Chapter 29 Cici
Cici
By the time we get back to the house, I have dozens of messages from our friends and my family. Everyone wants to make sure I'm ok and they’re asking what they can do to help. I appreciate all of the support, but I don’t want to talk to anyone right now.
“I’m grabbing you some Tylenol and a bottle of water. I’ll be right back.” He tries to take a step back, but I don’t let go of his hand. I’ve barely let go of him since everything happened.
I can’t explain why I feel so much safer when I'm touching him, but I do. It’s like my brain thinks because he saved me, he’ll protect me from everything.
I guess I should be happy it was Covey that saved me and not some random person. Who knows how I’d feel right now if that were the case.
“I’ll be right back, baby,” he says softly, squeezing my hand. “Or you can come with me.”
“No. I'm being ridiculous.” I close my eyes and shake my head. I can’t be afraid of everything. I refuse to be that person. I'm stronger than this.
“Hey,” he whispers. Slipping a hand around to the back of my neck, he presses his forehead against mine and just stays there. “Stop beating yourself up. You just went through something very traumatic. You’re allowed to be emotional and scared. Honestly, I’d be more worried if you were fine.”
“I feel so weak,” I confess.
“Don’t. You’re one of the strongest people I know. There’s nothing weak about you. Right now, you’re vulnerable, not weak. I'm really happy you feel safe with me. I think it would kill me if you didn’t.”
“Even if I don’t let you leave my side all week?” I stare up at him, looking for any sort of confirmation he thinks I'm being ridiculous.
“Oh, baby, I'm not leaving your side all week no matter what.” His deep chuckle rumbles through his chest, making me shake slightly in his arms.
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Are you coming to the kitchen with me?”
“No. I’ll be ok…” I trail off, unsure if I’ll actually be ok or if I’ll start panicking immediately.
“I’ll hurry.” He kisses my forehead before rushing out of the room.
I don’t know what I’d do without Covey. I’ve gotten so used to him living with me, I honestly don’t know what I’ll do when his house is done. I'm really hoping by the time it’s finished, we’re engaged. Then we could move in there and sell my house.
I just want to start forever with him.
Bending over to pick up a blanket that slipped off the bed and onto the floor, I wince at the pain in my abdomen. I lift the hem of the sweatshirt and look at my stomach in the mirror.
I sniffle as I try to blink away the tears gathering in my eyes.
“Baby,” Covey breathes as he sets the water and medicine on the table. He comes up behind me and gently wraps his arms around my waist. “How badly do you hurt?” He brushes his fingers over my bruises softly as concern pinches his brows together.
“I'm sore, but I’ll be ok.”
“I'm so sorry. I should’ve gotten our drinks-”
“No. None of this was your fault. I’ve gotten drinks dozens of times at Kennedy’s Pub. Probably even more than that. Nothing happened to me any of those times. This is purely because of Josh and no one else. Don’t you dare feel like you should’ve done more. You saved me, Covey.”
“I just… I wish I could’ve gotten to you sooner. I wish he didn’t leave a single mark on you,” he murmurs, running his fingers across my stomach.
“They won't be here for long. They’ll be gone in a few weeks.”
The next few days are a blur of meeting with lawyers and cuddling with Covey. He’s been such a huge support system for me and never leaves my side for longer than it takes to run to the bathroom or to shower. He’s been my rock and I don’t know what I’d do without him.
“I want to get married,” I whisper as I'm curled up in Covey’s arms.
“I want to get married too. Anyone specific you have in mind?” He grins.
“Only one person.”
“Dang, you narrowed it down to one?” His brows raise like he’s surprised.
I love how he can make light of the situation, especially when I just need a good laugh.
“Yes! How many do you have it narrowed down to?” I scowl, it’s playful, but still.
“Oh, I never had to narrow it down. There was only ever one woman for me.” He kisses me softly.
“I'm the only person you’ve ever wanted to marry?”
“I mean I didn’t say it was you…” He winces, but I catch the twitch in his lips.
“Oh, shut up!” I swat at his chest and chuckle.
“I want to marry you… but we can’t get engaged yet.”
“Why?” I blink up at him. I don’t want to wait. I know I want to spend the rest of my life with him and I don’t want to waste time dating when we could be married.
“I promised your dad I wouldn’t propose before we were dating for at least six months.” He scrunches his nose like he’s waiting for me to yell at him.
“Seriously?” I stare at him with my mouth hanging open.
“Hey, in my defense, he told me we had to date for a few years and I said no. I offered months and he countered with six months. At the time, we had just started dating and I thought six months was reasonable. Clearly, I was wrong.” He rolls his eyes.
“You’re adorable, you know that?” I ask, tracing my finger down his jaw.
“And why is that?”
“You’ve been fighting for us since the beginning.”
“So have you.” He nips at my finger, making me grin.
“So, six months, huh?”
“Hmm… Four months, three weeks, five days, and six hours, give or take a few hours,” he murmurs, twisting his lips one way and then the other as he thinks.
“Are you for real?”
“What? As soon as I had the conversation with Owen, I noted the time and set a countdown on my phone.”
“You’re perfect.”
He opens his mouth to respond, but my front door opens with a bang and I jump, burying myself in Covey’s chest as my body begins to shake and tears start streaming down my cheeks.
“Shhh, baby, it’s ok.” Covey runs a gentle hand up and down my back, trying to calm me down. “It’s just your idiot brother. He apparently doesn’t know how to text, call, or knock like a normal person.”
“Crap, I'm sorry, Ci. I just wanted to see how you were feeling and you weren’t answering your phone… Because I did call and text, you buffoon.”
I peek up at Cord, finding him glaring at Covey. I roll my eyes and shift in Covey’s arms. He was sitting with his back against the armrest before Cord came barreling into the house. I position myself so I'm wedged between his side and the couch with my legs draped over his.
I'm sure I look like a child trying to hide, but I don’t care. That’s exactly how I feel.
“How are you?”
“I'm ok,” I whisper, taking Covey’s hand and intertwining our fingers. He smiles before lifting our hands to his mouth and kissing each knuckle. He’s made a habit of doing that lately and I love it.
“Thank you for protecting her, Cov.”
“No need to thank me. She means the world to me. I’d never let anything harm her if I could prevent it.”
Cord nods and watches us carefully. After a few minutes he chuckles and shakes his head.
“I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. You two really are perfect for each other. You really have been drawn to each other since you met, haven’t you?”
“Duh,” Covey scoffs.
“Yeah, I thought he was pretty cute. Especially when he’s twerking on the field.”
“You like it when I twerk?” A big smile spreads across his lips as he stares down at me.
“I love it. I love your playful side. You always make me laugh and smile, even when my world is falling apart.”
“I’ll never let your world fall apart. I’ll help keep it all together. It’s us against the world.”