“I’m not,” she smiled. “You’re going to be staying at the place you’ve been paying rent on for months.”
“What?” She couldn’t mean that I was going to live with her.
“Jay is at football camp for the next three weeks or so. You can stay in his room until he gets back, and then we’ll figure something else out.”
“No. Hell no, Leelee.” That wasn’t going to happen.
“I’m calling Luke. You’re being stupid and pigheaded.” She swiped and pressed a couple buttons on her phone and put it to her ear.
“Put the fucking phone down, Lee,” I growled.
“No. Only if you agree to come back with me.”
“This is fucking shit.”
She pointed her finger at me. “Promise you’ll come home with me, or I’ll sic Luke on you.”
“As soon as I’m better, I get to leave. That is the only way I’ll come.”
She eyed me up and down. “Deal.” She shoved her phone in her pocket and crossed her arms over her chest. “I thought you would be way tougher than that.”
“What the hell! You started out the gate with calling Luke.”
“No, I actually didn’t. I just confirmed our flight. I didn’t call Luke,” she smirked. “I figured growing up the youngest of three brothers that you would know all the tricks in the book.”
God dammit. “That’s bullshit.”
She shrugged. “Maybe, but you agreed to get on that plane.”
I grunted and crossed my arms over my chest almost knocking myself out with my cast. I still wasn’t used to the fucking thing. “As soon as the cast comes off, I’m gone.”
“We’ll see when that happens. You might need physical therapy.”
“Leelee. I’m not fucking staying. There’s nothing there for me.”
She looked away but not before I saw her face drop. “You’d be surprised at the things that are waiting for you.”
I shook my head. “Eight weeks. That’s it, and then, I’m gone.” I could go back home for two months. I could save up some money and figure out what my next move would be.
“Fine. I’ll take what I can get at this point.” She walked to the door, her back to me. “I’ll find out how long till they discharge you.” She slipped out of the room and quietly shut the door.
I laid my head back on the pillow and closed my eyes. Things were fucking weird.
For a second, it looked like Leelee didn’t like the idea of me leaving when I was better. Why? I had no fucking clue.
Eight weeks. That was all she was going to get out of me. I had tried giving her everything she needed a year ago, and she had tossed it back in my face.
I wasn’t going to play the fool again.
********
Leelee
We should be back tonight.
Let us know what time and we’ll pick you up.
I was sitting outside of Kurt’s room, my ass on the floor and my back to the wall, texting Violet. My car is in long term parking. We won’t need a ride. Thankfully, I had thought ahead and parked in the long term. At least I knew my car wouldn’t be towed.
We can still meet you there.
Ha, I think Luke and Mitch being at the airport was the last thing Kurt wanted. He was so mad at his brothers, I think just being in the same state as them was going to drive him crazy. Nah, we’ll be fine. You guys can come over tomorrow. I knew once we landed, all I was going to want to do would be dive into my bed and sleep for a day.
OK. Just call if you need anything.
Thank God I had been able to ward off Luke and Mitch. I knew they wanted to be there for Kurt, but I think they were just as confused about everything that was going on and realized Kurt just needed distance.
I banged my head against the wall and ran my fingers through my hair. Ugh, this was exhausting. Not only was I trying to figure out how to get Kurt to forgive me, I knew I was going to be the mediator between Kurt and his brothers.
Kurt had never said anything to me before about wanting to get out of his brothers’ shadows, but I understood why he would feel that way. Everyone wanted to be known for what they were good at, except Kurt was known more for being a Jensen brother than he was for his skill on the track and his knowledge of what was under the hood. Luke had started the garage with the main idea being the brothers would work together, but it sounded like Kurt was over it. Add in me, who had fucked things up, and an idiot could see why Kurt didn’t want to go back home.
“Hey, there you are, on the floor,” Judy noted with a laugh. She stood over me, a huge smile on her face. “I’ve got some discharge papers here. I’m ready to spring you two out of here.”
