The Reality of Everything - Rebecca Yarros Page 0,40
with them last night.
Two, he lived next door, which meant when whatever I wasn’t going to allow happen anyway eventually didn’t work out, I’d be stuck seeing him every freaking day.
Three…
I hissed as the washcloth brushed over an abrasion along my cheekbone.
“Sorry.” He dabbed carefully at the skin.
“Don’t worry,” I replied, trying to keep my eyes anywhere but on his and failing.
Three, his eyes were too blue. Ocean blue. Flawlessly freaking blue. That was a con because…well, because they were too distracting. Who the hell wanted to be constantly distracted like that? I’d never get anything done.
Four, I was in the middle of some pretty intensive therapy and didn’t have anything to offer. My emotional tank was on empty, and that wasn’t fair to him.
Five—
“This might hurt.”
Exactly. He’d said it perfectly. I’d already swallowed all the pain I could take when it came to relationships.
“I know.” But it still didn’t stop me from staring at his mouth.
He applied antiseptic, taking extra care with a couple of the cuts, and I welcomed the sting, using it to keep me grounded.
“I don’t think you need stitches.”
“That’s good.” I looked down at my hands. At least they’d quit shaking. How the hell had I let that happen? I should have known better than to take Finley so close to the construction.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” he said.
My eyes jerked to his.
“Thank me? I almost got her killed.”
His forehead puckered as he braced his hands on either side of me and leaned forward.
My breath caught.
“Morgan, that was not your fault. Steve said they were done for the day. You had no way of knowing that guy would fall. It was an accident, plain and simple.”
“It was so close,” I whispered. “She…it was so close.” Just the idea of losing—don’t go there.
He rested his forehead on mine and overwhelmed my senses. Sight, scent, touch, sound…it was all Jackson. “It was too close. But you saved her. You got her out of the way and shielded her with your own body.”
“Anyone would have done it.” My heart rate picked up again.
His head lifted as he cradled my face. “No, a lot of people would have dived the other way—to safety. You deliberately put yourself between Finley and a hundred pounds of sharp, pointy bronze. That’s extraordinary.” His gaze dropped to my lips. “You’re extraordinary.”
Not for you. NOT FOR YOU. My sense of self-preservation screamed at me to run the other way, but a craving for him raced through my veins, flipping on switches that had lain dormant for almost two years. All that adrenaline had been replaced with something far more dangerous: need.
He lowered his head—
The door burst open, and Jackson retreated.
Before I could process what had almost happened, Sam stood at the edge of the kitchen, her eyes wide.
“I can’t even leave you alone for two weeks!” she exclaimed before crossing the floor and hauling me into a hug. “Are you okay? Steve and Finley told me what happened. They’re both worried sick down there.” She grabbed ahold of my shoulders and pushed back far enough to see for herself. “Ouch.”
“It’s just a scrape, and you’re two days early!” I’d never been so happy to see her in my entire life.
“Is that a complaint?” She arched a brow.
“Never.”
“Good, because I’d hate to see what would have happened in another two days,” she teased with a shaky smile before yanking me into another hug.
“Me, too,” I whispered, locking eyes with Jackson over her shoulder.
Yeah, I saw it all too clearly—how easy it would be to step into something I wasn’t ready for, assuming I wasn’t misreading his signals. How incredible it would feel to kiss him, to have those sculpted arms around me for more than just a few minutes.
How impossible it would be to survive when my ruined heart was inevitably broken again.
Sam had shown up just in time.
…
“That sounds a little harsh,” Sam said slowly to Dr. Circe as she sat back in the armchair next to mine four days later.
“It’s not about being harsh,” Dr. Circe countered softly. “It’s about both Morgan and myself being aware of how Will’s death has changed her. She’s chosen you as her support person through this process, and I know she has immense trust in you. You won’t be harsh.”
Sam’s gaze skittered my way.
“Go ahead,” I encouraged.
Sam swallowed and looked back at Dr. Circe. “Before it happened, Morgan was fearless. She commanded every room she walked into and never hesitated to let anyone know what