Page 20 of Burn Like An Angel

“Bad joke?” Raine chuckles into my hair. “Come on. The OD is old news now. I’m getting clean.”

“It’s not old news to me.”

“You’re deflecting, Rip.”

My shivering body melts into his, seeking the reassurance of his sea salt and freshly squeezed orange scent. Raine smells like beachside breakfasts and sunshine, the perfect accompaniment to his golden boy persona.

Not many people get to see what lies beneath that deliberate façade. He’s been blind since he turned eighteen. The honeyed jewels he keeps hidden behind specialist lenses, and now my borrowed sunglasses, brim with his secrets.

Raine plays the confident jokester, but deep down, he’s broken like the rest of us. Uniquely traumatised. Lost. Clinging to vices to make him feel alive. That used to be drugs until he overdosed.

“Right now, I’m stable,” he asserts calmly. “The meds are working. So let’s focus on you and get cleaned up before Langley blows a gasket.”

“Did he send you in here?”

Raine’s head lifts from mine. “No, he’s changing Lennox’s dressings. And Xander’s looking for food.”

I wish the mention of their names didn’t cause my heart to sputter like a faltering engine. Raine knows what complications are facing us. Xander’s obsession almost killed me not so long ago, even if he did save my life before he held a knife to my throat.

What we shared that night has thrown everything into doubt. Our feud. The hatred between us. Years of resentment and violence. But now, after the Z wing and shivering in Lennox’s arms, not knowing if we’d live to see morning… well, complicated no longer cuts it.

“I can’t get the blood off,” I admit.

Slowly turning me around, his fingers trace a path upwards, finding my wet face. “You’re using cold water, babe. This crap is too dried on for that to work.”

“Am I?”

Raine’s full, thick lips quirk in a smile. “Yes.”

“Oh. I… uh, didn’t notice.”

“Here, I can help.”

Resting my tailbone against the sink, I let him take over. Raine has excellent spatial awareness, using touch and context to decipher his surroundings. I wait for him to locate the tap then test the water until it turns warm.

“Is there soap?”

Shaking my head, I realise my mistake and clear my throat. “No.”

“Hang on.” Raine inches backwards to fumble the door open. “Xander? Can you find soap? Or medical wash of some kind?”

A clipped voice responds, the seconds trickling past until footsteps near. Raine mutters a thanks, closes the door then returns to me. He’s moving carefully without his guide stick in the small space.

“Let’s hope this goes better than the time I shampooed your face instead of your hair.” He cracks another blinding smile. “You should’ve just told me.”

“I wanted to let you figure it out.”

“Enough to let me shampoo your mouth?”

Sniffling, I bite back a grin. “I guess so.”

“That’s some serious love right there, guava girl. I’m swooning.”

“Pack it in.”

“Or what?” he challenges.

“Or you won’t live to ever swoon again.”

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