Like a Fool

"Oh thank god." I muttered and ran to hug him.

"I'll ask you why you're all bloody later." He whispered in my ear then turned to the guys that were glaring at him.

"We were just playin'. Girl was comin' on to us."

"What?!" I stared incredulously. I would be fucked and feathered if I let this asshole screw me over any more tonight.

Adam squeezed my shoulder trying to tell me to stop "Look we're just about to leave. Leave her alone and we'll be fine. Try and touch her again or threaten her again and we'll have a problem." I looked up at him trying to see if he meant it. There was a fire in his eyes that I'd never seen before, but damn it was hot.

He pushed me towards the door and followed me once he knew the guys weren't coming after me.

Once we were safely in the car I pounced on him. I hugged the life out of him and kissed all over his face ending with a firm kiss on his lips "Thank you so much." I said looking down at him from where I was straddling his lap.

"Are you okay?" He asked taking my hands and looking at the now dried up blood.

"Yeah, I just took a nasty fall while I was running. I'm so sorry! I should have listened to you." I said not wanting him to be mad at me. The man just saved my life (or it at least felt like it at the time). All my past annoyance vanished in a second.

"Why did you feel the need to run? Last time I spoke to you, you were half way home."

I hesitated, I really didn't want to tell him that my father had come back but I at least owed him this much "I'll tell you sometime, but for now just know that I'm not ready to talk about my father."

He nodded "I really don't understand how you didn't know you ended up in the worst part of town. Or how you ended up here with out trying."

"I was really upset, I didn't watch where I was going."

"I'm amazed you didn't get hit by a car!"

"Okay, I get it. I won't do something like this again. I promise."

"Good, thank you."

"Do you think I'd be able to stay at your house? I'm not comfortable going back to mine right now." I looked anxiously into his face, praying he would say yes.

"Of course. We need to get you cleaned up so those cuts don't get infected. And you look like you could use some sleep."

"Thank you." I climbed off his lap and sat in the passenger's seat with my head resting against the cold glass.

We pulled up to a southern style house, which strangely didn't look out of place in this beach setting. Epically considering it was Huntington Beach. "Come on, you can sleep in the guest room. My parents won't mind having you over."

He opened the door and called out to the darkness "Mom! Dad! I brought someone for you to meet." I grabbed his hand. I really didn't like meeting people's parents. Normally unless it was the guys, they never liked me. It didn't really help that it was completely black inside the house. I don't think I need to be reminded of my fear of the dark.

The lights flicked on, the house was now in sharp detail. We faced a large curving staircase, to the left was a sitting room, to the right was a hatch door that presumably led to the kitchen. There was more beyond the staircase, it looked like a TV room and a hallway that I couldn't see into.

A woman was standing at the foot of the stairs, she was gorgeous. She had the same dark green eyes as Adam and she was quite tall, just like her son. But she was blonde and her features weren't as prominent.

"Oh my lord! Why are you all bloody?" She had a slight southern accent that reminded me of home.

"I took a nasty spill on the pavement. I'm Cain though, I'd shake your hands but..." I held my bleeding palms up for evidence.

"Well I'm Betty, now let's get you clean up!" She led me though the hatch doors into a chef's dream. The cabinets and all the wood work was white, the counters were made of a light butchers block, and all the appliances looked vintage but I was sure that on the inside they were entirely modern.

"Sit here and I'll get you cleaned up." I sat on the bar-stool next to the counter as she grabbed a tubaware box full of first-aid items. "Okay now this is going to sting." She said as she swabbed on rubbing alcohol with a cotton ball. I hissed in pain and she looked up at me with sympathy.

"I would have liked to meet you under different circumstances." I said while she wrapped my now disinfected wounds with gauze, they were all on joints or places where a bandage would have fallen off.

"As would I dear." she gently took my right wrist but I hissed in pain despite the gentle touch. "Oh I'm sorry, did I touch the wound?"

"No, no, I just think I've sprained my wrist."

"Does it hurt when I bend it like this?" She bent it towards the back of my hand, again I hissed in pain. "Yes it probably is sprained, for now I'll wrap it but you'll have to see a doctor about that."

She finished the rest of my injuries "Okay now the knee's weren't very deep, they'll only take a week or two to heal. But the hands were pretty bad, I'm guessing you broke your fall with those huh?" I nodded "Now they'll take about four to five weeks to heal completely. So make sure to keep them wrapped and put on antibiotics when ever you change the bandages."

"Wow, you sure know your stuff." I said flexing my knees.

"Well I sure hope so! I'm a nurse at St. Marie's."

"Well that would explain it!" We both laughed.

"Hey mom, can she spend the night? She had some trouble at home." Adam finally piped up.

"Oh my, I hope someone didn't do this to you honey."

"Unfortunately this was all my own doing, I tripped while I was running." I laughed at my own clumsy-ness.

"Were you running from someone?"

"No, it's just a way to bleed off some frustration. I don't quite get along with my father."

"Ahh, well you can stay in the guest room. Adam go get her some pajama's." Yet again she led me through the hatch doors and into the hallway off the TV room.

The room was beautiful and so totally me. The floor was paneled in a dark wood, there were white billowy curtains over the windows, the king sized bed was covered in a white bed spread and topped with a head and foot board to match the floor. A large white bookcase completed the room, it seemed to be filled with large novels like Sherlock Holmes and several of Jane Austen's works.

"I hope it's comfortable."

"Oh it's perfect! It feels like summer in here." She smiled "Can I use your phone? I need to let a friend know where I am."

"Of course honey! It's on the bedside table, I'll let you to it."

I quickly dialed Johnny he picked up on the third ring. "Johnny can you call my mom and tell her I'm spending the night at Adam's and I will talk to her when he's not around."

"Yeah sure, but why can't you tell her, why are you spending the night at Adam's, and who is he?"

"Because we had a bit of a fight, Adam is my boyfriend after all, and I'll tell you when you're older than me."

"Hey! That's not fair! I'm the youngest! It's impossible for me to be older than you!"

"I know short-stuff that's why I said it!" I laughed. "Oh, and please don't tell anyone else where I am. I don't want to deal with a bunch of crap for this."

"You mean the guys?"

"Yep."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't think Matthew would be very happy that I'm spending the night with a guy. Don't you agree?"

"Well yeah, but why is there a need to spend the night with a guy?" I was saved from answering by a knock on the door.

"I have to go now short-stuff! Talk to you tomorrow!"

"Night." I called for the person to come in.

"I brought you an old t-shirt of mine and a pair of pajama pants. They're mine, so they'll be a little big." He held out the folded bundle.

"Thanks for all of this, I can't tell you how grateful I am. And your mom is so sweet!"

"I'm glad you two get along. Now get some sleep I'll see you in the morning." I kissed him goodnight and shut the door behind him.

I changed into the old Queen shirt and black pants. Both were so comfortable I didn't want to give them back. I scrambled under the blankets and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.