Chapter 61 Havoc
Havoc
Ihate being still.
Hate it more than anything.
The couch at the Tavern is too soft.
Too comfortable.
Too… stationary. But I want to be downstairs, with the others.
“Don’t move.”
Aspen’s voice cuts across the room before I even finish shifting.
I freeze.
Slowly look over at her.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
She doesn’t even look up from what she’s doing.
“Nope.”
I exhale through my nose.
Lean back again.
Because apparently that’s my life now.
She walks over a second later.
Hands full of supplies.
Focused.
Calm.
Completely in control.
“You pulled the bandage loose,” she says.
“I barely moved.”
“You moved enough.”
She sets everything down beside me.
And suddenly…
She’s close again.
Too close.
Her fingers brush my shoulder as she peels back the dressing.
Careful.
Gentle.
I tense anyway.
“Relax,” she says softly.
“Not my thing.”
“I noticed.”
There’s a hint of a smile in her voice.
And that?
That’s dangerous.
I look down at her.
She’s focused on the wound.
Not on me.
Not on the space between us.
But I am.
“Does it hurt?” she asks.
“Yes.”
She pauses.
Glances up at me.
“Do you want something for it?”
“No.”
She sighs.
“Of course you don’t.”
I almost smirk.
Because she’s already figured me out.
And that’s… not great.
She finishes rewrapping the bandage.
Her hand lingers for half a second longer than it should.
Then she pulls back.
Distance.
Needed.
“Try to actually rest,” she says.
I nod.
Like that’s going to happen.
But as she walks away…
I realize something I don’t like.
I was more aware of her than the pain.
And that’s a problem.