“Do you take all this stuff?”

I didn’t want her to feel judged. But she was right—with every layer uncovered, I began to see her differently. No matter how brutal the damage, she was a fighter and a survivor. I couldn’t figure out what the hell she wanted with me.

Tenley was hunched over, the towel pressed to her chest as she folded in on herself.

I knelt down in front of her, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “Tenley? Kitten, do you take all of those regularly?”

“They’re left over from the accident.”

It wasn’t a straight answer. “You want the regular Tylenol or the prescription stuff?”

“Prescription, please.”

I went back to the cabinet and retrieved the bottle.

“I’ll need two. It hurts a lot,” she said softly. And I knew she was referring to more than just the physical scars.

I filled the glass on the edge of the counter and handed it to her. Turning back to the vanity, I surveyed the medications. There were several painkillers of varying intensity. I went for the weakest ones, which were still far stronger than the standard over-the-counter stuff. “How about we start with one, and if it’s still bad in an hour you take another?”

“Okay.”

I shook a pill into my palm and pressed on her bottom lip, encouraging her to open. I dropped the white tablet on her tongue. I heard a crunch and had to suppress a shudder at what I knew must have been a bitter, chemical taste. She drained the contents of the glass. When she was done, I gave her a lingering, chaste kiss. Later I would look up some of the names of the shit she was taking that I couldn’t identify.

“I’m going to take you to school today,” I told her.

“I only have office hours and a meeting with my group. I should be fine.”

“I just fed you codeine. You’re not driving yourself anywhere.”

“I can call Ian and ask him for a ride in or something,” Tenley said, fiddling with the zipper on my hoodie.

“The one who works at The Elbo Room? No fucking way are you getting in a car with that guy.”

“Pardon?”

I sounded like a possessive asshole. Because I was one. I toned down the douche-ness a touch. “I don’t trust him. He’s slimy and you’re medicated and in pain. I’d feel a lot better if I could drive you in and pick you up.” TK bumped her head against my shin, so I scratched under her chin.

“Ian knows I’m not available.”

“Good to know. But I’m still not interested in you getting in his car. He probably drives a piece of crap.”

“I’m pretty sure his car isn’t the issue.”

“Your safety and my peace of mind are important.”

“Fine, you can drive me in.”

“Great,” I said, like it was ever actually up for debate. “You’ll have to wear loose clothing, and no bra—it would mess with the tattoo.”

I left Tenley alone to get dressed, taking TK with me. She came out of her room ten minutes later. Her eyes weren’t as glassy, but her outfit was an issue. She was wearing a pair of form-fitting yoga pants. Her shirt, although looser than usual, gave me an amazing view of her nipples and the lovely little barbells piercing them.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “No way are you meeting with the Nerd Herd dressed in that.”

“I’m sorry, the what?”

“Those dudes you work with.”

“The Nerd Herd? That’s kind of mean. What does that say about me if you call the guys I’m working with something so derogatory?” Tenley frowned. “And what’s wrong with what I’m wearing? I look like I’m going to the gym.”

I seriously doubted Tenley was the kind of girl to hit the treadmill. She just didn’t seem the type. In a different life, before her accident, I could see her as one of those girls who spent her free time hanging out in a park, soaking up the sun while reading something profound. That wasn’t the point, though.

“I find your intelligence incredibly sexy, in case you were unaware. However uneducated I might be, I’m smart enough to know those guys aren’t choosing to work with you just because you’re hot, which makes me justifiably nervous when you’re around them.” I couldn’t believe I was admitting this shit. I pretty much just told her I was insecure. It took her only a fraction of a second to process my inadvertent disclosure, reinforcing how bright she was.

“But you’re brilliant.”

“I barely finished high school.”

“That was circumstantial. You and I both know that doesn’t mean anything. Some of the most renowned geniuses had difficulty in high school. Look at Einstein.”

“I’m not Einstein.”

“No, you have better hair.”

“I don’t even know why we’re talking about this,” I said, uncomfortable with the topic. “The issue is your nipples. They’re practically poking my eyes out. You need to cover up.”

She looked down at her chest to verify her nipples were indeed quite pokey. “I have a jacket.”

“But you’ll take it off,” I pointed out.

She threw up her hands and turned around, heading back to her room with a huff.

“Wait.” I unzipped my hoodie and shrugged it off. “You can wear this.”

She scanned my shirt, her mouth turning up in a cynical smile. “Do people actually ask that?”

“You’d be surprised.” The shirt had been a gift from Cassie. It read, “YES. It hurts. Any more stupid questions?” I held out the hoodie, and she pushed her arms through the sleeves.

It was too big on her. I rolled the cuffs twice before her hands appeared, but it did the job, covering her braless chest. And it was loose, which made it doubly effective. I admired the way my hoodie looked on her; STRYKER was emblazoned on the back in giant black letters, bordered in gold and set against red fabric. Now she was marked by me both under and over her clothes.

“It’s huge.”

“But it works.”

She rubbed the sleeve on her cheek and inhaled. “It smells like you.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“Good. I like the way you smell.”

“As much as I like the way you taste?” I asked, using her hips to pull her closer.

“Hayden,” she admonished, her palms flattened on my chest. Her protest was feeble and a little breathy, so she didn’t mean it.

I leaned down to kiss her. There was no way I would make it a week.

Tenley was surprisingly lucid under the influence of Tylenol 3s. Although, based on the severity of her accident and the contents of her medicine cabinet, she’d taken a multitude of much stronger prescriptions for quite some time before moving to something less potent. T3s knocked me on my ass. Although I rarely took medication for anything.

Tenley gave me one of her nippy kisses when I dropped her off at school. Between bites I promised to pick her up in the same place around five. She took the stairs slowly, cautious today, thanks to the fresh ink.

Once she was out of sight I parked in the nearest lot. I backed into a space, angling my car in such a way that no one could use the space beside me. There was no way I would risk some twit dinging the door or damaging the paint job. The attendant came over, bent out of shape and nervous, so I paid for both spots without putting up a fight and assured him I’d only be there for an hour at most.

I headed for the building Tenley had entered when she’d had her meeting with her advisor. I looked over the directory and found Calder’s name. A horde of students waited impatiently for the elevator, so I took the stairs instead.

Calder’s office was at the very end of the hall. The nameplate affixed to the closed door touted his educational accomplishments in a series of acronyms. I debated whether I should knock. I wanted to see this guy to assess the threat he posed to Tenley’s fragile state. It turned out I didn’t have to come up with a lame-ass excuse to enter, because the door swung open. A girl in her early twenties nearly collided with my chest. She looked up at me, startled, her face turning a telling shade of red. I’d seen her before when I’d picked up Tenley from school the first time. She was the one with the jeweled talons for fingernails who couldn’t read social cues. She was perfectly made up, apart from her lack of lipstick. Her mouth was swollen, her skirt off-kilter.