Текст книги "Wanted"

Автор книги: Kelly Elliott

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CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Ellie……

It had been four days since the party and I had not seen Gunner yet. I talked to him on the phone everyday at least twice a day. He called me first thing every morning because he wanted to be the first person I heard each day. Then every night he would call to tell me goodnight. By the third day I was so excited waiting for his calls.

It was Wednesday and Ari and I were going to go looking at apartments. I was stressing out about it as I was going to have to work to help pay my share and I was taking a pretty heavy load the first semester. Just then I heard my phone on the side of the table and I reached over to answer it.

“Good morning Gunner!” I said with as much of a purr to my voice as I could.

“Good morning to you sweetheart, how did you sleep?” Gunner asked with a laugh.

“I slept okay. I have a lot on my mind so I tossed and turned a lot. How about you? How did you sleep?”

“Like shit….your smell is gone from my bed so I can’t sleep in it anymore. I’m going to need you to come to my house right away, get naked and roll around in my bed…..while I watch of course!”

I let out a laugh. He always knew how to make me laugh! I loved to hear his voice over the phone. It made my whole body just tingle. Shit if he only knew how much I would love to do just that but…….I can’t go there. We have to stay friends.

“The only way I would do that is if you had those blueberry muffins ready and waiting for me.” I said with a giggle. I shouldn’t be flirting with him like this but damn….it was so much fun! Ryan never flirted with me like this.

“Fuck Ellie….don’t tempt me or I’ll be baking all damn day! What are you doing today? I want to see you.” Gunner said so soft and sweet.

“ARGH….Ari and I are going to look at apartments so she made me block out my whole day for that. I’m not sure how this is going to work out though. I am a bit nervous about it.”

“Don’t worry sweetheart, it will all work out. Do you think we could go out for dinner tonight? Not on a date….just as friends?” Gunner asked as I heard a bunch of people yelling in the background.

“Um, yes I would love that! Where are you? It sounds like there is a party going on there.” I asked as I heard a knock on my door. Ari opened it and I waved for her to come in and sit down on the bed.

“Yeah….I’m at the gym.” Gunner said as he sounded a bit distracted.

“My goodness, what time do you get up to go to the gym Gunner? It is only 7:30 in the morning!” I said as Ari started to giggle next to me.

“Jeff and I try to get in a run and a workout first thing each day. That way if I have the time I can sneak in another one later on. Makes it easier for me to just get it done within the morning and…….”

Gunner’s voice trailed off. Then I heard Gunner start cursing.

“Oh fuck no….I knew this was going to fucking happen.” Gunner shouted.

“Gunner? Gunner! What’s wrong? Gunner!” I shouted back into the phone.

“Um, Ellie sweetheart…..I need to let you go for a second. Jeff has been sparing all week since the party and he just got knocked out. Let me call you right back okay sweetheart?” Gunner said in what sounded like a bad attempt to keep my calm.

“WHAT! OH MY GOD…is he okay? Gunner please call me right back as soon as you can. I’m getting dressed now!” I shouted into the phone.

“Ellie…listen to me….calm down okay. Give me five minutes and I’ll call you back.”

I started to cry, oh my god what the hell was Jefferson doing fighting? I managed to let out an okay before Gunner hung up.

“Jesus Ellie what the hell is wrong?” Ari asked as I flew up out of bed and started to throw on a pair of jean shorts and a UT t-shirt.

“It’s Jefferson! He’s hurt or knocked out or something! I don’t know!” I started to say in between my sobs.

“Jeff is hurt? Oh my god how???? Wait….let me go get dressed!” Ari flew out of my room while I went and brushed my teeth and threw my hair up in a pony. Please Gunner call me back…..please………my heart was beating so fast I could hardly stand it.

I was putting my sneakers on when Ari busted through the door again. She was already dressed.

“What’s going on Ells?” Ari said with tears in her eyes.

“I’m not sure…..I mean I was talking to Gunner and he mentioned that he was at the gym. Jefferson must have been there with him….I heard all this yelling in the background, Gunner seemed to be distracted when he was talking to me……. and then Gunner just started swearing and said something like he knew this was going to happen. Um…something about Jefferson had been sparing ever since the morning after the party and he just got knocked out! Oh my god Ari…if anything happens to him…..” I broke down and cried hysterically.

