Jaxon

Jaxon kept glancing over at Lucy as he drove. He’d tried to get her to drink some water, but she’d fallen asleep almost as soon as they’d gotten on the freeway. He could hear her softly snoring over the music he was playing. He found himself smiling as he listened to her. Even her snoring was adorable. She sounded like a purring kitten.

He still couldn’t believe she’d tried to kiss him. And even more unbelievable was that he’d stopped her. He knew it was the right thing to do . . . but goddamn did he wish he’d let her press her full pink lips to his for just a moment—just one kiss, one taste.

His heart had nearly jumped out of his chest when he realized what she wanted. And damn did he want it too. But he knew if he’d let her kiss him, he would’ve never been able to stop.

Jaxon wanted to do things right with Lucy. She deserved the best, which he still wasn’t convinced meant him. But if she did want to be with him, he wanted to be damn sure of it. And that meant their first kiss was not going to be in the back of his pickup truck when she was drunk.

Brooke

“Finally!” Brooke yelled when she heard knocking at her door.

She’d been waiting up for Lucy for hours. She’d called her and Jaxon, and neither of them seemed to know how to answer a freaking phone. She’d consulted her Magic 8 Ball no less than seven times in the past two hours wondering if they’d been involved in another car accident or something worse. She’d been close to calling Sergeant Sexy when she heard a knock at the door.

Brooke whipped open the door prepared to bite Lucy’s head off for worrying her, but her words died on her lips when she was greeted with Jaxon, carrying Lucy like an unconscious rag doll.

“What the hell is this?” Brooke whisper-yelled.

“Shhh,” Jaxon hissed.

“Where have you been?”

“Long story.”

Brooke crossed her arms. “I was worried.”

“I’ll explain but first help me get her to bed,” Jaxon said breezing past Brooke into their dorm room, Lucy still cradled against his chest.

She shut the door behind him and followed him down the hall to Lucy’s room. “What the hell happened to her?” Brooke asked noting her friend’s steady snoring.

“She had too much to drink.”

“You got her drunk?”

“No, she did that all on her own. PS, she’s a lightweight.”

“Ya think?” Brooke muttered, scowling at Jaxon. Lucy didn’t weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she wasn’t gonna be drinking anyone under the table.

Brooke pulled Lucy’s covers back while Jaxon took painstaking care to put her gently to bed, tucking the covers up around her like a dotting mother hen. Watching him took some of the fight out of Brooke. She’d been ready to lay into him when they were out of Lucy’s room, but seeing the way Jaxon cared for Lucy melted Brooke’s normally steely heart.

Once Lucy was settled, Brooke followed Jaxon back into the living room, leaving Lucy’s door slightly cracked. It had become Brooke’s new habit so she could hear Lucy just in case. And ‘just in case’ was becoming a frequent occurrence—another reason Brooke was glad Jaxon was there.

When they were in the living room, Brooke pointed to the couch. Jaxon got a few points for putting Lucy to bed but Brooke wasn’t letting him off the hook that easily. “Spill it, Hero-boy.”

Jaxon

“That explains why that little crap taco called me,” Brooke said after Jaxon got done explaining their eventful day in San Diego.

“Alex called you?” Jaxon asked.

“Yeah, but I was in the shower so I missed it and he didn’t leave a message.”

Jaxon rubbed his jaw. He could feel his stubble growing back. It had been a long day. A shower was definitely in order when he got home, though that might be a while still since it didn’t seem like Brooke was done with her questioning.

They’d been talking for nearly an hour. Jaxon had filled Brooke in about everything that went down from the soccer game, to the zoo, to Lucy having a bit too much wine. The only thing he left out was how Lucy tried to kiss him.

He was sort of hoping maybe Lucy wouldn’t remember it in the morning. That would make it easier on Jaxon. He didn’t want things to be awkward between them. But if she did remember the almost kiss, he also didn’t want to add insult to injury by talking to Brooke about it. That would only make Lucy think he’d truly hadn’t wanted her to kiss him. And nothing could be further from the truth. He just wanted it to be under the right circumstances.

