Page 215 of Creep

Of course, Mael was in a leg cast, and he seemed to be managing this walk better than I was. Mael was ahead of me, hobbling on his good leg, and barely using the crutches. He looked back at me and smiled fondly, waiting for me to catch up to him.

“I don’t think this is such a good idea,” I said.

He let out a light laugh. “Why not?”

He wrapped his arm around me when I got close, as if he was going to help me up the hill himself.

“I don’t think you should help me,” I said, eyeing his leg.

It was a miracle that the only thing that needed to be cast was his leg, and that he didn’t break anything else, although his entire back looked like one big horror scene. And he did fracture his ribs. That was going to take some time to heal.

I still couldn’t look at all the bruises on his skin without feeling like I was about to cry.

“Bullshit,” he said stubbornly.

“Mael.”

He might have managed better than I thought most could in his situation, but that didn’t mean he was Superman.

“Don’t make me spend our date night in the hospital because your stupid ass doesn’t know how to be cautious.”

He rolled his eyes. “We’re managing. And Theo is nearby, so we’ll be fine.”

I looked in the direction of the crematorium. The lights were on, and I saw a shadow by the window.

“Maybe we should call him for help.”

“No way,” Mael said, like the stubborn man he was. I rolled my eyes at him and waved at Theo. I knew he saw me when the shadow moved. It didn’t take him long to get to us. Mael was scowling.

Theo took one look at us and let out an exasperated sigh. “I told you this is a bad idea.” His eyes focused on Mael. “You could have just taken her out to a nice dinner.”

“Are you going to help us or not?” Mael grumbled.

Theo grinned. Like me, he was still affected from seeing Mael after his fall. And I didn’t think he was going to be able to get over that anytime soon.

He walked up and grabbed the picnic basket from my hand, moving a little further away to the flat part of the grass, perfect for us to sit down on. I watched as he set the picnic basket down on the green grass. He pulled out the blanket and spread it out on the ground, then another one, setting it near the basket before he came back to me.

I squealed, more in surprise than anything else, when Theo lifted me up in his arms. I automatically wrapped my arms around his neck, and Mael grumbled something under his breath. I shot Mael a look. He couldn’t seriously be jealous of his brother helping me. Theo set me down on top of the blanket and patted my head affectionately before he walked back to Mael.

“If you try to pick me up, I will kill you,” Mael said.

Theo snorted and grabbed Mael’s arm, wrapping it around his shoulder. “Hold on to me,” he said to Mael.

They slowly made their way up the hill.

This little picnic was starting to seem like it was more trouble than it was worth. We probably should have done what Theo suggested and gone out to a nice restaurant.

Theo helped Mael sit, and I didn't know how we managed it, but Mael ended up sitting behind me, his arms wrapped tightly around my middle. And like what he had done so often since we found out I was pregnant, he cupped his hand over my belly as if to protect our child.

I snuggled in closer to him, and he buried his face in the back of my neck.

“Have fun,” Theo said. “Call me when you want to get down.”

He turned and walked away from us before I could say anything, and I stared at his retreating back. I was still worried about him, but Theo was even more closed off than Mael. I doubted he would tell me anything. I could go the annoying sister route and irritate the crap out of him until he talked to me.

I nodded, making a mental note to do just that, when a gust of wind picked up and blew on my face.

I shivered and moved in closer to Mael. He pulled away from my neck.

---