Ari took me in her arms. I saw her wiping away tears from her face as she rocked me back and forth.

“It’s okay sweets…..don’t worry. Gunner would never let anything bad happen to Jeff and besides Jeff is huge! Even if he was boxing with someone he would for sure kick their ass! I’m sure it is going to be fine…..shhh…don’t worry Ells…..” I think Ari was trying to calm herself down more than she was me. I could tell she was just as worried as I was.

My cell phone rang.

“Gunner, please tell me he is okay!” I practically screamed into the phone.

“Ellie sweetheart, he is awake now but he is really confused. He has a big gash in his forehead and he is going to need stitches. I’m taking him to the ER right now.” Gunner said in such a calm voice.

“What do you mean he’s confused? Which hospital are you taking him to?” I saw Ari’s face when I mentioned hospital.

“Seton main, but please be careful driving here Ellie okay sweetheart. Why don’t you make sure Ari drives okay? I have to go so I can drive.”

“OKAY! Please get him there fast Gunner and please be careful driving. I will get there as soon as I can.” I jumped up and grabbed my purse. Ari was still sitting on the bed…..

“ARI! We need to get to the hospital now!” I shouted at her.

She jumped up and ran down the stairs. We both ran right into Ari’s dad.

“Hey….whoa what is going on girls? Why are you in such a rush and why the hell are both of you crying?” Mark asked.

“Jefferson! He’s been hurt and Gunner is taking him to Seton we need to get there!” I could not believe I managed to get it out my voice was shaking so bad. Ari just stood there…not saying a word.

Mark pulled out his cell phone. “Okay….well there is no way either one of you is going to drive this upset. Let me get Brian to pull the car up and he’ll take you both.”

Next thing I knew, we were heading to the hospital and Ari was just sitting in the back seat with me staring out the window. I managed to stop crying when I got a text message from Gunner saying that they were at the hospital and they had taken Jefferson back.

My heart was beating so fast. I had not talked to Jefferson since Sunday morning and I never even said goodbye to him when I left. The last thing we did was yell at each other. Oh my god…please….please dear God I will do anything……Please just let him be okay.

We pulled up at the ER and I jumped out of the car. I turned around and Ari was just sitting in the back seat still. “Ari? Are you coming honey? Did you change your mind about coming with me?” I asked as she turned to look at me. The tears where just pouring down her face…..she shook her head no and started to slide out of the car. I thanked Brian and told him we had a ride home.

I rushed into the ER and the first thing I saw was Gunner sitting in a chair. He stood up as soon as he saw us walk in. I flew into his arms so hard he lost his balance for a second. I lost it and started to cry again.

“Shhh…Ellie sweetheart it’s going to be okay. Don’t cry baby……please don’t cry.” Gunner said has he stroked my hair with his hand. I grabbed onto his shirt and almost let out a yell, my hand was still hurting.

“What’s going on? How is he?” I said between sobs.

“Honey they won’t tell me anything because I’m not family so I don’t know what’s going on. Let’s head over to the nurse and let her know you are here okay?” Gunner said has he wiped the tears off my face.

I looked at Ari and she was sitting down. She had stopped crying and had wiped her face clear of any evidence that she was ever crying. You could tell she had been crying though because her eyes were red. I smiled at her and she smiled a weak smile back at me.

“I will just sit here and wait if that’s okay?” Ari said so quietly I almost had to strain to hear her.

I saw her take her iPod out of her purse and put her head phones in. I heard Colbie Caillat’s “Realize” start up and my heart broke…….shit……Ari must be feeling even worse than me. How did I not even think about how this was affecting her?

Gunner took my left hand into his hand and guided me over to the nurses’ station. I looked back at Ari one more time and she just looked so scared and lost.

The nurse told us that Jefferson had a mild concussion and that he was confused about what had happened. He didn’t seem to have any memory loss that they could tell but because he was a football player the doctor wanted to do a CT scan. He also had a pretty big cut above his eye that they were putting stitches in.

