Chapter 10

Rochelle was passed out in her own bed when I got home. Garrot told me why as soon as I got in our room to stow my stuff. Apparently...he'd been given three months or less for a life sentence.
I sat on the bed next to him and propped up one leg. He was in the middle, so we might've both fit if he could've been moved. I laid my head back against the headboard and sighed. His eyes drooped, kind of rolling back in his head, and that was when I realized he had something hooked up to his vein. Immediately, I shot up. He knew why and placed his hand on my chest to hold me back. "Granite, I am going to break anyway. This was a necessary evil."

That was definitely enough to make Rochelle go to bed. I could've flipped a table. "Are you nuts?! You're going to get yourself killed! I'm trying to bottle a remedy for you, okay?! Veronica's venom has this quality to it, we can harness it, we can make it work for you-!"

"Morphine works for me," he muttered. His voice was thick with exhaustion. I wanted to slap him awake, but I held myself back. Fists balled, breath coming out in hisses rather than exhales, I glared at him and grabbed his face. He was limp, blinking slowly to keep himself conscious. "This is going to kill you," I hissed. "The pain's going to be worse now, don't you get it? You cracked stone once, that's what got us into this mess. Now you're doing it again. Garrot, fuckin' A man, don't you think?"

His eyes were surprisingly alert as he muttered, "I'm so tired, Granite. I've been like this for how long? People have to help me to the bathroom, now I don't even get that. I'm on the fast road to a seriously undignified demise, the least I can have is a decent sleep."

"You have Rochelle," I nearly hissed, "You have people who love you, I left everything I had for you-"

"You left it for her," Garrot snapped, "Don't lie to me. You like me, but nowhere near as much as you love Rochelle. You don't care half a wit whether I live or die because you know it's going to happen. It's just a matter of time, and then you'll be up her skirt to pretend to kiss away her tears." He tried to get up. My fists were balled and I fully intended to hit him, but he looked like shit. He looked like he was struggling to stay alive right now. I was holding myself back even if he wasn't; he was right, I was doing it for Rochelle. Same reason I was trying not to kill him myself.
"You do not love her," Garrot snapped. "If you loved her, you would go. You would let her be here with me until she was ready to find you."

"She needs me here to take care of you. In case you didn't notice, you're not exactly a lightweight."

"I am in this bed where I will die! And I will not see her defiled! I love Rochelle with all that I am, I know her, I will die for her and I would do it again. Can you honestly, without doubt in your mind, say the same?"

I walked over and knelt by him. His arms were shaking and I knew he must've been in serious pain, but he managed to keep himself slightly elevated. "When we were fighting Pitch and them, she was the only thing I gave a damn about. They would've killed me. I would've been fine with that, because she would've had you. You think you know Roxy, well let me tell you somethin'...when you go, she's gonna find a way to blame herself again. Whether it was you or me, she wouldn't try to just live with the fact and move on. I'm not going to defile her, I can't even touch her without thinking about how much you touched her and how much she actually loved you. I can't hold her without thinking about how she wants to be with you. And either of us would've dealt with that, no matter how this worked out. There would always be the other man, and you know what? Yeah, you're gonna die, but you're not gonna be dead to me. You're not gonna be dead to her. I can't compete with the one she loved and lost, neither could you if it was me. We're both so fucked it's unbelievable, I don't even know how you don't know that."

His arms gave out. He fell back onto the bed and held his chest. Immediately, I went for the morphine bag. He grabbed my hand and shook his head. His eyes were fluttering spastically, like he was trying not to black out. I sat back down and held his hand. His breathing was rough, so I settled in like his big brother and muttered to him in the softest tone possible. "Just picture Roxy rubbing your forehead. Just focus on that. Start working the pain out from there."

"Shut up," Garrot breathed. I did. His fingers went slack and his rough breathing deepened. I set down his hand and got up to call a doctor; how we didn't have one living with us by now I had no idea. My energy sapped by the time I reached the stairs and I sat down on their edge. I ran my palms over my face, letting my head sink back against the wall. For a second, I dozed off, but then I got up and I slunk back into the bedroom. I took up residence on the edge of the bed, my head leaning back against the wall again, and I crossed my arms over my chest. As much of an ass as we could be to each other, he didn't deserve to be alone.

It literally felt like minutes before I started waking up again. I smiled slightly, sure the sensation I felt on my thigh was a dream, but my eyes opened slowly and I found Rochelle curled up to my hip, using me for a pillow. My head snapped up in shock only to be replaced with embarrassment. Oh. I fell asleep in her room.
She held my leg under her arm, her head propped up on it while she slept. I rubbed my eyes and let them fall to her. God, she was gorgeous. Her hair was tucked up in a sock bun- I remembered when she had the time and mental composure to do one without the sock- and strands of loose hair had fallen free and stuck to her skin. She had on a pink button up top with white cherry blossoms crawling up the chest. The top button had slipped free, so I found myself admiring her gorgeously freckled chest. Slowly, I pried her arms off my leg. She rolled onto her back, head rolling comfortably on her pillows. It was so easy to forget we had so much to do. I laid my head on her chest and felt it rising and falling, slow breath after slow breath. She didn't breathe with her belly and it tempted me all the more. My fingers slid up the soft cotton to rest there and feel the light undulating of the breathing muscle under her tough skin.

