Page 36 of Phantom Flower

No reply.

I waited.

Five minutes passed. Then ten.

I crushed the cigarette and lit another.

Movement finally caught my eye.

But not through the front door.

He came around the side, probably using the back door.

Rei stopped a few feet away.

“What are you doing here? Are you insane!?”

My hand shot out, fingers wrapping around his jaw. I turned his head to one side, then the other, inspecting every inch. The streetlight caught the bruises clearly. He had faint purple along one cheekbone, a darker mark near the corner of his jaw.

Fucking hell.

I wanted to kill that motherfucker. I wanted to smash his face for this. Breaking his limbs wasn’t enough.

Not nearly enough.

I felt so angry, only this time it wasn’t for business. This was personal, and I never made anything personal.

“Does it hurt?”

His eyes flicked up to meet mine.

He seemed surprised.

He probably expected threats. Or expected me to mock him. Or maybe add to the bruises. Not ask such a careful question.

He swallowed against my fingers.

“No,” he said after a second. “It’s okay.”

My thumb dragged once across the edge of the bruise on his cheekbone. He was too fucking precious for marks that weren’t mine.

I wanted to kill everyone who had put these on him. Only my bruises should be on him. And definitely not on his face. His face was too cute for that.

“You can come back to school tomorrow.”

Rei blinked up at me, confused.

“I’m suspended,” he said.

“Not anymore.”

He stared at me. His mouth opened, then closed. He looked lost, but he was smart. He knew that the only person with the power to convince the principal to change his decision would be me.

“Why would you do that?” he asked.

I let my thumb drag once more across the edge of the bruise on his cheekbone before I dropped my hand.

“Who am I supposed to terrorize if you aren’t there?”