Page 92 of We Shouldn't Be Together
“I dunno.” I yelp, tears stinging my eyes. “Oh, crap!”
“Don’t panic,” he rushes. “I can call someone to take us to the emergency room.”
I press my lips into a thin line and breathe through the pain. “Not necessary. My home isn’t far away.”
“You still want to walk? Aren’t you in pain?”
“Believe me. You don’t want to take me to the emergency room.”
“What, do you have an aversion to doctors?”
I harrumph, turning toward the direction of my home. “You could say that.”
“Tabitha, I really don’t think you should walk.”
Holding onto one of his shoulders, I edge my way along the sidewalk. “Just pick up my bag.”
He scoops up my backpack and hoists it over his other shoulder. “If you’d just let me be a gentleman from the start, you wouldn’t be limping right now.”
“Oh, so now you are a gentleman?” I joke, wiping the tears from my eyes.
Kai pulls an arm around my back, helping me lean my weight against him. “It was a surprise to me, too. I was never expecting to want to do something nice for Tabitha Jones.”
I smile despite the need to limp. “And what made you want to be nice to me?”
“Something cracked before your foot did.” His hand is between my blazer and blouse, and I can’t help feeling every digit pressed against me. “Turns out the icy demeanor on the outside melted, and something much nicer was on the inside.”
My hand scrunches at the soft material of his hoodie as I keep making my way forward. “You think I’m nice?”
“Crazier things have happened.” He looks down at me with concern. “Are you sure you can walk?”
“I think I overreacted with the scream,” I admit. “With every step, I’m putting more weight on it.”
“Are you sure that’s a good thing?”
“If you can put weight on an injury, it means it’s not broken. Everybody knows that.”
“I’ve broken and nearly broken enough bones to know that rule. But this walk still feels unnecessary when we both have cell phones.”
I’m in no rush to get home. Dad’s on night shift, and if I dawdle on my way home, there’s a good chance I’ll miss him leaving for work. Knowing him, he’ll want to take me with him and run X-rays and other annoying tests. At most, it’s a sprain. He’s taught me that much.
“My street is coming up. Can you please just walk with me?”
Kai sighs in defeat. “Okay, but do you really want to be a hero?”
I look up at him. “What do you mean?”
Kai hugs me closer to him and then leans down. With the arm, which is looped in the straps of my backpack, he scoops up my legs and hoists me into his arms.
I giggle in half-embarrassment. “Kai, you’re crazy! Put me down.”
He winks at me. “This is being a hero.”
“You can’t hold me while also carrying our bags.”
“Watch me.”
“Stop protesting. What if you overbalance and we both topple over?”
