tosses at Rocker before heading to the fridge for my juice.
“Is that a pregnancy thing?” Rocker asks.
“It’s recommended that women limit caffeine intake while pregnant,” Jinx says conversationally as he reaches into the cabinet for a juice glass.
“And you know this why?”
Jinx stares at his friend with a slow blink. “I read it online.”
“Recently? Or you’ve got this kind of knowledge stored away?”
Jinx grins wider but doesn’t answer his friend.
“You can toss all of the coffee.”
“Like hell,” Rocker grumbles as he lifts the carafe to pour more into his waiting mug on the counter. “The two of us can still drink it.”
“You can drink it back at the clubhouse,” I hedge, thanking Jinx as he offers me the cold glass of juice. “Feel free to take it with you when you leave.”
They both turn their full attention back to me as if I’ve somehow insulted them by passively suggesting they leave and go back home.
Although they give each other looks periodically, they don’t say another word as Rocker loads up a plate with more food than I could eat in a day and hands it to me. They must’ve already eaten or they have some sort of weird fetish watching women eat because they watch each bite I manage to get in my mouth as if they’re tracking my food intake as well as my caffeine intake.
The attitude adjustment I thought the good night’s sleep gave me earlier quickly changes, and by the time I’ve eaten all I can manage, I’m bordering on livid.
“Thank you for breakfast.” I stand to take my plate to the sink so I can wash it, but Rocker pulls it from my hand and shoos me away, washing it himself. “I’m not helpless.”
Jinx chuckles, but the laugh quickly dies away when I snap my eyes in his direction. They both watch, waiting for my next reaction and instead of it boosting my confidence in my ability to sass them without getting slapped in return, as would happen with Jeremy, I begin to feel like an asshole, and fuck both of them for that. They’ve invaded my space, not the other way around.
“We’re just here to help,” Rocker whispers, similar to the way I’d picture him doing to a spooked child or an animal in danger of hurting itself.
“I’m capable—”
“We know you are,” Jinx interjects. “But we thought it would be nice to have a little help while you heal.”
And now I’m seriously an asshole. My eyes burn in part because no one has really cared for me the way these two have the last couple of days, but mostly because I don’t feel like I’m getting stronger. Depending on them now will only amp my expectations, and I know this won’t go on forever. This entire situation is a novelty right now. Once the newness of it wears off, I’ll be left alone. Not only being a single mother like I had originally planned, but I’ll have to deal with the loss of their care and attention as well as dealing with my changed situation.
“I’m fine.”
Rocker growls at the words. He expressed his distaste in them last night, and even Jinx doesn’t seem very impressed with my assurances.
Unable to face them any longer, I turn to head back down the hallway. I know if I tell them to leave me alone, they most likely will. I’ll close myself in my bedroom for hours if I have to. They may not leave, but it’s a level of separation I can control right now.
Only, the mirror hanging on the living room wall catches my eye, and even though I know I should resist the urge to look, my face is like a car accident. I just can’t walk past and not look. I mostly avoided looking in the bathroom mirror last night before my shower, and by the time I got out I was utterly exhausted to the point my eyes wouldn’t even focus if I wanted them to.
This morning, however, I’m fully functional and regretting turning my head. One eye is still swollen, and even though I can now crack it open slightly, I still can’t see anything but a haze out of it. The cut across the bridge of my nose is healing, but it’s more than likely to leave a scar. My forehead is a disgusting recipe of blue, black, purple, green, and yellow, different areas healing at different speeds. My cheeks are the same, making me one disgusting thing to look at.