“I can’t believe Alex!” Brooke ranted. “I mean I can because he’s been a complete chode-muffin the entire time I’ve known him. But with Trista? How could he?”

“What’s the deal with that girl?” Jaxon asked.

“Other than the fact that she’s the antichrist in couture?”

“She seems like the kind of girl who gets off on drama.”

Brooke snorted. “You have no idea.”

Jaxon was just about to ask what Brooke meant by that when he was interrupted by a scream coming from Lucy’s room.

Brooke swore under her breath and was on her feet in seconds, dashing toward Lucy’s bedroom. Jaxon was right behind her, his heart in his throat as Lucy cried out over and over. Brooke threw on the light and knelt by Lucy’s bedside trying to grab her flailing limbs.

The second Jaxon walked into the room he knew Lucy was having another flashback. It was like what happened at the precinct, but this time was so much worse. Lucy was screaming and thrashing wildly. Jaxon took in the scene looking for the trigger. There was usually a trigger and he spotted it immediately.

The cast on Lucy’s broken leg had gotten twisted in her blankets and was pinned at an awkward angle as she thrashed and screamed. Jaxon moved swiftly, untwisting the covers while Brooke held Lucy’s arms, trying to get her wake up.

“It’s never been this bad before,” Brooke said sounding frightened. “Why the hell won’t she wake up?”

“Let me try.” Jaxon took up Brooke’s spot on the bed and spoke firmly in Lucy’s ear just like he had at the wreck. “Lucy, I’m right here. I need you to open your eyes.”

She murmured incoherently, and Jaxon worried maybe the fact that she’d had so much to drink would make this more difficult. He scooped her tiny body into his lap holding her tightly against him so she wouldn’t hurt herself with her thrashing.

He tried again. “Lucy! I need you to open your eyes.”

“Jaxon?” Her voice made his heart jump with relief. She was in there. He just needed to get to her.

Jaxon stroked her cheek. “I’m right here, Lucy. You just gotta stay with me.”

“Jaxon?”

“That’s right, angel. It’s safe. Just open your eyes.”

And just like that, her eyes fluttered open. Jaxon sagged with relief as he looked at Lucy’s beautiful hazel eyes staring back at him with such trust.

“Jaxon?” Lucy blinked twice, three times. “What are you doing here?”

“You were having one of your nightmares,” Brooke said from the foot of the bed.

Jaxon looked at her, noticing for the first time that the feisty blonde looked like she’d lost some of the swagger that she normally had an endless supply of. Seeing her best friend that way must have terrified Brooke, and Jaxon didn’t blame her. If he hadn’t dealt with episodes like this himself he wouldn’t know what to do either.

Lucy started to look around the room nervously. Jaxon could feel her heart pounding in her chest. He didn’t want her to get more upset than she already was. “Hey,” Jaxon said drawing her attention. “It’s okay, Lucy. It was just a bad dream. But you’re safe. You can go back to sleep now.” He looked at Brooke and motioned for her to turn off the lights.

Lucy didn’t need to be over-stimulated right now. Jaxon was actually hopeful her wine buzz would keep her drowsy enough to let her go back to sleep. He started to slide her back onto her mattress but she stiffened in his arms and wound a tiny fist in his shirt.

“Will you stay?” she whispered, peering up at him with those gorgeous eyes of hers.

Goddamn. Of course he’d stay. He’d walk through hell if she asked him to. Jaxon nodded and settled Lucy back into her bed, leaving space for himself next to her.

Brooke gave him a cautioning look, but silently left the room.

Jaxon pulled the covers over Lucy. This time he was careful to make sure he left her cast free of the blankets. Then he settled next to her, letting her cuddle against his side. Her tiny hand rested on his chest and he wrapped one arm around her boney shoulders, pulling her close.

