Page 28 of Killer Attraction

Unable to take the silence, the unknowing, any longer, I decided to head to his place. I wasn’t going to knock or let him know I was there, but I needed to make sure he was okay. That resolve lasted until I actually got to his house and parked my car.

The next thing I knew, I was knocking on his door like the idiot I was. But there was no answer. His car was in the driveway, so I knew he was home. I went to knock again, figuring I’d knock louder this time in case he didn’t hear me at first.

But as I raised my hand, the door swung open, and my heart sank.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Aiden spat out.

His body immediately recoiled when he saw me, grabbing onto the doorway to keep his balance. Though, from the looks of him, I wasn’t sure it was due to the surprise of seeing me. He looked like shit, all pale and sweaty, with a blanket pulled around him.

I let out a sigh and grabbed his elbow to usher him back into the house. He tried to push me off, but he was barely able to keep himself standing, let alone fight me off.

“You’re sick.” My words were obvious, but he tried to argue anyway.

“I’m fine. You need to leave.” Aiden batted away my hand that was trying to feel his clammy forehead.

I stopped and stared at him, frowning. Something wasn’t right. Okay, a lot of things weren’t right.

“You’re still wearing the same clothes.” My head tilted to the side as I assessed him, trying to piece together what happened in the last four days. “Shit, you haven’t done anything to take care of yourself or the wound, have you?”

Aiden flinched, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of the reminder of what I’d done to him or because I called him out about his lack of self-care. Either way, it didn’t matter. If he wouldn’t take care of himself, then I’d do it for him.

“Go sit on the couch. I’ll get what I need to clean the wound. Then, after I wrap it up, you’re taking a shower and putting on some clean clothes.” My nose wrinkled at the smell wafting off him. There was a slight jiggle of guilt at my conscience, at the knowledge I had done this to him and then just left him.

“I’m fine, Nate. Go away.” The way he tried to assert himself was cute. Or, it might have been if his body hadn’t been wracked with chills so hard his teeth were practically gnashing together as he tried to talk.

I let out a sigh and led him to the couch. Despite his attempts at protesting, he moved with me and obediently sat. Ignoring the glare he shot me from under the blanket, I set out to get what I needed.

On the way over, I wrestled with what I should do or tell him. I wanted to be honest. More so than ever, after seeing what my lies had done to him—even though I knew if I had been honest at any point, we would not have gotten to where we were. And I couldn’t find it in me to believe that was a bad thing.

It was selfish, but I liked that he had wanted me and loved me. And I had to believe a part of him still felt that way. How could I not when he hadn’t turned me in?

When I got back to him, I sat on the floor at his feet and spread the stuff out next to me.

“I know you’re cold, but we have to remove the blankets and your shirt so I can get you cleaned up.”

Aiden jerked away, as though I’d slapped him. “F-f-fuck y-you,” he bit out.

I let out another sigh and sat back on my heels. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way, little bird,” I told him sternly as I caught his gaze. “As it is, you’re going to be lucky if you don’t need an antibiotic in order to get rid of the infection.”

He winced at my words but I didn’t have time to wonder what he’d been thinking about when I said that. The only thing that mattered was getting him better. He could hate me all he wanted when I was done and he was still alive. Because a wound like that being infected, had the possibility of being life threatening.

“I’m not leaving until I know you’re going to be okay. So you might as well just let me do it, if you want me to go.” I changed tactics. Not that I wanted him to kick me out. But I’d do or say anything to get him to listen to me.

Not giving him any other options, I reached up, ignored how he cowered from me, and moved the blankets to the side of the couch and then eased his tank top off. He was so weak, he had no choice but to be compliant in the way I moved him around.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself for whatever I was going to see, and quickly peeled off the tape that held the bandage I’d put on his side before I’d brought him home. When I saw the red puckered skin, I let out a sigh of relief. After I poked around a few times, and there was no sign of any discharge, I looked up at Aiden and offered him a smile.

“You’re lucky. I don’t think the infection is that bad. Cleaning it regularly, keeping it dry, and changing the bandages for the next couple of days should do the trick.”

Aiden didn’t say anything and barely flinched as I applied the disinfectant all around the area. It wasn’t until I had the tape in my hand to secure the bandage that he spoke up.

“Why are you doing this?” His voice sounded small and defeated. “Why didn’t you just kill me?”

I looked up, but he was looking away from me. I wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t want to see the look on my face or because he didn’t want me to see the look on his.

At first, I didn’t say anything as I secured a waterproof bandage and tried to think of how to answer him. But it wasn’t an easy question, and it didn’t have a simple answer.

“How about you get that shower and get dressed? Then, when you’re done, I’ll tell you everything.” I couldn’t keep lying to him. More so, I didn’t want to keep lying to him. When he didn’t say anything, I took it as an agreement. “Can you manage to shower yourself, or do you need help.”