Page 82 of The Rut in the Road

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Why couldn’tRayn just take it easy? What was he trying to prove? He knew that Ward wasn’t going to push Rayn to come to work, and God knew he and Violette—who was a very odd girl—had spent several hours trying to talk him out of it.

He’d even contemplated trying threats or possibly handcuffs, but he knew very well that doing that was not the way to convince the man he cared about not to put himself in even more danger by going back to the job where he’d been hurt while he was still injured. Because it was clear that he still had a headache.

Why couldn’t Rayn just let him take care of him? Why?—

“Seriously, you can’t go in,”Vi argued, interrupting the thoughts that Raj had left on the coffee mugs that he’d pulled down from the cupboard. It probably wasn’t a good sign that I’d let them in, but I could always put my gloves on to go to work if I didn’t manage to get that particular susceptibility under control.

At least it felt like my brain was working better, even if I hadn’t quite managed enough focus to block out thoughts.

In my defense, the emotions behind them had been pretty strong, even if Raj’s contact with the ceramic had been brief. But if I hadn’t had the throbbing headache, they probably wouldn’t have broken through.

“I can,” I said to my sister. “And I will.You, however, are not scheduled to work because you have an exam tomorrow that you need to study for.”

“I can skip that.”

I fixed her with a stare that I hoped communicated that I didn’t think much of that idea.

“I’ll just tell my professor that my brother was in the hospital?—”

“I’m fine,” I interrupted her. “And I don’t need you to do anything.” I let out a little sigh, even though I’d tried to smother it. “Besides, Raj will be here when I get back, as well as all day tomorrow.” Whether I wanted him to be or not.

I wasn’t being very nice, either out loud or in my own mind. Raj wanted to take care of me. Wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to suffer any further ill effects from my concussion. And, presumably, that I wasn’t going to suffer from any additional injuries or threats, either. Vi was thinking the same.

And I just wanted to try to keep living the life I’d managed to build for myself, such as it was.

“Rayn,” she wheedled.

I glared at her as I poured creamer into my mug. “Violette,” I countered.

“You’re my brother,” she told me. “I want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I am fine,” I repeated. “If I weren’t fine, they wouldn’t have released me from the hospital. And besides, I will be constantly watched for any sign of problems.”

A squeak came from the kitchen table, and we both looked over at Victor, who was watching me intently.

“You can feed him, if you want,” I told Vi.

She sighed, then went to pull a small container of food out of the fridge. I’d been reading about the health and economic advantages of meal prep, and I’d decided that having my lunches and dinners pre-made at the start of a week would probably lead me to having better nutrition than otherwise. And since I’d made them for myself, I’d done the same for Victor, mixing peas, canned chicken, and sunflower seeds into something that vaguely resembled a salad.

He didn’t actually eat a whole one, even though the little containers were small, so there was almost certainly some left over from when she’d fed him the night before.

“You’re trying to distract me,” Vi accused, although she went into the fridge and pulled out the little container, taking the lid off before setting it in front of Victor. The undead rat reached in and pulled out a pea before stuffing it in his little bony mouth.

“I’m trying to go about my day,” I retorted.

“He’s going to do what he wants whether we like it or not,” Raj said, coming to stand in the kitchen doorway, his dark hair still wet from the shower he’d just taken. He sounded annoyed, which was honestly a slight improvement over the level of anger he’d been exhibiting since the hospital last night.

Vi looked from me to Raj. “Can’t you, like, arrest him or something?”

Raj’s eyebrows rose. “Not legally,” he replied a little darkly.

“I didn’t ask aboutlegally,” Vi muttered.

Raj snorted, although there was very little humor in the sound. “Believe me, I’m tempted,” he replied.

I had the feeling they were bonding over shared frustration with me, which was not how I wanted my sister and my boyfriend to form a friendship.