Page 209 of Always Love You More

Jameson wraps an arm around me. “Come back? No, she’s not—”

“I can’t do this right now,” I say quietly, silencing them both.

It feels like I’m crashing after what I just went through, the adrenaline quickly wearing off.

“All right,” Jameson says, his voice low. “Let’s just get you out of here, okay? We’ll figure this all out later.” His face darkens as he moves around the tipped-over coffee table, the room a clear depiction of what went on before he got here.

We drive back to his house in near silence, Jameson’s hand on my thigh the whole way there, like he needs to touch me. Needs to know I’m okay.

We bypass his mother, who gives us all a questioning look from her place at the kitchen table, before settling in Jameson’s room. I drop down on his bed, and Billy sits on the floor, his back against the wall, but Jameson stays standing, moving around restlessly.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he finally says, his eyes on the floor.

“You didn’t.”

He glances up at me. “You were screaming and I …” He runs a hand through his hair. “I …”

“You protected me.”

“I just …” He scrubs at his jaw. “When he said all that …” He continues to pace. “I don’t know what happened. I just … I couldn’t stop. And then, when I saw your knee …”

“You would’ve,” Billy says.

“I don’t know …” Jameson drops his eyes to my leg. “You told me he didn’t hurt you.”

“Because I’m fine.”

“He’s hurt you before, hasn’t he?”

Billy’s head jerks up at the question.

“And you haven’t told me.”

I play with the hem of my shirt. “Not really.”

Jameson’s jaw ticks. “Not really?”

“Just little things,” I mutter. “It’s not a big deal.”

“What little things?” Billy asks, pushing to his feet.

I shake my head.

“You’re not gonna tell us?” Jameson steps forward.

“You’re both already on edge,” I answer. “It’s nothing, really.”

Jameson juts his chin toward my knee. “How’d that happen?”

“Jamie …”

“I already gave him a beating for it. You might as well tell me.”

“Yeah, and you nearly killed him.” I look between the two of them. “You got the message across. He’s not gonna try anything again.”

Jameson shakes his head. “You don’t know that.”

“I’ll tell you if something else happens, okay?”