Finally (Neighbor from Hell #12) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,21

up, you jackass!” Charlie said, grabbing the bakery bag and went to toss it at him only to decide to hold off on doing that until after she found out what was in the bag.

“And watching you go through that was just too much for me to take because I love you so much. Doesn’t that mean anything?” Ben asked with a heartfelt sigh as she opened the bag and noted that the cheap bastard only brought her one jelly donut.

“No, it doesn’t,” Charlie said, pulling the small donut out of the bag and taking a bite while she sat there, glaring at him.

“Would it make you feel better if I promised to swing by and check on you at lunchtime?” he asked, sounding hopeful.

She considered him as she took a bite of the donut that tasted a little stale. “Do you actually plan on coming back here at lunchtime or are you hoping that I’ll forgive you and forget your promise when you don’t show up later?”

Looking thoughtful, Ben said, “The second one.”

“I should have pushed you off that swing when I had the chance,” Charlie mumbled bitterly as she took another bite of her donut and was forced to bite back a wince when the move somehow caused her foot currently wrapped in gauze to brush the wrong way against the stack of pillows that it was currently propped on.

“I would have just told Grammy Bea on you,” he said, shrugging it off and making her eyes narrow on him.

“She never would have believed you,” Charlie pointed out as she popped the last bite in her mouth.

“She really would have though since I was her favorite.”

Eyes narrowing dangerously on the man that had been there for her since she was five years old, she said, “Is that really what you think?”

“It’s what I know,” Ben said, nodding as he stood up and gestured towards her foot. “Do you need anything before I go?”

“You’re really going to leave me like this?” Charlie asked, worrying her bottom lip as she did her best to look pathetic.

For a moment, Ben stood there, looking torn, and then…

“Yes, yes, I am,” he said, shrugging it off as he reached for the crutches the emergency room had sent her home with and placed them closer to her bed with a satisfied sigh.

“This is why I hate you,” Charlie said, returning to glaring while she watched as he pushed the bottle of water on her nightstand a few inches closer.

“What are you talking about? I’m making sure that you have everything that you need,” Ben said, gesturing between the remote on the bed next to her and the bottle of water.

“What if I have to use the bathroom?” she asked, narrowing her eyes on him.

“It’s only a few feet away,” Ben said, gesturing absently towards the bathroom that had taken her fifteen minutes to get to this morning.

“Food?”

“What the hell are you talking about? I just fed you,” Ben demanded, gesturing towards the empty bakery bag by her side.

“I took better care of you after you had your tonsils taken out,” she pointed out with a glare.

“You’re really going to compare that to this? I could have died!”

“You had a mild case of tonsillitis. They only took them out to get you to stop bitching,” Charlie reminded him.

“That’s what they told you so that you wouldn’t worry.”

“You can leave now,” Charlie said, nodding slowly as she gestured for him to get out.

“I’ll check on you later,” Ben promised as he reached over and pushed the bottle of water a tiny bit closer.

“We won’t be speaking later if you go out that door, Benjamin Lopez,” Charlie said, watching as he headed towards the door.

“I’ll see you later, Charlie Marshall,” he said mockingly with a chuckle that she did not appreciate, not at all.

“You’re dead to me!”

“I love you, too!” he called back as he closed the door behind him, leaving her sitting there, seething with righteous anger.

Definitely should have pushed him off that swing, Charlie thought, continuing to glare at her front door as she absently reached over for her bottle of water only to accidentally knock it to the floor.

“Damn it,” she said, sighing heavily as she sat there, debating leaving it but…

The fridge was way too far to get to right now, Charlie realized as she carefully shifted closer to the edge of the bed with a pained wince when the move caused her stitches to pull. Closing her eyes, she slowly exhaled as