Acid fills my stomach.Bother me?
I cradle her face between my palms, careful to be as gentle as I can. “Why do you keep thinking you’re bothering me, huh? Who told you that you’re a bother?”
Her eyes bounce between mine and her voice lowers to a whisper. “Everything hurts, James.”
The vulnerability in her voice cracks open my heart. She’s being strong for Leo, but with me, she’s letting her guard down.
“I’m going to take care of you, Phoenix.”
She groans. “Stop calling me that.”
My lips twitch.Got her ass beat, yet she’s still as stubborn as an ox.
Leo bursts into the room with the supplies. He presses the ice on her eye, and she hisses.
“We need to get this swelling down.” I look up at Leo. “I still think she should go to the hospital.”
“No!” Phoenix recoils, clutching her ribs. “Ow. Please, no hospital.”
Leo lifts a shoulder. “We can easily carry her to the car.”
Phoenix pushes off the floor and tries to get up, the ice scattering onto the tile around her. “I won’t go. You can’t make me.” She winces and holds her head as she sways. “Please. I can’t go.”
“Okay, okay.” I hold her steady.
Leo slips the Tylenol into her mouth and tilts her head back as she washes them down with water. He collects the ice cubes and wraps the towel around them again. “Keep this on, Nixie.”
Within minutes, the towel is soaked with blood.
“You guys can go now. I’ll be fine. I just need to sleep it off.”
My grip on her tightens. “You can’t sleep yet. Not like this. I need to get you cleaned up so I can see what’s going on under all that blood.”
Leo and I wrap each of her arms around our shoulders as we stand. Phoenix grits her teeth, breathing hard through her nostrils. She has a bruised rib, at the very least.
“A hot bath will be good for your muscles.” I reach down and twist the lever on the faucet in the tub. “Leo, I’m going to take it from here.”
He looks from the tub to Phoenix.
She rests her head on his shoulder. “As much as you want to see my tits, I can’t allow it.”
He cracks a sad smile. “You’ll call me if you need me though, right?”
“I always need you, little bro.”
Something settles in his worried eyes. It amazes me how she knows exactly what he needs to hear when she’s only known him for a short while.
“She’s gonna be okay.” I offer Leo a tight nod. “You did good calling me.”
He ducks out of the bathroom and closes the door quietly behind him.
Phoenix props herself against the sink and starts to unbutton her jeans. I turn away to give her privacy and dip my hand into the water to feel the temperature before putting the plug into place. But her grunts as she struggles pull my attention back to her.
I tip her chin and look into her deep-brown eyes. “I’m going to help you. If you feel uncomfortable at any point, you tell me to stop. Okay?”
She nods.
I kneel in front of her and drag her jeans down over her ass and hips, going as slow and as careful as I can. I cup her calf and lift her leg, pulling it out of the pant leg before switching to the other.