I asked if they needed me to fill out any paper work but she told me Gunner had filled out most of the paper work and I just needed to sign a few papers. I looked up at Gunner who just gave me that crooked smile and my heart melted again…..how will I ever survive without him in my life now?

“When can we go back and see him?” I asked the nurse.

“Once he comes back from getting the CT scan I will take you back there. If the scan comes back normal we will start the process of discharging him.” The nurse said with such a sweet smile. Of course I did notice how she kept eyeing up Gunner. I guess that is to be expected with how damn good looking he is.

I thanked the nurse and walked over to where Ari was still sitting. She had her eyes closed and her music was blaring out from her iPod. She was going to end up with a massive headache if she kept listening to the music that loud. I sat down next to her and touched her arm. She jumped and opened her eyes. As soon as she saw me she pulled the ear buds out.

“Well? Is he okay…..will he be alright? Do we know what even happened to him? What did they say?” Ari and her nervous jabber.

“Um….well….he is okay. He has a mild concussion and he is a little confused but they don’t think he suffered any memory loss. He has a really bad cut that they are putting stitches in. They did take him to do a CT scan just because he’s a football player and the doctor just wants to make sure everything is okay before they discharge him.” I saw Ari’s whole body relax just a little and she let out a small sigh.

“So he can go home today?” She asked as she looked up at Gunner and then back down to me.

“Yes, if the scan comes back normal but I’m sure it will. I have seen him take a lot harder shots in the head then what he took today.” Gunner said with a small smile.

“What happened? What is he doing fighting?!” Ari asked Gunner as he took a seat on the other side of us.

“Yeah, what is this all about…has he been sparing every day? I didn’t think Jefferson had boxing as part of his workout routine.” I said as I reached for Ari’s hand.

I pretty much already knew the answer before I asked it. I remembered Jefferson sparing in high school to let out steam. It was always after our mother had gone on one of her drunken escapades. Jefferson took a bad hit once and walked around high school with a black eye the whole week. I asked him to stop doing it and he did. That is until Sunday morning.

“Um…..well…..I guess this is just his way of letting off a little steam. He was pretty upset with himself the day after the party. He stayed in his room almost the whole day until he told me he was going back to the gym to do a little sparing. He’s been doing it at least twice a day. I tried to tell him he was going to get hurt but he told me he needed to do it.” Gunner had been looking everywhere but at Ari and me. Ari squeezed my hand and looked at me.

“Just like when he was in high school.” She said as a tear rolled down her face.

“What do you mean just like in high school?” Gunner asked.

“When my mother use to go on a week, or sometimes more, drunken binge Jefferson would head down to the Y and starting sparing with a few of the guys that were training for fights. He got hit so hard once time that he got knocked out and it caused him to get a black eye. I made him promise me he wouldn’t fight anymore to let off steam. That’s when he took to running.” Just then the nurse walked up to us.

“Miss Johnson? Your brother is back from his scan and he’s asking for you. He can have two visitors at a time.” The nurse smiled a small smile at me and turned to Gunner and gave him a wink before she walked off.

I just rolled my eyes. Gunner didn’t even flinch or give her a smile back; he just kept looking over at me and Ari.

“Do you both want to head on back?” I’ll wait here.”

Ari shook her head no. “No, that’s okay. I’m fine waiting out here for right now. I think the two of you should go on back first.”

I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the head. “Be back in a few minutes sweets.” Ari gave me a weak smile as Gunner and I turned and walked towards the nurse’s desk.

When I walked behind the curtain and got a look at Jefferson my heart jumped in my throat. Oh.My.God. He looked terrible! I let out a gasp and threw my hands up to my mouth.

He opened his eyes and looked at me and then at Gunner. He looked behind us like he was looking for someone else…….he was looking for Ari………

“Hey there little sis, what brings you here today?” He said with a chuckle.

“Dammit Jefferson this is NOT funny! You scared the shit out of us! You promised me you would never do this ever again. Why? Why did you do this?” I asked him trying to bite back the anger I was feeling.

“What do you mean us?” Jefferson asked me.

“What?” Oh God….he is confused.

“You said us….you scared the shit out of us…..who is us?” Jefferson asked me as he kept looking over my shoulder.

