Glass Hearts [BL]
Chapter 53: Whatever You Need, I’m Yours

Chapter 53: Whatever You Need, I’m Yours

He kept staring at me, wiping my tears. Then... he leaned in and kissed me.

For a second, my brain short-circuited.

Oh my god.

My eyes flew wide as his lips touched mine.

It was soft at first, like he was checking if it was okay. I let out a shaky breath against his lips.

Then he kissed me harder, his hands framing my face, his fingers were warm and strong.

My chest still ached, but now for a different reason.

When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard.

He stayed close enough that I could still feel his breath on my lips.

He rested his forehead against mine.

"There you are," he whispered.

A shaky laugh broke out of me.

"I’m not letting you go home alone," he said firmly. "Come on. Get in the car. You’re staying with me tonight."

I hesitated, swiping my sleeve over my eyes. "But—"

"No buts." His gaze softened. "I’ll feed you. I’ll even let you pick the movie. Something heinous and girly if you want."

Despite everything, a tiny laugh slipped out of me. "Mean Girls?"

"Done." He kissed the tip of my nose. "And I’m buying ice cream."

He took my hand and started leading me toward his car.

As we reached the curb, he glanced back toward the pawn shop.

"Whoever those assholes are... they’re not touching you again."

He opened the passenger door, guiding me gently inside.

The car ride was quiet at first. Dominic kept glancing at me, one hand on the wheel, the other reaching over every so often to squeeze my knee or brush his fingers against mine.

City lights flickered past the windows, neon blurs and headlights streaking across the dark glass.

I tried to stay awake. I really did.

But my body felt like it had been wrung out and left to dry.

A low music kept playing on his stereo...some mellow indie track with a girl singing about heartbreak and stars.

My eyelids kept drooping.

"Hey," Dominic murmured, his thumb brushing across the back of my hand, "you okay?"

"Mhm," I mumbled. My eyelids felt heavy.

A few minutes later, I couldn’t fight it anymore.

I shifted in my seat, pulling my hoodie tighter around myself.

Dominic reached over and adjusted the AC vents so they weren’t blowing in my face.

"Close your eyes," he said softly. "I’ll wake you when we’re home."

It took me a second to remember where I was.

Dominic’s car was parked under strips of fluorescent lights. The engine had stopped rumbling, leaving a weird silence ringing in my ears.

I rubbed my eyes and squinted at the glowing numbers on the dashboard clock.

1:02 PM.

My head snapped up. "Holy shit. It’s one o’clock?!"

"Why didn’t you wake me up?! I was supposed to go see Alia—"

Dominic chuckled, cutting me off. "Calm down, Rivera. I branched the hospital on our way home."

I blinked at him. "Wait. Really?"

"Yeah." He leaned back in his seat, fingers drumming the steering wheel. "You were out cold. So I swung by the hospital."

My mouth fell open. "You... went to see Alia?"

He gave a small, casual shrug. "Yup. I went in, checked on her. Talked to the nurses."

"Is she okay?!" My voice cracked.

Dominic’s eyes softened. "She’s okay, Ash. You need to stop worrying so much and start taking care of yourself."

I was relieved immediately.

"Why didn’t you wake me up?" I asked.

He looked away for a second, fiddling with the key. "She told me not to."

I stared at him. "What do you mean... she told you not to?"

He smirked faintly. "Your sister’s a tiny queen. She said..and I quote—’Let my brother sleep, he’s tired and annoying and needs his beauty sleep."

"Oh really?" I said.

Dominic smirked. "Check the side mirror."

I twisted around and froze.

A black, curly mustache was scribbled across my upper lip in marker.

For a second, all I could do was stare. Then I burst out laughing so hard my stomach hurt.

"Alia did this?!" I gasped.

Dominic grinned. "Yup. She said she wanted you to know she’s okay. And then she made me promise not to wake you."

"Oh my god." I buried my face in my hands.

"Hey. Listen to me. I talked to the nurses. She’s had breakfast. I’ve already ordered her lunch and dinner. Trust me...she’s okay."

My throat tightened. "Thank you."

He leaned closer and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek..

"Besides," he said, as he opened his door, "you drooled all over my leather seats, so the least you can do is watch a movie with me."

He walked over to open the side door for me.

Dominic didn’t let go of my hand until we reached his room.

He pulled back enough to meet my eyes. "I know today was hell," he smiled.

"So you don’t have to do anything. Get in the shower. I’ll try not to peek." He swept his gaze over me slowly, like he was undressing me with his eyes.

"Towels are clean. You’ll find stuff in the cabinet...use whatever you need. Then, put on one of my shirts, and crawl into bed, and I’ll feed you ice cream until you fall asleep."

"You don’t have to—"

"Shhh." He pressed his finger lightly to my lips. "I want to."

A tiny warmth sparked in my chest.

"Or". He dropped his hand, stepping back.

"You can let me kiss you until you forget every asshole in that pawn shop."

I couldn’t speak. My whole body felt too hot and too cold at the same time.

"You choose," he whispered. "Whatever you need, I’m yours."

I closed my eyes, trying to get my breathing under control.

"Okay," I finally whispered. "I... I’ll shower."

"Good. Because if you didn’t, I was gonna pick you up and dump you in there anyway."

"You’re such an asshole," I mumbled, even though my heart was doing stupid flips.

He kissed my forehead. "Yup. Your asshole."

He gestured to the bathroom. "Take your time. I’ll be in the kitchen making you something to keep your strength up."

His grin turned dangerous. "Because you’re gonna need it later."

My face went up in flames.

"Go," he said, spanking my little ass. "Before I decide to join you after all."