Matters of Circumstance Read Online Free

was serious or just trying to get a rise out of her. “Do you really think I’m going to do something when you’re hyperventilating and covered in pus?”
    Another very good point. She was disgusting and hysterical—even someone desperate would pass on her. Besides, Neal really didn’t seem like he was desperate. He was far too comfortable in his own skin, and way too sincere in the emotions that he expressed. He probably had a girlfriend.
    And if she rejected his help now he may never offer it again, so even though it was embarrassing…
    Farrah decided to let her dignity rest in pieces and just did what he asked. It hurt to get the sweater back over her head, and her fresh shirt was already so stuck to her that Neal had to help pull it off, but he handled the situation with professional integrity. When he saw her back all that came out of his mouth was a slightly smug, “See? The same exact thing happened to me—now try to hold still, these paper towels are probably going to feel like ice.”
    They did. Farrah tensed and gritted her teeth, refusing to move for anything.
    Well, that was until he started poking at those stupid granulomas, and then she cried out and whirled around. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she snarled. “That hurt!”
    It was impressive that his eyes never left her face despite the fact that she was only wearing a bra. Not that her breasts were spectacular or anything, but weren’t boobs all the same to guys?
    She also had to respect the way he kept calm in the face of her fury. “Do you want me to help you or not? I’m trying to clean them out, and it’s going to hurt, but would you rather be leaking all over the place?”
    He said it the way a big brother might scold a bratty younger sibling, and it made her retract her metaphorical claws. Head bowed, Farrah turned around again. “Sorry. I guess it just surprised me.”
    “I guess so, too,” Neal said in a very different voice, one she couldn’t quite define. “Now I’m going to try again, so brace yourself. We’ll take a break when it gets to be too much, okay? Just tell me when.”
    She nodded and readied herself. “Okay.”
    The pain was… indescribable. It was white hot, brain-numbing, compounding, absolutely undeniable. ‘Stop it!’ all of her nerves were screaming. ‘Put an end to it right now!’
    And Farrah wanted to—oh, did she ever—but if she called for a break she knew she would never be able to voluntarily submit to this torture again. This way when it was over it would be final, and she had that to look forward to.
    “Okay, you’re done. It’s over,” Neal told her softly. “I don’t know how you managed to handle that in one fell swoop, but you did. You shouldn’t have to worry about getting pus over anything anymore—well, not much anyway.”
    Her brain registered this dialogue sluggishly, as if through a fog. Ever so slowly, she was becoming more aware of herself and her surroundings. Farrah didn’t know when she had started leaning against the sink, but her hands were braced on either side. Sweat was dripping down her face, she was breathing hard, her eyes were watery, and her whole body felt heavy and spent. She was flushed as if she had gotten sunburned, too, and she was beginning to feel the evening chill now, since she was only wearing her bra…
    God, this was so humiliating.
    “Thank you,” she mumbled, still staring at the sink. There was a hair coiled around the drain—was it hers? It was the right color, but she had her hair tied up…
    “No problem. Anything to help a kindred spirit, you know? It’s just a shame so many trees had to pay the price.”
    Was he talking about the paper towels? He was, wasn’t he? How weird.
    Neal bumped her bare arm with her hoodie. “Here, you should probably put these back on. They’re a little gross, but it’s better than nothing. I’m sure you’re tired of being half-naked by now.”
    Truth be told she had been in so much agony