“She’s in the waiting room. They only let two come back at the same time so Ari had Gunner and I come back first.” I said, knowing now what he was asking.

“Jeff, do you remember what happened? Do you know why you’re here?” Gunner asked.

“Yeah….I remember why Gun. I remember everything…..I wish I didn’t. I wish I could just forget it all.” Jefferson said with such a lost look in his eyes.

“So all of this Jefferson, all this fighting the last few days was because of what happened Saturday night?” I asked as I took his hand in mine. He closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them a tear rolled down his face and he squeezed my hand. His tear soaked eyes captured mine.

“I’m so sorry I disappointed you. I will never forgive myself for hurting you. You’re all I have Ells…..I promise I will never disappoint you again. Please tell me you forgive me for being such a prick. Please Ellie…..”

My heart started to pound. Oh my God Jefferson.

“Of course I forgive you Jefferson. I love you more than anything you know that. Jefferson you can’t keep doing this…you have to stop. Having someone beat up on you like a punching bag is not going to make it go away, you have to talk to Ari. You have to tell her how sorry you are.” I said as I looked up at Gunner who was watching me intensely.

“FUCK! I have been trying to tell her I’m sorry. She won’t fucking answer her phone when I call. I’ve been texting her to please call me and she just ignores me!” The heart monitors they had Jeff connected to started to beep faster and faster…..

“Jeff, dude just calm down…..let me go out and get Ari….she’s right outside Jeff. Let me go get her.” Gunner said as a nurse walked in.

“Mr. Johnson is everything okay in here?” the nurse asked as she looked between Gunner and me.

“Jefferson, please just take a few deep breaths okay? It’s alright Gunner is going to get Ari right now. Everything is fine….he um, just started to get a little upset. When can we take him home?” I asked as the nurse starting taking all of Jefferson’s vital signs.

“As soon as the doctor says he can leave we can start on the paper work. Until then…..please try to keep him calm.” Nurse meanie said as she walked back out the door.

“She’s pleasant, she been your nurse the whole time?”

Jefferson laughed. “Yeah, but she has been pretty cool. I’m sorry Ellie I scared you. I love you sis….more than life itself. I wanted to take you shopping last Monday for your graduation gift. Maybe we could do it tomorrow? What do you say?”

“Ohhhh….what type of store do we need to go to for this gift?!” I said as I hopped up and down. Jefferson was the BEST gift giver! I couldn’t wait to see what he was going to get me.

“A car dealership…….that type of store.” He said with a smile.

“Wait…..what? A car dealership…..shut the hell up Jefferson! You’re buying me a car????! OH MY GOD! How can you afford to buy me a car?” I practically screamed out.

“Gesh Ells, try to keep it down. There are sick people here and my head is fucking killing me right now. Don’t worry about how I can afford it. I work and I must say I am a pretty damn good investor when it comes to money. Think about what kind of car you want honey and we will go shopping tomorrow.”

I started to jump up and down I was so excited! The smile on Jefferson’s face melted my heart. Just then my phone beeped alerting me to a text message. I grabbed it out of my back pocket. It was from Gunner.

Ari left.....she left a message with the nurse that she was heading back home .

Fuck a duck! Why did she leave? I looked up at Jefferson. His smiled faded when he saw my face.

“She left didn’t she Ellie?” he said with such a sad look in his eyes.

“Yes, I’m afraid she did. I’m so sorry Jefferson.” I said as I took his hand again in mine.

“S’okay….I didn’t even really expect her to be here after what I did to her so…it’s no big deal. Um, can you go see about getting me out of here? I’m really ready to get home.”

I nodded my head and headed out the door. When I walked out to the nurses’ station Gunner was already talking about Jefferson being able to leave. They told him they were getting the paper work together and it shouldn’t be much longer.

“Hey….everything okay with Jeff, does he know Ari left?” Gunner asked as he held open his arms for me.

I melted into his body. Only he could take away the hurt I was feeling. Hurt for Ari, for Jefferson…..shit….my own damn hurt. It all just melted away in his arms.

“Yes he knows she left. And no….he doesn’t seem okay. He’s hurting so bad Gunner. What do I do?”