She curled up against me, tucking her head into my shoulder and looping her arms slowly around my neck. I rose a brow. She pressed against me, cuddling in and making me melt like chocolate in a kid's hands. All that soft stone pressed up against me made something that didn't usually match stone kind of...match. She giggled, her fingers trailing down my shirt to my belt buckle and slipping just above it. Her legs pressed there; I pressed my lips together. "Did you bring the remote to bed or are you happy to see me?" she murmured, her voice so thick with sleep I didn't think she was really awake. I took a deep breath and exhaled. It shook. Don't be creepy. Think of cows. Cows cows cows, cows eating grass. Nothing sexy about cows. Oh shit why isn't that working? Think of Clawdeen Wolf going on about fashion. Nope, nope nope that makes me think of Roxy. Shit. She rubbed on me, pressing her lips to my neck. Normally I had better self control, but it had been months since she last touched me like that. Tiny, soft, warm kisses all over my neck, her breath leaving warm patches on my skin. I grabbed between my legs and squeezed until it hurt. She's lucid dreaming, okay? That happens, Catrine talks about it all the time. Come on cats chase mice she's chasing you just THINK OF SOMETHING.

"Granite," she murmured. It wasn't exactly a murmur, it was half whimper half moan and I pushed her off and jumped out of bed. She woke up immediately, grabbing her blankets over herself. We were both incredibly red. I closed my eyes. Maybe if I pretended to be invisible, I really could fade into the wallpaper.

"What were you doing in my bed?" she asked. I heard the blankets fall and I knew there would be a nice view of her freckle-spattered skin. At least I wasn't holding my groin anymore, but I was pretty sure the evidence was still at attention. My face was hot. I didn't want to say a word, but she didn't say anything else. I opened an eye and found her looking away too.

"I fell asleep in the wrong room. I was tired." I admitted.

"What...exactly...?"

"You got close and...you know. We didn't exactly spoon but it wasn't foreplay either." She got even redder than I was. I went for the door. If it was even fully dawn, I didn't know, but she looked up and I stopped. I didn't even know why, there was just something about the tenderness in her eyes that made me do it. Rochelle had an extremely innocent face, but it was more than just her face. She was extremely innocent, a total soft-hearted romantic if one still existed. It wasn't fair for Garrot to sleep alone, I'd been totally neglecting Roxy sleeping alone. I went back. I slid into bed beside her and I pulled off my shirt. Her eyes widened. I laid down and motioned her to join me.

She sunk like a lead weight onto my chest. Her fingers splayed over my side, clutching gently to bring herself closer. I tucked her under my arms and she ran her fingers over my chest. It felt like heaven, even when she touched my tags. She peeked up at them, quirking her head slightly, "What are those, again?"

"My grandpa's from Korea. That's what my dad said. It was...keeping him fighting."

A small smile danced over her face. I liked seeing her smile again. Her head dropped to my shoulder and she ran her fingers over the indented letters. "You boys always love to fight for things."

I waited. She was so beautiful. Stone or not, she was soft. I dipped my head into her neck and kissed her. She giggled, "Granite..." I ran my hands over her. It was the first time in a very long time she seemed to surrender to it without fighting. Her fingers fell to the buttons of her shirt, but I tugged them away. They slid up into my hair, pressing me closer to her. I ran my mouth over her neck, dipping it over her chest and going back up the other side. The first rays of golden, autumn sunlight started trickling in, painting her bedroom in orange. I caught the back of her neck and crushed her mouth to mine. All of her, soft and sweet, became mine. Right now, right in this moment, I didn't have to compete with the other man. Her soft mouth under mine gave completely, lips parting to let my tongue inside. She squirmed and gasped as I rolled on top of her and pinned her under me, her little hips wriggling for freedom. I closed my eyes and I inhaled the scent of her skin. I could hear my pulse in my ears and very gently, she pushed me away. She was blushing. "I'm falling asleep with you kissing me and I feel really bad about that."

I laughed and shifted onto my side. My arms wound around her belly and I pressed her against me.
"For the record," I murmured into her hair, "I'm really, really glad we met. Even if this got kind of...hellish."

"For the record, I want to make this up to you. I will when I feel like I can, I promise," she replied.

My fingers trailed over the front of her shirt. They paused at her diaphragm again and I let them slide up over her chest to settle over the exposed skin. She went still in surprise, and I waited. I shifted my fingers until I found the spot and tucked my head against hers. The stone defended her heart, I knew that, but with a little effort I had managed to find the sweet spot where I could still feel it beating under my hand.

"For somebody incredibly tough, your heart's pretty easy to get to."

"Shut up," she teased, "No more jabbing at me. Let's talk about how you're not even fully stone."

I let it slide with a laugh. She was tired and so was I, and arguing all morning wouldn't get us anywhere. I waited to fall asleep until she had, though. Call it instinct, but...I didn't want to wake up in three hours and think it was a dream.