I curled into him and slept too.
My alarm went off for school. I silenced it and heard Bibi bustling around in the kitchen. Ronan hardly stirred. I slipped out of bed quietly so as not to wake him and went to find her.
“Bibi…”
She turned in her house dress, the pot of coffee burbling beside her, her face soft but drawn with concern. “Oh, honey…”
I rushed into her arms and let her hold me, the fear and horror of last night shuddering through me.
“I thought I heard something last night. Tell me.”
“Ronan,” I said, pulling away before I fell apart completely. “Someone hurt him. Badly. He’s in my room. I tried to help him, but his ribs are cracked, and he doesn’t want to go to the hospital. He’ll hate that I’m telling you. He doesn’t want anyone worrying about him.”
“That’s too bad for him. He’s part of this house now, whether he likes it or not.” She patted my cheek, squinting at me. “You’re tired, honey. Go back to him. I’ll let the school know you’re not coming. Him too. When he’s ready, we’ll get some food in him and hear the story.” She chuckled softly. “I dated a rabble-rouser once too. Always getting himself into all kinds of fixes…”
I hugged her again, feeling as if the reinforcements had arrived, and then climbed back into bed with Ronan.
An hour or so later, I woke to him stirring. He blinked open his eyes—his left eye already much less swollen—and glanced over at me. If he remembered what he’d said last night, he didn’t show it.
Because it wasn’t real. He was half-asleep.
“Hey,” he said, his voice hoarse.
“Hey. How are you feeling?”
“Like shit.” He frowned. “But the nightmares… Did I…?”
“No. You got some sleep. Which you desperately needed.”
His brows furrowed. “You stayed up all night?”
“I told you I would.”
“Christ, Shiloh, I don’t even know what to say but thank you and… I’m sorry—”
I silenced him with a soft kiss. “If you say sorry one more time… How’re the ribs?”
He inhaled deep and winced. “Okay.”
“I told Bibi. She’s going to want to feed you until you’re better.”
He gingerly sat up to lean against the headboard. “She doesn’t need to deal with this. I shouldn’t have come here. I was so out of it, I thought…”
I sat up beside him. “What happened last night? Tell me the truth.”
He sighed. “Frankie Dowd and Mikey Grimaldi. Payback for the Jeep. Mitch Dowd was there.”
“Frankie’s dad? He’s a cop, isn’t he?” Then what Bibi had told me about him in the beginning of the year came rushing back to me. “He did this to you?”
“When I had Grimaldi and Frankie beat, the fucker Tased me.” He jerked his chin at the bloody tears in his jeans.
“My God. That asshole…”
“I don’t remember much after that.” He frowned. “Something happened that stopped it, but I don’t know what. I remember thinking I had to get to you before they did. Like they were coming here next.”
My heart clenched, thinking of Ronan, bleeding and stumbling, having been Tased for fuck’s sake but thinking of me.
Because he loves me…
I took the thought and buried it deep.
Later.
“The next thing I remember was sitting on the steps of your house with you.”
I bit my lip, thinking. “The bruises you had the first time…back in the fall. Those were from Mitch too, weren’t they? It’s him you’re afraid of. Not Frankie or Mikey.”
He nodded. “Not afraid for me. For you. If he fucks with you to get to me…”
“He’s not going to. Bibi knows everyone in town. She’s friends with a cop. A good cop. There are more of those than there are of him.”
“Maybe,” Ronan said. “But my mom needed the cops too. She needed them a lot, but the system kept failing her. Dad would do a night in lockup, then come right back. Restraining orders meant shit. A judge didn’t put him away. So when the sirens come…” He shook his head. “It doesn’t remind me of help. It reminds me of the last time they came, too late. They arrested him, locked him up in prison with a life sentence, but so fucking what? She was already gone.”
I rested my cheek against his bare shoulder and twined my fingers in his.
“Don’t let Bibi get dragged into this,” he said after a minute. “Last night was bad enough for you.”
“I told you, I’m in this all the way.” I cleared my throat. “And besides, if you’re really afraid Mitch might come here, Bibi is our best defense. Her police friends will take care of us. So please try not to worry, okay?”
He nodded reluctantly and his eyes fell shut again.
“You want to sleep some more?”
“I could try. But…”
“Then I’ll sit with you.”
“Shiloh…”
“I told you, Ronan. I’m not going anywhere.”
Ronan napped. Only once did a nightmare try to sneak in, but I talked him through it. He twitched and cried out, but I whispered soothingly into his ear until he settled again. He woke at noon, his stomach growling.
“Bibi and I will get lunch and then we can figure out what happens next.”
“What happens next?”
“Mitch goes to jail.”
He tried to protest but I silenced him with a kiss, then kissed him again, gently, on the side of his nose and on his temple above his eye.
“Put a shirt on,” I said with a grin. “And that is likely the first and last time I will ever say that.”
Bibi and I fixed grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup. Ronan, moving slowly and stiffly, came into the dining room.
“Hey,” he said, self-conscious and unsure.
“Oh, my sweet boy.” Bibi’s hand went to her throat. Tears filled her eyes and suddenly I was on the verge of a breakdown too, to see how much she cared for him. She recovered quickly and gestured to a place setting.
“Sit. You must be starved.”
We all sat at the table, Ronan beside me and Bibi across from us. When we’d eaten, she wiped her mouth and tossed the napkin on her plate. “Tell me, honey.”
Ronan told Bibi everything, including how Mitch had paid him a visit in the fall after his fight with Frankie at Chance Blaylock’s party.
Bibi pursed her lips, her eyes slightly unfocused but angry. “Shameful,” she snapped. “Using his authority like that. Ronan, you need to press charges.”
“He’ll just deny it. Frankie and Mikey will vouch for him. There’s no proof…” Ronan stiffened, his eyes widening.
“What is it?” I asked, alarmed.
“Maryann…oh shit, I remember. She had her phone…” He tore from the table. “I have to go.”
Before I could stop him, he hurried back to my bedroom. I found him pulling on his boots, grimacing in pain.
“Ronan?”
“Fucking stupid. I’m so fucking stupid.”