“I don’t know sweetheart…..I really don’t know.” Gunner said has he held me tighter in his arms.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Gunner…….

I woke up Thursday morning with a sick feeling in my stomach, like I was worried about something. What the hell was that all about? Yesterday turned out to be a fucked up day. With Jeff spending most of the day in the ER, then bringing him home and getting him settled before I brought Ellie back to Ari’s house. Ellie sent me a text saying that Ari had not been home when she got there and was still not home when Ellie went to bed and she was really worried about her. The fact that Ari left the hospital without seeing Jeff made Ellie upset.

What a fucked up mess. I sure as shit hoped Jeff and Ari could work out this cluster fuck cause it was taking a toll on Ellie.

My sweet Ellie….god every time I thought about her I smiled and had to adjust my damn dick. This whole friend thing was turning out be harder than I thought it would be. She was worth the wait though. She would always be worth the wait.

After I got back from a run and a quick workout I walked in the front door and saw Jeff sitting on the sofa. He sure looked a lot better after a good night’s sleep. He was on the phone with someone.

“Sounds great Brad, I’m in the mood for a night out. Yeah, Gunner just walked in so I will let him know. See ya tonight dude.” Jeff put his cell phone down on the table. He looked up at me and smiled.

“You want to go to Rebels tonight?” Jeff asked while wagging his eyebrows up and down.

I just laughed. “Shit dude don’t you think you should take it easy? Are you sure you’re ready to go out on the town tonight?”

“Shit yeah! I guess our friend Brad hooked up with Ellie’s friend Amanda. They are heading down there tonight. Want to call Ellie and see if she wants to go?”

“Brad and Amanda huh, Ellie should find that amusing.” I said with a laugh while Jeff looked at me confused.

“Whatever dude, I’m going and thinking of calling up a few of the other guys so are you up for it?” Jeff asked as he got up and headed into the kitchen.

“Yeah, sure but um, if I call Ellie you know she is going to invite Ari. Are you okay with seeing her right now?”

Jeff turned and gave me a weak smile. “Sure yeah whatever…….I’m fine with her going along. She sure as shit likes to dance so she’ll love it there. I’ve tried to call her, even this morning and she doesn’t want to talk. She pretty much made it clear how she feels so I think I’m done with that whole thing. I’m fine dude really.”

“Dude, you sure you want to just walk away from this? I know you care for her Jeff. I’ve seen how you look at her and I saw how upset you were when she was dancing with Josh. Man, why don’t you just ask her out to dinner….see where it goes. What’s the big deal?” I said as I grabbed a water out of the fridge.

Jeff took his hands and ran them through his hair and then down his face. Clear sign he was frustrated.

“Shit…..Gunner……man I have fought my feeling for this girl for as long as I can remember. We use to be really great friends….the three of us would do everything together. I use to love spending time with those two. Then it all changed. Ari started looking at me different; she started changing right before my damn eyes. She kept getting more and more beautiful. Then she went away with her parents the summer before they started high school. She came back not looking at all like my little squirt…she came back fucking hotter than hell. That damn smile of hers…..fuck I swear my dick comes to attention when she is within fifty feet of me. If we started to date and it ended badly….she would be gone out of my life forever. I would rather have her in my life as a friend then not have her at all.”

I just shook my head. “Jeff, you can’t be afraid of losing her friendship. Fuck dude…your sister has turned my damn world upside down. She keeps pushing me away but I’m NOT giving up on her. I don’t think you should give up on Ari. I really think you should think about taking this friendship a little further.”

“I can’t……I think we’re better this way. I’m not even sure we’re still friends to be honest. I just need to move on and I think she already has moved on.  Anyway dude, enough of Ari….what’s going on with my little sister and you. I haven’t seen her so damn happy in a long ass time. I appreciate you not pushing her Gun. She needs time to figure shit out.”

“I’m going to be honest with you Jeff. I know she is your sister and I appreciate you giving me your blessing but holy fuck. She has turned my world upside down and I think I’m going crazy with this whole she just wants to be friends shit.” I said as I pushed my hands through my hair only to have Jeff start laughing at me.

