ELEVEN

Raif and Wyn were dressed in normal clothes as they listened to Muriel tell the story of how she and Trevor broke up. Wyn was surprised that Trevor had not been cheating. Raif was surprised that Trevor had been so careless.

He’d hit her.

When Raif heard the story, he knew it was an accident. Trevor was an amateur boxer and he often punched the air. It was just that when Raif had been his roommate, Raif hadn’t been trying to cuddle with him, which was what Muriel had been doing. Trevor hit her so hard she had a forming bruise on one side of her face from where he hit her, and another angry bruise on the other side of her face from where her head bounced off the fridge.

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Now she was crying, claiming she had a concussion and asking if she could sleep on Wyn’s couch that night.

Raif was listening to her sobs and complaints when his eyes met Wyn’s. Without saying it, he knew exactly what she wanted. He got up and casually went over to Trevor’s to see what the damage was.

He stopped in the hallway, putting his hand on the fabric of his shirt over his heart. He had never had that moment before, where his connection with a woman was strong enough that she could tell him what to do with a glance. Maybe it wasn’t anything.

He kept walking.