Tasting, Finding, Keeping: The Story of Never Read Online Free Page B

passed out), we're the only ones left in the building.
    “Are you alright?” he asks as he crunches over the glass towards me. I hold out my hand, hoping that he'll help me up, but instead, he reaches under my knees and puts an arm around my waist. With a grunt, Ty lifts me from the floor and pulls me against his chest. The beat of my heart sounds in my ears as I stare at the bit of blood on his face and wonder what the hell he's doing.
    “Thanks,” I say because I don't know what else there is to say. Ty smiles and looks around like he isn't sure where to put me. The counter isn't an option, not with the clerk's corpse lying so close to it, and I can tell he isn't going to just stand me up somewhere, not with glass embedded in my feet. You're not worth it. I swallow hard as I remember his words. If he really believed that though, why is he bothering to help me? Why not just stand me up and leave it at that?
    Ty turns towards the entrance and wades through the glass and out the front doors. Now there really are sirens in the distance and already, I can see the flash of blue and red lights. While he's glancing in that direction, I take a moment to pick at his shirt and check for injuries. When I don't find any, I give a sigh of relief. Whoever this man is, I owe him one, and I'd rather not see him hurt. Just when I think his strength is going to give out, he sets me down on the hood of a car and steps back, putting his hands on his hips.
    “Thanks,” I say again and he smiles, flashing me dimples.
    “No,” he says. “Thank you. If you hadn't attacked that guy, I wouldn't have been able to get the girl.” I shrug because I don't know what else to do with the praise.
    “If you hadn't stuck around, I'd have been dead. You could've left through the back door, you know.”
    “Never even crossed my mind,” he says, and I look at him, trying to decide if he's just full of himself or if he's being honest. I decide that it doesn't matter; either way, he stayed to help and that's what counts. Ty nibbles his lip ring and runs a hand through his hair while I struggle to find something to say back to him. I can't come up with anything and start to pull bits of glass from my skin. When Ty reaches out and takes my hand, I nearly fall off the hood. “Need some help?” he asks, and I stare at him like he's crazy. When his fingers reach down and start to pull shards out, his touch is gentle enough that I don't argue.
    What is going on? I wonder, but I don't have an answer for that. No answer at all.

4
    I let the EMTs take a look at my cuts, but refuse a trip to the hospital. Instead, I go down to the station, sitting quietly in the back of a cop car with Ty McCabe. They want us to make a statement which is fine with me. I want the fuckers to fry, but I know I'm hoping for too much. More than likely, they'll get twenty years tops, ten with good behavior. I try to make myself feel better by imagining how much it would hurt to get punched by a guy with big biceps and knuckles glittering with a dozen rings.
    When we get to the station, I see that Ty's friends are already there, sitting beside Lacey in the waiting area. She and I hug briefly and share a look that tells me how grateful she really is. She doesn't thank me which is fine because I didn't do it for her. I did it for me. I get so tired of seeing injustice and pain where there doesn't have to be any. It just bothers me.
    I give my statement while the cops try to placate me, offering a trip to the hospital or a ride home, and practically force me to eat some stale cookies from their break room. They aren't suspicious about anything which is nice because I don't feel like explaining my anger to anyone, especially not about Guy Two. It's just there, boiling hot and angry. Fortunately, this time, the cops do their job of playing the good guys and release us after a few hours.
    After we finish performing our civic duties, Lacey catches a ride home with her girlfriend who has the