Chapter 16
Lena sat still on the couch, the soft glow of the living room lamp casting gold across the room. The antiseptic stung slightly against her scraped skin, but it was Dean’s touch she noticed more—steady, careful. His fingers moved with a quiet gentleness, even when the gauze grazed the raw skin on her knee. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t look away. Every motion was deliberate, like he was afraid to cause her more pain than she already carried.
She tried not to look at him. Not while her mom was still in the room. But the moment Rose stepped into the kitchen to get her a glass of water, Lena’s eyes finally lifted.
“Thank you,” she said softly, her voice almost lost beneath the hum of the nearby ceiling fan. “For everything.”
Dean looked up, meeting her gaze with that same calm steadi
