"What if I think you're lying?"

"Go to your bedroom and look out the window. His vehicle is gone. It's just me."

Grady waited. A few minutes later, he heard the security chain sliding on the other side of the door. After another moment, Mandy's face appeared in the gap. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Good. I'm not here to babysit."

"Why are you here then?"

"I'm here to change your bandage."

Mandy pursed her lips. "I can change it."

"That's not what James said," Grady said. "Just let me come in and handle it, and then I'll be on my way. It's not a big deal."

"Fine."

Grady followed Mandy into the apartment, watching as she engaged the deadbolt and then secured the chain again for added a.s.surance. She really didn't want to talk to James.

Grady took the opportunity to look Mandy over. He'd never seen her look worse and he'd been a witness to the Clearasil nights with Ally back in the day. "You look rough, kid."

"I'm fine."

"You've been crying."

"I have a cold."

"Okay," Grady said. "I can pick you up some medicine if you need it."

"I don't need medicine," Mandy said, scowling. "I've had my fill of freaking medicine."

"I bet."

Mandy shifted, placing her hands on her hips as she faced off with the middle Hardy brother. "How does Sophie put up with you?"

"She's an angel."

Mandy's locked frame softened. "She is an angel."

"Are you going to let me look at your back?"

"I don't have a lot of choice," Mandy said. "It's really itchy."

"That means it's healing," Grady said. "I know it's uncomfortable, but in another couple of days you're going to be so much better."

"I hope so."

"I know so. How about we go into the dining room? I can sit on the floor and you can sit on one of the chairs."

"Okay. I'm warning you now that it's gross, though."

"I've seen gross."

"It's really gross," Mandy said. "It drove your brother away."

Grady sighed. "You are so much work. You drive me crazy."

Mandy rolled her eyes. "The medicine is on the dining room table."

"Great. I can't wait."

Mandy settled on the chair at the end of the table, shifting her body so Grady could have easy access to the wound. Grady knelt on the floor, taking the proffered salve and Q-tips from her. "I need to clean it first."

"There are medicated wipes in that package."

"Yep. Got it. Let's get this started."

Grady lifted the back of Mandy's T-shirt, finding the white gauze in the center of her back. "Hold still."

"I've been through this before," Mandy said.

"I haven't," Grady replied. "I don't want to hurt you."

"It doesn't really hurt now," Mandy said. "It's an itchy nightmare."

"Well, that's better than pain."

"I guess."

Grady carefully removed the gauze, sucking in a breath when he got his first glimpse of the wound. "Holy s.h.i.t!"

"It's gross, I know."

"I didn't realize it was so ... big."

"That sounds like a line from a p.o.r.no," Mandy chided.

"I can't talk about p.o.r.nography with my girlfriend's best friend," Grady said. "That's not allowed."

Mandy laughed, the sound relaxing Grady. Part of her the real her was still in there. This angry beast was just a facade. She was hurt and lashing out. He understood the reaction.

"I'm going to clean it now," Grady said. "Try to hold still."

Mandy rested her head against the metal back of the chair. She didn't flinch as he wiped the area clean.

"Did that hurt?"

"No," Mandy said. "I told you, it doesn't really hurt anymore."

"What does hurt, kid?"

"What?"

"What's got you so upset?"

"Your brother hates me," Mandy blurted out.

"No, he doesn't. He loves you."

"He thinks I'm a burden."

"No, he doesn't," Grady said. "He wants to take care of you. What else have you got?"

"He won't touch me."

"You're hurt," Grady said. "He doesn't want to add to that."

"I miss him."

"Then why didn't you let him in last night?"

"I can't be his guilt girlfriend."

Grady sighed, dipping one of the Q-tips into the cooling salve. "You know, the night you were hurt, he was a madman. He was going to beat every doctor in that place until they took him to you. He was a total mess."

Mandy was silent.

"The doctor told us that they were worried because you hadn't woken up yet," Grady continued. "They needed someone to talk to you. It's no surprise they chose the man raving like a maniac because he loves you so much."

Mandy didn't respond.

"He's not sleeping," Grady said. "You know that, right? Did he tell you why he's not sleeping?"

Mandy's voice was small. "No. Did he tell you?"

"He's having nightmares," Grady said, dabbing the wound with the Q-tip. "He didn't say what they are about, but I know."

"So, what are they?"

"He sees the explosion over and over in his head. He sees you flying through the air. You know, Sophie said he couldn't stand right after so he crawled to you. I wasn't there, but I've seen him crawl to you one other time."

"After the fire," Mandy supplied.

"He was lost that night, too," Grady said. "My brother can't lose you. You're his life."

"He won't touch me."

"He will," Grady said. "You have to give him time. You were the one hurt in the explosion, but he was the one that saw you get hurt. In a way, his trauma is greater than yours."

"How do you figure?"

"If you had died, what do you think would have happened?" Grady asked.

"I have no idea."

"He would have died, too."

"James would never kill himself."

"Maybe not," Grady conceded. "There are different ways to die, though. He wouldn't have been able to move on from that. He never would have moved on from loving you. There's no one else for him. You're it, kid."

"I think I've been deluding myself," Mandy said. "I wanted him to love me so much that I convinced myself that he really did love me."

"He does love you. How does that feel?"

"Numb."

"That's how it's supposed to feel, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I need to put a new bandage on it."

"What if he only thinks he loves me?" Mandy asked, her uncertainty sounding pitiful to Grady's ears.

"What do you mean?"

"What if he just doesn't want to hurt me?"

"Mandy, James wouldn't hurt you for anything in this world. That's not a lie. It's a fact. He still loves you. Not wanting to hurt someone and love are not mutually exclusive."

"I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"I thought ... I thought we were good," Mandy said. "I thought we were going to find happily ever after."

Grady taped the final side of the gauze and then got to his feet. "I'm going to tape some saran wrap over this so you can take a shower and not mess it up."

When he returned from the kitchen a few moments later, Mandy hadn't moved.

"Mandy, you and James have already found happily ever after," Grady said, kneeling again. "You just don't realize it yet. Life throws you curveb.a.l.l.s. You guys have had a swing and a miss. You're still in the middle of your happily ever after. I think you guys just need some sleep to figure that out."

Grady stood again.

"Go and take your shower," he said. "I'll be watching television while you're in there."

"You don't have to stay," Mandy said, biting the inside of her cheek.