“Great,” I murmured. I was ready to head home, but I knew once we got there, I was going to have an entirely different battle living with Kurt for the next eight weeks.
I shook my head, stood, and followed Judy back into Kurt’s room.
I numbly listened to her as she went over all the paperwork with Kurt and realized if this was what I wanted, I was going to have to deal with the bad right along with the good.
I was getting Kurt back in the state of Illinois, but it was going to be an uphill battle trying to get him to stay.
The question was, how badly did I want Kurt?
*******
Chapter 8
Kurt
I hurt. I’m talking, I fucking hurt.
I had been crammed into my seat on the plane for three hours on the nonstop flight back to Illinois, and I was in Hell. I had never been in so much pain in my life.
Leelee and I were sitting outside the baggage claim, waiting for our bags to show up. As we were waiting to get off the plane, Leelee had insisted on getting a wheelchair for me, and I didn’t fight her on it. I was half an hour past the schedule for taking my pain meds, and I was more irritated with each second that went by.
Leelee looked like she was ready to fall over and I couldn’t help but feel responsible for her being so worn down. “Here they come,” she mumbled, as she grabbed a bag. Thankfully, the other two were close behind.
Leelee had parked in long term parking which was thankfully close to the baggage return, and we were headed to her apartment in no time. I pulled my pills out of my pocket and swallowed them dry. I was desperate to get some relief from the throbbing in my arm and leg.
“You’re not supposed to take those on an empty stomach,” Leelee scolded as she took an exit off the highway. She pulled into a fast food burger joint and ordered four burgers and fries.
“I don’t need to eat. I just want to get out of this car and stretch my legs.” I had only had a small reprieve from the plane to the car. Leelee drove an old Caprice, and while it looked like a tank, it wasn’t as roomy as I needed. I needed a king size bed to sprawl out in right now.
“Eat it,” she ordered, as she pulled off to the side in the parking lot and yanked a burger out of the bag. She partially opened it and shoved it in my face. “I don’t need you throwing up all over my car.”
I grabbed the burger out of her hand and took a huge bite. “It’s not like you’d be able to tell,” I mumbled around a mouthful.
“Hey, shut the hell up. I know my car isn’t fancy, but it’s mine, and it gets me where I need to go.”
“You need a new car. Something that doesn’t look like my grandma drives.”
“Ha, ha,” she growled as she rolled her eyes. “I guess I’m just glad my car doesn’t look like a crushed tin can right now,” she mocked as she batted her eyes at me.
I grunted and took another bite. I’d eat just to keep her off my back. Leelee unwrapped her burger and ate it in four bites. “Jesus, woman. Did you even taste that?”
She took a sip of her soda and rolled her eyes at me. “I’m ready to get home, but needed to feed you and my stomach was ready to start eating itself if I didn’t eat, too.” She started the car up and got back on the highway. “We still have forty-five minutes before we get home.”
I polished off the rest
of my burger and tossed the wrapper in the bag. I pulled out some fries and offered some to Leelee. She grabbed a fist full and shoved them in her face. “You do know you don’t need to eat like I’m going to eat all the food on you.”
“Habit. You’ve eaten with Jay and me before. Food doesn’t last long. It was eating what was in front of you growing up because you never knew when and where the next meal was coming from.” Leelee relaxed in her seat and grabbed the cardboard container of fries out of my hand. “I’ll take my other burger,” she mumbled around a mouthful of fries.
I handed the burger to her unwrapped, and she devoured it in four bites again. “Do you even taste the food?”
“Yeah,” she mumbled. Her face was bright red, and she handed me back the wrapper. “I don’t actually eat around people besides Jay,” she said, embarrassed. She pulled her hood up and over her head and leaned back in the seat and put the cruise on.
I finished my food in silence. I hadn’t meant to upset her, but damn. Luke, Mitch, and I had grown up rough too, but obviously, Leelee had it worse. I threw my garbage in the bag and kicked it on the floor. I stretched out as best as I could and leaned my head back. “You tell Luke we were coming back?” I asked, drowsiness hitting me.
