Page 97 of Tears of Gold
Abi shakes her head. “Faith, how do you manage to make such a mess?”
“He heard me tell Dan I love him, but I didn’t say it like that.”
She sighs. “I know. I know how you would have meant it; but think of it from Eli’s point of view. Dan has protected you your whole life. The fact he couldn’t protect you from Aiden kills him. He knows everything about you. But I bet you haven’t shared it all with Elijah.”
“What did he say to you?”
“Nothing. He said nothing. He’s a true gentleman that one and fuck, Faith, he loves you something crazy. But if you don’t face these demons from your past head on, how are you going to convince him you love him as much as you love Dan?”
“It’s a different love.”
“Does Eli know that?”
“What if I tell him and he thinks I asked Aiden to do those things to me? He knows how I control sex. How will he differentiate who I am now from the girl I was back then?”
“He will because he loves you.”
“What if he finds out that he doesn’t own all my firsts?”
Abi’s face scrunches. Of course she doesn’t understand the stupid saying Eli and I have created, but we are stopped from anything else by Dan coughing and spluttering.
“Dan!” Jumping up, I hit the nurses alarm, but not before he’s pulled off his oxygen mask like the Hulk on a rampage.
“Fuck's sake, listening to you guys witter on is enough to make anyone wake up.” He says croakily, turning his head, his soft brown gaze landing on my face. “His Lordship gone again, has he?”
“Shut up,” Abi and I both say at the same time and then we both burst into tears.
Later, when Abi has gone home to check on the kids and Adam, I sit and stroke Dan’s hand. “What the hell were you thinking, Dan? You could have died.”
He shrugs but winces.
“And look at the bloody state of you. What have you been doing? Please tell me you didn’t get these bruises from going after Aiden’s crew again?”
He laughs although it sounds hoarse, but having your stomach pumped does that to your vocal chords. “No, these are legit bruises.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“And you aren’t meant to, little Faith.”
I sigh. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Nothing. Go back to your life. Enjoy it.”
“Do you think I’m going to enjoy anything if I know you are miserable?”
“I’m not your problem.”
“You are always my biggest problem.”
“Shut it, Hitchin.”
We lapse into silence for a while. My phone beeps and makes me jump a little. I grab it out of my bag. The battery is nearly done. I’ll need to locate a charger at some point soon. It’s a message from Eli.
I’ve got to go to New York. I’ll be back for the scan.
That’s it? He’s got to go to New York? What the hell?
The scan is Wednesday. He’s flying to New York and then coming back by Wednesday?
