it from here, or do you need my help?"
I shake my head and roll my eyes. "Yeah, I think I got it."
He turns and leaves, and I help Logan down the hall to his bedroom. He's holding on to me, and as soon as we get into his room, I help him to his bed.
"How much have you had to drink?" I ask him.
He shrugs his shoulders. "Only like three or four beers. I just haven't drunk in a long time."
I look at him worriedly. Honestly, his eyes are a little glassy, but his speech is not slurred, and he seems to be okay.
As if he can hear the thoughts in my head, he reaches for my forearm and holds on to me. "I promise you, I'm fine. Bryce is just treating me like a baby or something. He was worried I’d fall, but heck, I can walk a straight line better than him, and he stopped drinking ages ago."
When he releases me, I take a step back, and he grabs on to the hem of his shirt and pulls it over his head. I should look away, but I can't. I stare at the muscles across his shoulders and chest, taking in his six-pack abs.
He sees me staring and then looks down at himself and then back at me. "It's ugly, isn't it?" he says with a frown.
I shake my head, not understanding. He has to be kidding right now. His body is like a masterpiece. He holds up his injured arm and then points to the side of his body. It's only then that I notice the wounds that are freshly healed.
Instinctively, I sit down on the bed next to him and put my finger on one piece of marred skin. Easily, I caress his skin, moving from one injury to the next. Sadness fills me as I look at him, thinking about everything that he went through and everything he's overcome. When my hand trails down the side of his chest down to his rib cage, he groans, and I pull back suddenly. "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"
He’s staring straight into my eyes. "It’s not that kind of hurt.”
I tilt my head to the side, not understanding, and he grabs on to my hand, putting it back on his skin. "You want to know something about me, Ella?"
My hands curl into the soft patch of hair on his chest, loving the feel of it on my fingers. "Yes," I whisper, wondering what he's about to tell me.
He leans toward me, and I can smell the alcohol on his breath. "I haven't even told a therapist about this."
My curiosity is piqued, and I look at him questioningly.
He blinks his eyes, and his cheeks turn red. "The month that I've been in the hospital, I haven't been able to—you know."
I try to think what he means, but I don't get it. "You haven't been able to what?"
He covers my hand with his and presses it against his chest, holding me to him. "I thought my manhood wasn't working."
I lick my lips and bite on to my lower lip. "And tonight at the bar, you figured out different?" If you could hear a heart breaking in two, you would probably hear mine right now. The thought of him with somebody else is killing me. I’ve told myself over and over that I need to keep my distance, but I haven’t been able to.
He shakes his head. "No."
"Oh?" I ask. "I don't understand then."
He looks as if he's debating with himself before he finally blurts it out. "I figured it out three nights ago when I woke up from my nightmare and had shoved you off the bed. Do you remember when I lifted your shirt and touched your back?" Then I feel his hand on my back, rubbing back and forth. "Like that," he says.
I swallow deeply. "Yeah, I remember."
He nods his head. " That's when I realized that my manhood was working."