Wounded (In My Dreams) Read Free

want one?”
    He gave me the barest of smiles when he nodded this time. I wasn’t sure why, but at least it wasn’t a frown. I added one to the order for him and pulled up, paying before accepting the food and passing it to him. I figured since his hands were full, I’d put the straws in the drinks.
    That got a reaction. He grabbed one from the cup holder and started slurping it down through the straw.
    “I’m an idiot,” I groaned as I pulled around. “Of course you’re thirsty. Sorry. I’m a little out of my depth here. I’ve never befriended someone homeless.”
    “Thank you,” he croaked. I almost swerved the car he’d startled me so badly.
    I winced and glanced at him at the stoplight. “Jesus, that sounded like it hurt. So you can talk, it’s just it hurts to because you’re dehydrated?”
    He nodded as he sighed, almost as if glad we were on the same page. Another thing hit me. I was a total bitch.
    “Thank you for saving me,” I whispered, mortified I’d not said it sooner. “Thank you for saving my life. I have more to live and I’m grateful you gave me that.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    I shot him a smile but then the light turned green. We didn’t say anything the twenty minute ride back to my place which was amazing for me, since I normally couldn’t shut my trap when I was nervous. But he didn’t make me nervous, oddly enough. It was figuring out how to help him and worrying I was doing something wrong when we interacted that concerned me.
    Totally bizarre.
    “So I kind of live out in the middle of nowhere,” I warned him as I turned in the back way to my subdivision. “I mean, it’s not soy farm territory, but you saw the one farm over there and the sod farm on the other side. This is kinda the last civilization before middle of nowhere I guess. But it’s definitely rural, and the golf course runs through the subdivision. I wanted some quiet, maybe find some peace, so it seemed like a smart move. The internet sucks though. That’s the one main thing I hate. I mean, it really sucks.
    “And the company doesn’t care that it sucks. It’s the only option out here and they know it, so they’re really big assholes when it goes out and you call to complain. As if they’re doing you a favor by letting us have any internet.” I sighed as I turned onto my street. “And I’m rambling again. Sorry. Just really annoys.”
    I pulled into my driveway and put my car in park. We got out and he shook his drink when he saw the garbage cans.
    It was empty. Wow, he really had been thirsty.
    I lifted the lid, and he tossed it in, giving me a nod. Then I took the food from him and my drink, while he grabbed his bag. Okay, the polite thing to do would have been to offer him my Baja Blast as well… But I really wanted it. And I had tons of drinks inside. I kinda thought tea might be better for a crazy sore voice box or whatever it was called anyways.
    And I really wanted my Baja Blast.
    We went in through the garage, Jasper glancing around at everything. “It’s nice.”
    “Thanks. I live alone so there’s shit pretty much everywhere. I’ve not even finished unpacking yet and furnishing the whole house.”
    “You moved recently?”
    “Um, no, almost a year ago,” I chuckled, shaking my head as I locked up behind us. “Just a lot going on and a lot to do by myself. I’ve not been feeling well, run-down and exhausted for months. I gained a bunch of weight, and I’m having trouble getting motivated. It just all seems like so much to take on alone, that I end up taking a nap instead. I was at the doctor’s trying to figure out if it’s my thyroid or what when I stopped on the way home for gas.”
    “I’m glad you did.” I slowly turned to him with a raised eyebrow. His eyes went wide as he realized how that sounded. “Because we met. Not so you’d get hurt.”
    “Right, gotcha,” I accepted, laughing it off. I guess it was understandable from his perspective. If I hadn’t been there