Page 115 of Veiled in Brick

I brushed what I could out of the way of the inch-long gash, parting the strands this way and that in an attempt to find bare scalp for the adhesive to stick on either side of the wound.

Liam smiled. “You like my hair?”

“I do like your hair,” I murmured. Liam looked up to me, and I whispered, “Very blonde.”

“It would still be blonde if I shaved it off,” he said.

I touched the rough stubble on his cheek and sweetly said, “No.” Liam leaned into my palm, closing his eyes as if he were relishing the feeling, and I asked, “You’ve used these before?”

I waved the bandage about with my left hand, Liam opened his eyes to glance at it, and he replied, “Mhm—take the wrapping off, put one side down, pull it over until the cut’s closed, and stick the other side down.”

“Gotcha.” I squeezed my right hand, moving his head just so to angle his wound into my line of sight. “Don’t move.” I unwrapped the packaging, carefully placing one end of the bandage on his scalp, perpendicular to the laceration. I held it in place, tugging it over the cut. It pulled his skin on either side of the wound flush together, and I kept my fingers on the bandage briefly, ensuring that it would stay put. I lifted my hand, everything remained perfectly in place, and I made a satisfied noise. “There.”

His stubble scratched my palm as he nuzzled into it once more. “Thanks for patching me up.”

“Of course,” I returned, and Liam sighed. His grin was gone—his gaze turned serious, and as his eyes bounced across my face, I murmured, “What is it?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. I just really do love you.”

His sweet words were unexpected, and I found myself melting into them. My heart somersaulted, and I brushed my thumb over his jawline as I returned the words back, “I love you, too.”

He nodded as if he were absorbing the words, and his hands worked up from my hips, dragging over my back and up to my neck. He pulled me in, our lips touched softly, and he hummed against me.

The moment was a welcome break from the chaos, but it didn’t last long. Someone gruffly cleared their throat from outside the entrance to my left and, just as Liam pulled his mouth away from mine, I could see the person in my peripheral vision. Liam’s hands left me, and when he glanced over my shoulder, he quickly diverted his eyes to the floor. I turned to find James standing in the doorway, staring at my hand that had remained on Liam’s face, and the twisting sensation of remorse had returned.

He threw me a wave with a smile that didn’t seem altogether sincere, and asked, “You got a minute?”

My touch left Liam’s cheek, I took a step back and bumped into the sink behind me, and I sighed because there was no response other than yes.

I replied, “Got nothin’ but time until we go to the station, right?” James shrugged, and I told Liam with an upward inflection, “See you back out there?”

Liam nodded, quietly saying, “Yeah.” He stood to leave, and was gone without a glance back at me.

I huffed out an uneasy breath. “How long were you in the hall?”

James leaned a shoulder against the area where the door was hidden in the wall, pressing his lips together tightly. “A while.”

“Eavesdropping?” I crossed my arms over my chest, he gave me a pointed look that said all I needed to know, and I whined, “Jay, what is this? Highschool? What’d you even tell the others you were going to do?”

“Didn’t have to say anything, really,” he returned. “They’re so deep in talking about next steps and Mister Milkovich—I hadn’t said anything in a hot minute…don’t think they even realized that I left. And do ya blame me for listening in?” he asked with a crooked, bitter grin. “Better hearing that than not knowing and wondering.”

“Hearing what, exactly?” I inquired.

James responded quickly, “That you love him.” It was my turn to clear my throat, then, and he added as offhandedly as he could, “That happened fast.”

It wasn’t accusatory, but it still made me shift my gaze to my feet.

“Didn’t exactly intend for it to be like that,” I grumbled.

James chuckled, the sound making me whip my head to his. He seemed genuinely amused as he was tucking a strand of his hair behind his left ear, and relief swarmed me.

“Yeah, if I can be sure of anything, it’s that you fought it tooth and nail.”

I snorted. “Ass.”

“There she is,” he crooned. “So…for the sake of, uh, closure, anything we had—that’s definitely done now, yeah?”

“Is that what you came in here to ask me?” I countered. “Really?”

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