“Yeah.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t insist on meeting us at the airport.” Luke normally inserted himself into everything and tried to take charge.
“He tried. I told Violet to fend him off and let us get settled in before he comes in like a freight train.”
“Freight train.” I laughed. “That’s a damn good description of Luke.”
“He’s just looking out for you, Kurt.”
I scoffed and closed my eyes. “I’m twenty-eight years old, Lee. I don’t need anyone looking out for me anymore.”
“I don’t know about that. I think we all need someone looking out for us, wanting the best.”
“See, that is where you lose me because that is different from what Luke is trying to do. He wants to control my life and keep me under his thumb.”
“So, that was why you flew halfway across the country because you can’t stand up to your brother.”
“Fuck this,” I mumbled. I didn’t need to justify myself to Leelee anymore than I did to Luke. It was my life to live, and I was going to live it the way I wanted. “Eight weeks can’t get over fast enough.”
Leelee scoffed but didn’t say anything more.
Half an hour back in the state of Illinois, and I was all ready to get the fuck out of it.
I was fucking done.
********
Leelee
“I need to change the sheets.”
“I need to go to fucking sleep.”
I rolled my eyes and skirted past Kurt who was making his way down the hall. “It’ll take five minutes. Trust me; you want me to change these sheets.”
“Lee.”
I waved my hand at him and quickly closed Jay’s bedroom door in Kurt’s face. “An almost seventeen-year-old boy lives here, Kurt. Two things happen in this bed, and only one of those is sleep.”
Kurt swore under his breath, and I couldn’t help but cringe. Jay beating his meat stick was one of the last things I wanted to think about, but there it was. “Just lean against the wall and try not to pass out on me,” I yelled as I grabbed the sheets off the top of Jay’s dresser. I had asked him to clean his room before he had left for football camp, but my request had been ignored.
As I peeled the old sheets off, I tried to ignore the stiff and sticky spots and tossed them on the floor. I would be glad as hell when Jay went off to college, and he would have to change his own damn nasty sheets.
“Lee, hurry the hell up,” Kurt mumbled, as I spread the top sheet out and quickly tucked it under.
“This is for your own safety. Trust me.” I kicked the old sheets in the hamper and tossed the comforter on top of the sheets. “I need to get you a clean blanket,” I said as I opened the door. Kurt was leaning heavily against the wall while his left arm supported his right arm. “Come on.” I grabbed onto his arm and helped him into the room. “Where did you leave your crutch?” Kurt wasn’t a lightweight who was easy to haul around.
“It’s by the door,” he mumbled. His face was pale and his eyes were at half-mast.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fucking tired,” he slurred.
Apparently, Kurt wasn’t up to traveling halfway across the country yet. I should have waited a couple more days before making him fly, and now I felt like an ass.
“I’m sorry, Kurt.”
His legs gave out, and I half-carried, half-dragged him to the bed. He flopped down on his back and rested his broken arm on his stomach. “Did you flip my car over?” he asked as I worked on untying his shoelaces.
“Huh?” I grunted. Kurt was so tired that he wasn’t even making sense anymore.
“I asked if you flipped over my car.”
“No, of course not. I wasn’t even there.”
“Then, you have nothing to be sorry about,” he muttered. “It was my own damn fault for taking that curve too sharp. I tried to drift it, but the tires caught and flipped me the fuck over.”
I had wondered what had happened to make Kurt wreck, but I hadn’t had a chance to ask him. “Do you remember it?”
“Every fucking second.”
“Are you feeling better?” His color was returning to his face, and he wasn’t slurring his words anymore.
“Still fucking tired, but I’m at least not standing up on one busted leg and a body that’s fucked up.” He grabbed the pillow that was under his head and laid it over his eyes.
“Um, did you want to take your clothes off?” I asked, hopeful he would say no. But also, that he would say yes. I was all messed up in the head right now.
