Veil of Scars by J. R. Gray Read Free Book Online Page A

brushed off and safely on the couch, she handed me a wet paper towel, then started on the mess. I picked up my foot to inspect the damage. When I saw all the red fluid, my head started to swim. I blinked a few times trying to clear it. She was back by my side.
    "You and blood, I swear. I'll get the mess after we take care of this." She moved my hand and pressed the wet towel over the wound before placing my hand over it. "Don't look at it. I'm going to get the first aid kit."
    I leaned back on the couch and closed my eyes, feeling like a fool. I was glad Charlie was taking care of me and not Sam. There were so many things I was more comfortable letting her see. I never had to hide myself, just like she didn’t around me
    “All right, let me take a look." She cleaned the wound and started to check for glass inside it.
    "Now tell me why you don't want him to know?"
    My breath caught in my throat, and words wouldn't come. "Because ... I have a really hard time showing him weakness. He knows so much, and I feel like I am weak compared to him."
    A smile curled over her pale pink lips. Her messy morning hair curled around her head like a halo. She was more beautiful natural, where her personality shined through.
    "You know I've struggled with this our whole relationship."
    The way she'd sat sobbing in the locker room came to mind, and I knew it was true—so many other instances came to mind. She took one of my hands and kissed the palm.
    "But you can trust him. I know it's easier between you and me, but I have started opening up to him, like how I felt when he would blow me off for you all the time, and it made us that much closer. He is a really good friend."
    I dragged my teeth over my lip ring. "I'm not good at sharing my feelings with anyone." All those nights I had lain next to him and could have told him I needed him. All the nights I lay alone in bed in college missing what we'd had. I fought back the moisture that brimmed at the corners of my eyes, hoping Charlie wouldn't see it.
    "We all need to get better at that. It's still hard for me." She dropped her hands away from my foot and exhaled. "Sometimes I've felt I was closer to you emotionally than him, and he's my boyfriend."
    "I've felt that way, too," I admitted.
    "But he is both of our best friend, and my everything, so we need to make an effort. It's not fair to him that we don't trust him for seemingly no reasons."
    "We are scared." We were scared for the same reason. We both loved him, and we both knew we could lose him. It was terrifying.
    She cleared off the more blood and frowned. "It's kinda iffy. Do you want me to take you to the ER?"
    "No, it’s been a long twenty-four hours. I really don't want to go." I watched her small hands tenderly clean the wound. She was gentle and loving, and I remembered what had started this whole mess.
    She pushed her hair back with both hands and dug a bandage out of the kit. "I'm going to butterfly it. This might hurt a little." She pinched at the cut making me wince. "There, all better."
    Keeping her hands on my foot, she looked up from where she sat on the floor. There was everything I’d never had as a child all wrapped up in this tiny woman. Charlie was all heart, and instead of guilt, I felt lucky she cared for me, maybe even more than Sam did.
    "You had a thing for me?" I leaned forward and took her by the hand pulling her next to me. She settled into the crook of my arm.
    "I did." She nuzzled into my neck. "It was everything a schoolgirl crush should be. You were so kind and cute." Her cheeks grew redder as she spoke. "I kinda never got over it. You're like my big, cuddly protector." She tried to shrug it off, then added, "I think that's why it was easier to get closer to you."
    I knew then I was in love with her, too. I always had been. There was so much more I shared with her, attraction aside. She and Sam were the only two people in the world I loved, and I would have done anything for them. But how could I love