Page 25 of Before We're More Than Friends
“Thank you,” I said as Caleb put the Neosporin on my wound. I winced as another bolt of pain spread through me.
“Anytime.” Caleb put the gauze over my wound after letting the ointment sink in. “Don’t want you to get an infection.”
My insides twisted as I looked at his prosthetic arm. He caught me looking, and his face pinched. He knew how much one infection could change everything more than anyone else did.
“Everything okay?” Oliver asked as he walked into the area. “I saw you guys run in here with the first aid kit.”
“You were too busy trying to get your lips laid while Raina was bleeding out,” Caleb said, irritation in his voice. “She needs to get checked out.”
Oliver looked at the gauze on my hand. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry that happened. Which one did it?”
“Popsicle,” I muttered as I glared at her, fighting the tears that formed in the back of my eyes. Gosh, the last thing I neededto do was cry over this. If someone walked in here to look at the bunnies, they’d immediately change their minds.
Oliver shook his head. “I’ll make sure she’ll get checked out too before the vet leaves.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I should’ve kept checking my hands to see where they were in the cage while talking to Hayden.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Hayden said, and both Oliver and Caleb nodded. “Accidents happen.”
But thatiswhat’s wrong. I hated it when people told me accidents happened. No crap, accidents happened. But that didn’t mean they were just small accidents and that it would never matter. Accidents happened all the freaking time when they shouldn’t.
But I couldn’t stop them no matter how hard I tried.
Caleb put his hand on my shoulder. “You’re going to be okay.”
“Sorry,” I said again. “I just—” I stepped away from everyone. “Going to use the bathroom.” I spun on the heel and ran all the way into the bathroom.
No one was in there, so I locked myself in the biggest stall and looked in the mirror. “Stop freaking out,” I told myself. “Please stop. It’s going to be okay. I’ll be okay.” I studied my face, which was paler than usual. My hands shook on the sink as I took four deep breaths. “Please stop it.”
The tears rolled down my cheeks, messing up my carefully applied mascara and eyeliner. I wet a paper towel and quickly wiped away the black stains before conjuring enough courage to leave the bathroom.
When I opened the door, all three of the boys were standing there with worry in their eyes.
“Thought Oliver’s new girlfriend walked in there instead?” I attempted to joke.
Oliver rolled his eyes. “Feeling better?”
“Yes.” Barely.
Caleb and Oliver exchanged wary looks as Hayden put his hands in his pockets. “I can finish feeding the rest of the bunnies,” Hayden said. “Mrs. Landers says you can have a break.”
“Thanks.” Not knowing what else to do other than stand there awkwardly, I scurried into the break room to get my purse to do my makeup again. If I looked put together on the outside, no one would see how much I was falling apart on the inside.
But even my friends could see the cracks in my concealer.
CHAPTER 7
Dallas
After sleeping for the rest of the weekend, it was time to knock the first painful moment out of the way—taking a tour of the new shelter. Kami practically had to drag me out of bed and into the car on Monday afternoon.
“Did you look at the pictures Mom sent us?” she asked, excitement in her voice as she pulled out of the driveway. “The shelter looks amazing.”
I tugged my green jacket sleeve. “It looks all right.”
She nudged me with her elbow, the car jerking as she lost her grip on the wheel. “We’re going to love it.”
“I hope we do.”Not.
