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"Are you okay?"

"Yes," she said, staring at hies had already bloomed under his eyes What he did had worn him out "But I can walk"

"I’d rather carry you"

She sain I promise"

Dawson didn’t find the joke funny, not that she bla that she could walk before he set her down, but he didn’t let go of her hand or take his eyes off her the whole way back to the car

The drive to his house was quick and quiet When he killed the engine in front of the house, he faced her "Bethany…"

In that instant, she re he loved her over and over again A knot formed in her throat, and her eyes burned "Thank you," she whispered hoarsely "For whatever you did Thank you and I love you"

Dawson leaned back in his seat, s weakly "I wish--"

"I know I heard you And that’s all that ently, as if he were afraid he’d hurt her "I’ to drive you and your car holanced down at herself Her shorts were torn and her hoodie was bloodied She was a mess Thank God her parents had taken Phillip to a puppet show in Cuot there

Outside of the car, he pulled her into a fierce hug that she didn’t want to end He sht she’d stopped breathing again

"You’re glowing," he ht but beautiful" There was a pause when he kissed her forehead "Brighter than I’ve seen I’ll feel better getting you ho out the area first, okay?"

Oh, no Her heart sank All the ground they’d made with the others would be lost "Your family and friends--"

"I’ll take care of it Don’t worry"

It was hard not to worry, but right now, her brain was spinning with everything Once inside her car, he got behind the steering wheel and smiled at her He looked so tired; his hair was a mess of black waves and his shirt was covered in her…her blood She sed thickly, forcing her gaze forward

Standing on the porch was Daemon By the brutal look on his face, there was no doubt that he’d seen them--seen her trace

Bethany’s house was dark and silent when she walked in All she wanted to do was shower all the blood and gri back over, and she was going to sneak him in A first for her, but she knew he honestly needed to be near her right noas rattled, still shaky over what happened

So was she

In the kitchen, she grabbed a bottle of water and downed it in one gulp Thehaunted her steps as she threw the plastic in the trash She’d fallen and the impact--oh, God--the pain had been so intense but brief Final

And then there had been nothing

Bethany wasn’t sure how long that nothing had lasted, but the next thing she’d heard was Dawson telling her to please wake up and that he loved her At first, she’d been confused Had she fallen asleep? But then it hit her

And she was still reeling from it

Had she been knocked unconscious? If the blood was any indication, she’d been seriously injured The big question was--had she been knocking on death’s door or had she died?

Bethany shuddered

So that had been da and beyond co in perfect sync She didn’t kno she knew, but she did It had to be some kind of weird byproduct of what he’d done Very weird, but nothing she was afraid of How could she be?

Dawson loved her

And that kind of love… It was arabbed another bottle of water and headed for the stairs Without any warning, the kitchen light caainst the light "Bethany, what--oh my God, are you okay?"

Crap "Yeah, I’m fine"

He shuffled to her as fast as he could Over the last couple of weeks, he had been getting better, stronger Brown hair peppered with gray covered his head now Soon, he’d be living back in his own hoain

"My God, Beth, you’re covered in blood" He put a shaky hand on her shoulder, eyeing her like any doctor would, searching for visible injuries "What the hell happened?"

Think fast, Beth, think fast "Dawson and I went hiking, and he cut hied rock He bled…a lot"

Uncle Will’s eyes widened "Did he bleed all over you?"

"Pretty"Everything’s fine, though, so there’s nothing to worry about"

"Beth--"

"I’et away and clean herself up "I’ll see you in thefor a response, she dashed up the stairs and closed her door behind her Crap, her uncle would probably say so to her parents and they’d flip But there weren’t any visible injuries Maybe she’d be able to convince them it wasn’t as bad as it seemed to Uncle Will

Not maybe She would

Dawson’s secret relied upon Bethany convincing her fa was fine