She felt so fragile in his arms and it only made him want to hold onto her tighter. How could this tiny, breakable girl make him feel so sturdy? It made no sense. But when she was close to him like this was when he felt strongest—like she was somehow the piece he needed to be whole. Lucy filled him up, and he never wanted to let go.

* * *

An hour later, when Jaxon was sure Lucy was sleeping soundly, he dragged himself from her bed and made his way back to the living room. He was surprised to find Brooke still awake. She sat on the couch, her feet curled beneath her, a mug of tea in her hand and a book on her lap. Her blonde hair was wet and braided around her head like a crown and she’d washed all her normally loud makeup off. She looked younger, more vulnerable.

Brooke looked up the moment Jaxon entered the living room. “How is she?”

“Asleep.”

“You look like you’re about to fall asleep on your feet. Why don’t you crash on the couch tonight,” she offered climbing to her feet.

Jaxon looked at the clock. It was two in the morning. He had to admit the prospect of driving all the way back to his uncle’s house didn’t excite him. “You don’t mind?”

Brooke shoved her hands into the pockets of her pale pink hoodie. “Actually, I think I’d feel a lot better if you stay in case that happens again.”

Jaxon sunk down on the couch. “Has that happened before?”

Brooke nodded. “But not like that. Not that bad.”

Jaxon had pretty much guessed as much from the way Brooke reacted. He rubbed the weariness from his eyes, frustrated with himself for not anticipating Lucy’s struggles. He should’ve known. He should’ve been there so Lucy didn’t have to deal with it on her own.

“They’re not just nightmares, are they?” Brooke asked, joining him on the couch.

“No. They’re more like flashbacks. They feel real and can be hard to come out of.”

Brooke stared at him, concern for her friend vivid in her clear, blue eyes. “What can I do for her?”

“I think Lucy is suffering from PTSD from her car accident. The best thing we can do for her is get her to talk to a professional.”

Brooke nodded, swallowing back tears. “Thank you for being here for her tonight. You’re really good with her and Lucy could use someone good in her life.”

“I know.”

Brooke sniffled. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“How did you know what to do when you saw her like that?”

Jaxon exhaled. He knew this question was coming. Brooke was too observant not to catch on. And since she was most likely already forming her own opinions, Jaxon decided to answer her honestly. “I knew what to do because the same thing used to happen to me after my car accident.”

“Oh.”

“It happened a year ago. It was a hit-and-run like Lucy’s. But not everyone survived. My PTSD was pretty bad. Some days I still have trouble. But it’s gotten better since we moved to LA. Since . . .”

“Since you met Lucy,” Brooke finished.

Jaxon nodded.

He and Brooke sat in silence for a while. Then she said. “I think this is good.”

Jaxon looked up from the pattern in the carpet he’d been studying. “What?”

“I know it sounds corny but I believe sometimes fate brings people who need each other together, like trying to right a wrong in the world by helping people who belong together find one another. And in your case, I think the accident was meant to bring you and Lucy together for a reason.”

Jaxon swallowed back the emotion that suddenly quelled inside him.

“She needs you,” Brooke said quietly. “Please don’t let her down. She’s already had too much of that in her life.”

“I won’t,” Jaxon said. And he meant it.

The minute he’d seen Lucy struggling in her flashback he’d made a decision. He was all in. He couldn’t walk away from Lucy now if he tried. He was through trying to protect himself by keeping distance between them. He needed to be there for Lucy.

Jaxon was possibly the only person who knew what she was going through. He knew just how terrible reliving an accident trapped in a flashback could feel. He couldn’t just let her deal with that on her own. Not when he was the one person who could actually help her.

Jaxon was done running. He was committing himself to Lucy. He’d been kidding himself thinking he hadn’t already done so the moment he’d pulled her out of that burning car. He knew he’d stand by her. Whether she wanted anything more than friendship or not, he was determined to be someone she could count on, no matter what it cost his heart . . . it was already so badly damaged, there wasn’t much use trying to save it anyway.