Chapter 21 - Cleaning My Injury

Vera's POV

"What if I keep staring?"

My voice came out lower than I meant it to.

"Then keep staring." He said it plainly, like the conversation was already finished for him, and turned back to his locker.

I reached out and held his bare shoulder.

He went still immediately. I felt the muscles in his back pulled tight under my fingers. I let a small smile knowing I got his attention.

I let my finger move slowly, tracing from the curve of his shoulder bone across to his chest, lightly touching his right nipple, then trailing down the centre of his abs, one ridge at a time.

I held his gaze the whole time.

"What if I touch you."

It wasn't really a question because my fingers are already on him.

His palm wrapped around my wrist fast. His grip was firm, not rough, but there was nothing gentle about the warning sitting inside it.

"Stop…" His voice came out strained. "...touching me."

His fingers pressed just a little harder around my wrist.

And I still took a step forward.

My other hand moved to the V-line of his waist, right where the towel was knotted. My fingertips grazed the warm skin just above the fold of the fabric.

I watched his face as I worked my fingers. His jaw went tight and his eyes darkened for just a second.

But I saw it.

I was affecting him, and he knew that I knew.

I moved my fingers slowly into the knot of the towel. I hadn't even gone anywhere close yet, barely past the edge of the fabric, when both my wrists were lifted up and my whole body was pushed back in one movement.

My back hit the locker with a quiet thud.

He had both my wrists pinned against the locker above my head. His chest was right in front of my face and I could still feel the warmth of his body.

"I get it now." His voice was low and dangerous. "You don't listen."

I didn't say anything back.

I just stood there against the locker and looked up at him. My heart was beating hard against my ribs but I kept my face still and my eyes right on his.

‘Kiss me. Kiss me Liam.’

The words were sitting right behind my lips but I kept them in. I just waited, watching him.

‘What are you going to do next.’

He moved closer. His face dropped toward mine until there was almost no space left between us at all.

His breath came warm against my cheek, and my eyes dropped to his lips for just a second before I caught myself and looked back up at him.

I pressed my thighs together slowly. I couldn't help it. My whole body felt like it was been pulled tight on a string and he was the one holding the other end.

I could feel myself following his every movement. The way he moved his head and brought his face so close to mine and the way his chest rose with each slow, controlled breath.

Then he turned his head and his lips were right at my ear.

"I said no touching." His voice was barely above a whisper. He let the silence sit for a while like as if wanting his words to sink. "Now, be a good girl… stepsister."

A shiver moved down the back of my neck.

I could have been been displeased about him using ‘stepsister’... but I didn't prepare myself for what came next.

"Ohww! My knee."

The words came out of me before I could stop them, completely ruining what had just been happening between us.

Liam stepped back from me immediately. He let go of my wrists and his eyes dropped straight down to my leg. His expression shifted to a look of worry.

I bent forward and looked at my knee. A small scrape sat just below the kneecap. The skin was broken and faintly red around the edges. I hadn't noticed it at all until now. Not when I fell and not even when I limped back to the chair. I had thought it was just the bruise from the fall making my leg hurt.

But Liam's leg had brushed against mine just now and the sting had shot straight through me like a needle.

"You got injured." He said in a low voice, his eyes still fixed on my knee.

He took my hand in his. "Let me help you." He led me carefully back to the chair and waited until I was sitted properly before he let go.

"I will get the first aid kit." He turned and walked to the far corner of the locker room.

He pulled a small box down from the wall, the red sign on the front was faded but still clear enough to read, and came back quickly.

His face had a very serious expression, concentrating on what he was doing.

He crouched down in front of me and set the kit on the floor beside his knee. His fingers were careful as he touched the area around the scrape, pressing lightly around the edges, checking.

"It is just a scratch." He said it without looking up at me. "It will heal in a few days."

He reached into the kit and pulled out cotton wool and a small transparent bottle. He tore off a piece of cotton wool and uncapped the bottle and pressed the two together.

Then he looked up at me.

"I am about to apply methylated spirit. You can hold me… because this will sting."

"It will sting?" I pulled my leg back slightly. "No. Leave my leg alon…"

The cotton wool made contact.

"...Ohwww!!"

The scream tore straight out of me before I finished the sentence. My whole body jerked forward and my hand flew out and grabbed his shoulder hard.

The sting burned hot and sharp like as if something was pinching the injury. It made my eyes water immediately.

"It's painful, Liam." My voice came out thin and broken. Tears were already running down my face. "It's okay, it's okay, stop."

"Just chill." He kept his voice steady and calm. He pressed the cotton wool gently one more time and then lifted it away. He held my leg still for a moment and waited.

The burning dulled and I let out a shaky breath, then loosened the grip I had on his shoulder.

"See. It stopped the bleeding."

I looked down. The skin was clean now, it had no trace of blood left on it again.

I swallowed and nodded slowly.

He stood up and carried the kit back to its place on the wall and clipped it back. Then he walked straight back to his locker and pulled it open. He glanced back at me over his shoulder.

"Don't stand up."

I nodded. I wasn't going to argue with him. The pain in my leg was still fresh enough to make sure of that.

I watched him reach into his locker and pull out his school uniform. He wore his shirt first, with his hands moving fast to button up, then he removed his towel to wear his trousers. The shirt covered was long enough to cover his butt, then he quickly slipped into his trousers.

He took his bag from the locker, threw it over one shoulder, and turned to face me.

"Let's go home."

Home.

I repeated the word again quietly in my head. I like the sound of it coming from him.

I pressed my palms against my thighs and started to push myself up. He came to stand in front of mequickly. He took my hand and helped me to my feet and then, before I could take a single step, his arms came under me and he swept me off the floor.

"Liam!!" I grabbed onto him fast, both arms going tight around his neck. "I can walk, you know."

"Don't want you tripping on your feet again."

I pressed my lips together to hold back the smile but it came through anyway. I let my body relax into his hold and rested against his chest.

We were nearly at the door when he slowed slightly.

"You are still wet." He glanced down at my uniform. "You should change your clothes."

He shifted his weight like he was going to set me down and I tightened my arms around his neck immediately.

"No." I shook my head. "I just want to go home. I'm tired."

He held my gaze for a second. Then he kept walking.

He carried me out of the locker room and into the hallway. The school was silent. Just the sound of his shoes echoing against the empty floor and the low steady hum of the lights above our heads.

Clack!

The sound came sharp and sudden from somewhere down the corridor. Liam stopped walking and I turned my head fast toward the noise.

A bright torchlight shined on our faces almost blinding, we both held our hands to cover our faces. Then the person asked in a shocked voice.

“Who's there?”