“What the fuck is so funny?”

Jeff got up shaking his head and punched me in the arm. “You! Damn Gunner….I’ve never in the three years that I’ve known you seen a girl get to you like this! The last thing I thought you were looking for was a relationship. Dude….you even said….you had three loves….Football, the ranch and football!”

“Yeah….tell me about it, just the thought of her going out with anyone else drives me insane. I think I would want to kill the fucker if I ever saw her out with another guy.”

Jeff’s smile faded a brief second but then it came back. “Well, just give her time. She went through a lot of shit with my mother and then the stunt Ryan pulled on her. She’ll come around Gunner. I see the way she looks at you. Trust me dude….she wants to be more than friends just as much as you do! Holy fuck…I need to get off this conversation…..that’s still my baby sister.”

I looked at Jeff and laughed…..”I sure hope you’re right. Until then I just plan on waiting for her, I’m not giving up. Speaking of your baby sister…….” I took out my cell phone to give her my normal morning wake up call.

Jeff just laughed and headed back to his room. “Hey, tell Ellie not to forget….car shopping today!” Jeff shouted from down the hall.

“Hello?”

“Good morning sweetheart! How did you sleep?” I asked once the lump in my throat was gone from hearing her voice.

“Good morning Gunner…..I slept okay. I heard Ari come in pretty late though. I think she was out on a date but I’m not sure who with. It breaks my heart Gunner. Why can’t they both stop being so damn stubborn?!”

I had to laugh at that….this was the pot calling the kettle black right here. “I’m not sure Ellie. I talked to Jeff this morning and he pretty much said he had no intention of ever dating Ari. Said he would rather have her has a friend than to not have her in his life at all.” By now I had walked out to the back yard. I didn’t need Jeff hearing me talking about him and Ari to Ellie.

“ARGH! They’re both so frustrating. They act like they can’t stand each other, how does he think that is a friendship? Oh shit…never mind. This is their problem not mine.” Ellie said after a long sigh.

“You’re right Ells……it’s their problem. It will all work out honey, don’t worry.  Jeff can’t ignore how he feels for Ari forever.”

“Yeah….but for how long will Ari wait for him to make up his damn mind……..” Ellie went silent.

I took a deep breath knowing she was thinking about us. She was wondering the same thing about me. How long will I wait for her to decide this whole friendship thing was just plain stupid?

I would wait forever for her…..

“Hey, Jeff wanted me to remind you that y’all are going car shopping today. You excited?” I said as a smile came across my face. I could just picture her jumping up and down right now.

“Oh my gosh! I’m super excited!!! Are you going to come with us? OH please say you’re coming! It will be so much fun!” God I could hear the excitement in her voice.

I started to laugh. “Only if you let me be the first person you kiss in your new car.”

“Oh….um…..” She started to giggle. “OKAY! It is a deal. You will be the first person I kiss in my new car!”

“On the lips……”

Ellie let out a louder laugh. “On the lips you bet.”

“With tongue….none of this chicken peck shit!”

“GUNNER! You’re terrible!” She was still laughing. “Okay….you will be the first person that I kiss on the lips with a little bit of tongue…you’re not getting anything else out of me.”

“I will take it and I’ll hold you to it. I will not forget, I have an incredible memory.” I said as I walked back into the house. Jeff was walking into living room with a towel wrapped around his waist. He must have just gotten out of the shower. He picked up his cell phone and made a strange face when he looked at the screen.

He looked up at me and mouthed the word ELLIE. I shook my head yes. “Tell her I’ll be there in forty five minutes to get her.” Jeff said as he started to listen to a voice mail.

“Hey sweetheart, Jeff just said he will pick you up in forty five minutes. If I’m going with y’all I need to hop in the shower and get ready. I will talk to you soon okay?”

“Sounds good Gunner and I’ll see ya soon.” Ellie said with such sweetness in her voice.

“Bye Ells….”

“Bye Gunner” she practically whispered it and my heart rate took off through the roof.  Damn….I was already getting excited just from knowing I was about to lay eyes on her beautiful face again.

Just then I heard Jeff shout “FUCK!” along with the sound of his cell phone hitting the wall.