"Almost done." I lower her foot to the floor.
She begins to rise, but I grip her knees. "You can’t put pressure on your foot yet. Also, I need to disinfect and bandage it."
"Oh, okay."
I reach for the antiseptic, then scowl at my still snickering son.
"Isaac?"
He wipes the tears from his face. The blood has stopped flowing from his nose. Guess I didn’t hit him that hard, after all. He jumps up and resumes his stance behind her.
"Brace yourself," I murmur.
"What—?" She frowns.
I dab the antiseptic onto her hurt foot and she yells, "It hurts, it hurts." She’s holding onto Isaac’s hand again. My stomach knots itself, but I ignore it. I really should learn to take time out for lunch. Obviously, that’s the reason there’s a hollow feeling in my belly. I reach for the bandage and wrap up her foot quickly, then place it on the floor.
I glance up to find tears clinging to her eyelashes. Her features are even more pale, and a drop of blood wells up from her lower lip where she’s bitten down on it.
"All right?" I ask softly.
She nods.
I rise to my feet. Then before she can straighten, I swing her up in my arms.
"Hey, I can walk."
"Actually, it’s better if he carries you." Isaac glances between us, then he releases her hand and steps back. "I’ll let you two go."
"Isaac, no, it’s not like that." She raises her hand, then lowers it. "It’s really not how it looks."
"It’s exactly how it looks. You fucked him, Lena. I haven’t forgotten that."
"It… it doesn’t have to be this way."
"Are you saying you’re not going to do it again?"
"I—" She glances up at me. I hold her gaze for a second, then another. I’m not sure what she sees in my eyes, but she clamps her mouth shut. The silence extends.
Then Isaac blows out a breath. "That’s what I thought."
36
Lena
"I’m not going to sleep in your room."
"Yes, you are," JJ says so patiently, I want to punch him in the face.
"You’re not listening to me. I amnotgoing to sleep in your bed."
"You’re going to sleep in my room, and in my bed," he snaps.
"Fine, I’m not going to sleep with you in the same bed."
He walks up the stairs, down the corridor, and uses his shoulder to open the double doors that lead to his room. Then, he crosses the floor and deposits me on his bed. I sit up at once, and swing my legs over the side.
"You are not putting weight on your foot. I forbid it."