Jase stared at me. He glanced at my leg, and then my face. “You aren’t sick, are you? You’ve been crying. That’s why you look that way.” Before I could respond, he snatched the quilt and flipped it over. “Shit, Tess, your knee. Fuck. I didn’t know. I’m—”
“Don’t,” I said, voice hoarse. “You didn’t know. It’s okay.”
He raised wide eyes to mine. “How did this happen?”
“I came down on it wrong Sunday night.” The lie came out easier than the truth. Guilt immediately settled like a stone in my stomach. Hand shaking, I brushed my hair out of my face. “I think I’ve really messed it up.”
“You think?” He put the container of soup on the nightstand. “How much pain are you in?”
I watched him gingerly sit on the edge of the bed. “It comes and goes.”
“Me sitting on it didn’t help, huh?”
A weak smile appeared on my lips. “It’s okay.”
Jase reached over, catching the strand of hair that kept falling in my face. He tucked it back. “Have you told Cam? Your mom?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t want them to worry.”
“Want more soup?” When I nodded, he handed it off. I hadn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon, so this was doing my tummy good. “But sitting here with your leg like this isn’t helping anyone, Tess.”
“I know,” I whispered, ducking my gaze. I focused on his jaw as I scooped up noodles. Nice area to stare at. There was a thin blanket of stubble covering his lower cheek, giving him a rough, sexy look.
Jase ran a hand through his hair. “Then I’m guessing you haven’t called your doctor?”
Swallowing a mouthful of chicken noodle soup, I shook my head again.
“Okay. Then that’s the first thing we need—hold up.” He reached over, sweeping his thumb along my chin, catching the broth and causing me to flush. “We need to call your doctor. And don’t give me any shit. We need to do that. And we need to do that now.”
He let me finish my soup before he retrieved my cell from the foot of the bed. Handing it over, he waited, arms crossed, until I found my doctor’s contact. I had to leave a message, but the call was returned quickly. An appointment was set up for tomorrow morning, and my heart was already pounding with the ugliness of it all.
“I’ll take you,” Jase announced after returning from the hall, where he’d disposed of the soup container.
“What?” I pushed myself up against the headboard.
He was matter-of-fact. “I’ll take you tomorrow. He’s at WVU, right?”
“Around there, but—”
“But you haven’t even told Cam yet or your mom, so how do you expect to get there? Hitch a ride?” His grin was full of arrogance. “I can miss my classes tomorrow. It won’t be a big deal. And if I didn’t want to do it, I wouldn’t offer. So don’t argue with me.”
“I know,” I said. “But why would you want to do that? Sitting in class is better than leaving at butt crack in the morning and driving for hours. I mean, I’d rather sit through music class.”
He laughed as he sat back down, placing one hand on the other side of my hip. “You must really hate the drive and the doctor to prefer sitting in that class. You missed it today. Your friend Calla’s head fell all the way back. She snored.”
I laughed. “She doesn’t snore. And I know because she sleeps through that class almost every time.”
His thick lashes lowered, shielding his startling eyes. “I want to be there for you. Let me.”
My mouth opened and the proverbial why formed on the tip of my tongue. Did the why matter? The way things were between Jase and me at this moment confused the ever-loving crap out of me. Something had changed Saturday night, shifted. He was doing the exact opposite of pushing me away and running. Was I that good at giving head? I almost laughed because that was just stupid.
“Okay,” I said finally.
Jase smiled, and suddenly, it felt like I’d agreed to much more than a ride.
I hated the whole atmosphere of doctors’ offices—the white paint, the tacky decorations, and the smell of disinfectant. It didn’t matter what kind of doctor you were seeing; the offices were all the same.
An x-ray had been done before I even saw the middle-aged doctor. My butt had been planted in the dreaded wheelchair, and I’d been rolled away, leaving Jase in the main waiting room. Once I was deposited in the room where the doctor would see me, I hobbled out of the chair and sat on one of the plastic ones. I was glaring at the wheelchair when the door opened, and one of the blushing front desk nurses ushered Jase inside.
“We thought you could use the company,” she said, smoothing a hand over her blond head.
Jase winked as he sauntered in. “She was probably beside herself without me.”
I snorted.
The nurse giggled and then hastily backed out of the room. I arched a brow at him. “How did you manage to get yourself back here considering you’re not family?”
He hopped up on the table I should’ve been sitting on. From there, he swung his long legs like a mischievous boy. “I have considerable charm, Tess.”
“That’s true.” I cracked a grin.