“Yeah, but it’s like trying to get an alligator in a dress. A broken leg and arm don’t do easy work of getting dressed and undressed.”
“Well, we’re going to have to figure it out. I think Jay has a bunch of basketball shorts that we can fit you in, and I can always cut the arm holes on some of your shirts.” I rummaged through Jay’s dresser, avoiding the pile of Playboy’s and found two pairs of shorts that would fit Kurt.
“How in the hell did they get your pants on?” I asked, looking down at his leg.
“Very fucking carefully. Why do you think it took me so long to get discharged? They were getting my pants on for fifteen minutes. Judy had to take a break for a couple of minutes to catch her breath,” he chuckled.
“Damn. If it took you, and two nurses, to get into them, how in the hell am I going to get you out of them?”
“Grab scissors and cut them off.”
“What? No. I can’t wreck a perfectly good pair of pants.”
“Yes, you can. Grab the scissors and do it. You have about five minutes before I pass out and I’m dead weight then.”
I looked at his leg one last time, trying to figure out a better way to get his pants off, but the scissors looked like the easiest and fastest way. “Fine,” I huffed. I quickly jogged to the kitchen, grabbed the scissors, Kurt’s pills, and a glass of water.
“Okay. I think if we—” The pillow was still over Kurt’s face, and he was lightly snoring. “Shit.” I had only been gone two minutes. Three tops. How in the hell was I going to get him out of his pants now?
“Would you just cut the damn pants and stop staring at me?”
I jumped back, surprised he was awake. “I thought you were sleeping,” I scolded as I grabbed his leg and started cutting up the seam of his pants.
“I was, but then I felt you staring at me.”
“That’s ridiculous. How did you feel me staring at you?” I was halfway up his leg, nearing his crotch. “I’m only cutting this far. I should be able to work them down your leg now,” I mumbled, as I put the scissors down. My fingers fumbled with the button of his pants, and the warm skin of his stomach brushed against my fingertips. Holy hell. This was not how I envisioned
getting Kurt out of his pants.
I managed to get the button undone and the zipper open with minimal blushing. “I finally get you to take my clothes off, and I can barely move. I think this is karma kicking me in the ass again.”
“Uh…” Speechless. I felt the same damn way. I tugged the ripped jeans down and off his legs without hurting him any more than he was. “I’ll go find you another blanket.” I glanced up at Kurt, the pillow still covering his face, but this time, I didn’t assume he was asleep.
Across the hall, I grabbed my extra blanket off my bed and spread it over Kurt. His feet were hanging off the end of the bed, but I didn’t want to wake him up to move him a couple of inches up the bed. The pillow was still over his eyes, and he was lightly snoring again. “Kurt?” I whispered, testing to see if he actually was passed out. He didn’t budge so I eyed up his arm wondering if I could get his shirt off him.
Jay had broken his arm when he was eight, and I had taken care of him, figuring out how to get him dressed and what not. But looking at Kurt, who was three times the size of Jay back then, I knew this was going to be a bit harder.
“Lee, stop staring at me.”
“Son of a bitch!” I yelled. How in the hell did he do that? “You were sleeping like ten seconds ago.”
“Turn the light off and let me sleep. You can ogle me in the morning.”
“Pfft, keep dreaming,” I scoffed. “I’ll wake you up in three hours to give you more medicine.”
“Yeah,” he sighed.
I backed out of the room, turning off the light. “Just yell if you need anything.”
He grunted in reply, and I shut the door, leaving it open a crack.
“Well, that was a complete shit show, Lee,” I mumbled to myself. Thankfully, getting him undressed went easier than I thought it would. Seeing Kurt in his underwear was more impressive than I assumed it would be, and the image of his firm and sculpted legs would be forever burned into my brain.
“Stop, Lee.” Kurt wasn’t here to stay. The least I could do was make the time he had here comfortable and not miserable. Kurt had been through hell, and he was here just to recover. I had to remind myself of that. Otherwise, I would make a fool of myself and be left with a broken heart again.
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