His Holiday Crush - Cari Z. Page 0,61

looked around blankly. I wasn’t sure what he was seeing, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t a room packed with holiday revelers. I walked over and stopped just beside him. “Hey.”

That seemed to jolt him out of his fugue. “Hi.” He gave me a weak half smile. “I guess I missed the play.”

“Eh, there weren’t even any blow-up dolls,” I said, trying for funny but knowing I missed the mark when Dominic frowned at me.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing. I’m…It’s fine.”

Dominic took my hand, uncaring of the sudden upswell of murmurs around us—or maybe he didn’t even hear them right now. “Max. What’s wrong?”

I moved in a little closer, chafing his icy hand with both of mine. “Seems like my dad almost got arrested tonight while making a scene outside Mayor Clawson’s store.”

“Oh, the drunk and disorderly.” Dominic nodded. “I heard that come in over the radio while I was driving here. That was your dad?”

“According to a group text here at the party, yeah.” I shrugged, trying to brush it off even as the whispers got louder. It was hard to keep calm with the weight of half a dozen sets of eyes burning holes into my self-confidence. I tried harder. “But never mind that. Did the accident turn out okay?”

Dominic pulled me closer, his gaze clear and intense. “Max, no matter what anybody here is saying about your dad, none of it reflects on you, okay? You have nothing to do with his troubles. Fuck the people who think otherwise.”

I don’t know why it made a difference when he said it when I’d been saying that to myself for years, but hearing it from Dominic, especially right now, took some of the burden away.

I pressed a quick kiss to his lips and pulled back with a sigh then ran a hand through my hair, relaxing it and myself. “How do you feel about—”

Crash!

The immense plastic Christmas tree in the corner, the one that had weathered countless seasons and dozens of pounds of decorations, had somehow been knocked over and was now lying in a heap on the floor. A blond boy stood amid the wreckage, looking like the living incarnation of “oops.”

“It was an accident!” he hollered.

“Benjamin George Shriner, get over here right now!” shouted Lauren, who I barely recognized out of her uniform.

I turned back to Dominic to make a joke but changed gears as soon as I saw the pained look on his face and how fast his eyes were moving beneath his closed eyelids. I’d taken the time to read up on PTSD symptoms after we talked about his experiences, and this wasn’t good. “Breathe, Dominic. You’re okay.”

His hand tightened around mine.

“I’m here. You’re okay,” I said, hoping to ground him in the present. “I’m going to grab the Jeep keys from your pocket, okay? Then we’re out of here.”

Dominic nodded. Once I had the keys, I pulled my phone out and texted Hal to let him know what was going on. “Come on, let’s head home.” But not to his home. It was Christmas Eve, and he was supposed to be over tomorrow morning anyway. He could stay at Hal’s with me tonight.

In under five minutes, we were in his Jeep and on our way back to Hal’s.

“Are you okay?” I asked as we turned onto the main road.

Dominic, at least able to open his eyes now, looked over at me and smiled, but there was no spark in it. “I’m tired,” he admitted. “It took a long time to get everything from the accident tonight cleaned up, and the scene was so loud and chaotic it had me on the verge of a panic attack, and I’m just…I’m really tired.”

“You should sleep, then.”

“It’s too early to sleep.”

“Not if you need it,” I said firmly. “Do you need it?”

Dominic paused then said, “Maybe, yeah. I wouldn’t be good company tonight anyway.”

“Like any of us care more about you being witty than looking after yourself. Do you need food?”

“Nah.” Dominic shook his head. “The Highway Patrol guys shared their soup. I’m good.”

I got us to Hal’s and inside as fast as possible, leaving the door unlocked and turning the lights on for the others when they got back. Dominic headed for the stairs, walking slowly, like his joints ached. I followed him to the guest room then sat him down on the edge of the bed, knelt down, and started to unlace his boots.

After a second of watching, Dominic blinked and ran a hand down