Page 114 of Veiled in Brick

“Not, actually.”

He smirked. “Told you—heads bleed.”

Our quick, private conversation glossed over, Claire told Cassie, “The cops will be able to do plenty; we can bring what Jay found on the camera so they’ll have a better description of the guy. Plus, if he’s been living across the hall, they’ll know where to find him.”

“Right,” James replied. “And did you guys get a good look at the car?”

“I didn’t—how about you guys?” Luke asked, sitting up to glance to me, Liam, and then Claire.

Claire shook her head.

I shrugged and noted, “It was too dark.”

Liam spoke in what sounded like a guess, “Red? Small.”

“Perfect,” James grumbled. “Well, we’ll tell them all of that at the station.”

Liam stated with his eyes upward, “And Randy will say, ‘That’s not enough evidence, be in touch if anything progresses.’”

“Regardless,” Claire chimed in, “we should go and bring them whatever we have.”

“It’s hours before the station opens, though,” Cassie noted.

“Patience is not your strong suit, is it?” James remarked.

“Okay, okay,” I interjected. “All this aside, Cassie, do you have a first aid kit or something?”

Her dark eyes whipped to mine. “How’s it look?” Cassie glanced at her brother’s scalp, cocking her head to the side. “Oh, not bad,” she turned, pointing at the hallway that led out of the kitchen. “There’s a bathroom down there to the right. Find the little grey tub in the cabinet over the toilet—there’s stuff in there that you can use—oh, butterfly bandages, use those.”

Liam looked up to her with a pinched brow. “Butterfly bandages?”

She responded, “Bandages, closures, clips, whatever, I don’t know what they’re called. They’re like…little band-aids that you can use to hold a bigger cut together without getting stitches—I have some in there, use those.”

“Yeah, yeah—I’ve used them before. Do I need to ask why you even have them at the ready?” Liam questioned.

Cassie rolled her eyes. “Sliced my hand open a while back.” She held her left palm out for us to see, showing a slim, pink scar directly in the center. “I am now extra careful when cutting avocados—anyway—bathroom; above the sink.”

I nodded, Liam stood, and I pushed him along with a hand on his back to walk ahead of me. As we crossed the kitchen, Claire and Luke continued to speak amongst each other. James watched them with eyebrows high, Cassie chimed in by the time that we reached the hallway, and their voices turned to a dull murmur as our steps tapped along the rust-colored tile that spanned the flooring of the entire house. The bathroom was the only door to the right—the type that slides right into the wall. Liam ushered it to the side, and I followed him through the entrance to find the space small. Tiny with both Liam and I standing in it together, as his body took up the majority of the space alone. The sink behind me was white, the wallpaper around us covered in sunflowers, and the cabinet situated above Liam’s head as he sat on the toilet seat was painted in a deep green.

I stretched on the tips of my toes to open the doors above him, and his hands found me. He squeezed, his fingers kneading at the muscles on the sides of my hips. I looked down, and he was staring up at me with damp hair and soft eyes.

“Are you taking advantage of privacy and close proximity?” I teased him as I grabbed the bin that Cassie had described.

He stopped his ministrations, resting his grip on my hip bones. “Should I not?”

The question was sincere, and I smiled as I held the tub between us, rifling through the various bandages and medications.

“I didn’t say that.”

His grasp on me tightened once again. I chuckled under my breath as I found the butterfly bandages, stretched once more to place the bin back in the cupboard, and began to unwrap one from its packaging. He caressed me gently, tracing little circles along my hips and upper thighs as I tipped his head to find the cut buried beneath his hair.

“It’d probably be easier if we shaved my head,” Liam muttered. “I dunno if that’s gonna work with my hair in the way.”

I frowned at the idea. “Yeah, we’re not gonna do that.”

“Why not?”

“You have good hair. We’re not ruining it because you busted up your head.”

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