Fear of Love

Chapter 26....

"How's the burger?" Landon asked from the other side of the couch.

"Sogooddd." I all but moaned around a bite of my burger.

True to Landon's word, after we got out of the hospital he drove us to Rick's and got me a giant hamburger and onion rings. I had to physically stop myself from eating it on the way back home.

Eating with one hand was difficult. The light blue cast I was now sporting went all the way to my second knuckles, around my thumb, and up my forearm. It made moving my fingers minimal which obviously was the point.

It had taken another hour at the hospital to get the cast and to go over what I needed to do to keep it clean. If I was going to shower I have to put a plastic wrap on it. They recommended that I take it easy on my arm and not to over extend my fingers so the bones could heal. So all in all I was going to be one-handed for the next two months.

The TV was on, the sound soft, as we ate. Now that I was home in my comfy PJ's, fed, the guilt of making Landon stay with me all day was building. He's literally taken the entire day to be with me at the hospital when he could have easily dropped me off and gone about his business.

"Thank you for today." I said after I finished my hamburger. I glanced over in his direction. "You didn't have to spend your day at the hospital with me."

"I know but I wanted too." He said it so casually as he ate his fries. Like what he said didn't make tears prick my eyes. No one has ever done something like that for me.

"I didn't thank you for coming to get me last night." I kept my eyes on my food as I spoke. "We didn't mean for things to get so crazy. It was just suppose to be a fun bachelorette party." Landon deserved some answers after coming to get us late last night and taking care of me all day.

"I know you weren't exactly thrilled about last night." I said this part softly. Landon tried to hide how angry he was but even drunk I knew he was.

"I'm not mad at you." Landon said a moment later. His words making me look over at him. "I'm mad that you were put in a position where you had to defend yourself. I'm mad you hurt your hand on a piece of shit who doesn't know what the word no means." Each word out of his mouth had a bite to it. When he looked over at me I almost fell back against the couch with the intensity of his stare.

"I'm mad that I wasn't there to protect you." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees as his gaze pierced right through me.

"I..."

"I'm not a fan of someone touching what's mine." He said it so matter of factly.

"Yours." It came out more as a question. My heart pounding in my chest at the mention of me being his.

The feeling that filled my chest at his words scared but also thrilled me. I didn't think I was capable of feeling something like this again. For a second I thought about denying it. It's been a long stressful day and could easily write it off. But I didn't want to. Didn't want to deny this feeling growing inside of me.

As much as I wanted to tell Landon I liked him, that I wanted this to be more than just friends with benefits I couldn't get the words past my lips. I wanted to tell him but not yet. I'll tell him soon.

Until then I can give him something else.

"There is something else I wanted to talk about." I said a moment later, changing the subject. Abandoning the rest of my onion rings I sat back on my couch, drawing my legs up and putting the pillow holding my hand on my lap.

As if sensing the subject was going to be serious Landon moved closer on the couch, giving me his full attention.

"I didn't exactly drop the bomb about growing up in the foster care in the best way." I winced as I remembered how I babbled on the ride home, drunk as hell and unable to stop my mouth.