We drop off Taylor and Sam at his house, and Sam tells Alex that he’s going to take Taylor home and come meet him for work. Taylor is still crying softly, but I’m too numb to do anything more than wave.
Alex pulls away from Sam’s house, and I say, “Um, you can just drop me off at my grandfather’s, I guess.”
“Nope,” Alex says, “I don’t want to leave you alone right now.”
“Alex, seriously, you don’t have to take care of me.”
“But what if I want to?” still focused on the road, he reaches one hand over to touch my face.
I whimper at the sweetness of the gesture, and tears start to fall down my face. “Don’t you have work?”
“Yeah,” he says. “But I can still make sure you’re somewhere safe first.”
I realize that he’s stopped in front of his house. “Alex, I can’t.”
He puts his arms around
