Текст книги "Affliction"
Автор книги: River Savage
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Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 21 страниц)
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Sy
“Trust Jesse to know he has a surprise party waiting up here, then not show up,” Kadence exclaims over the loud and annoying music of Liquid. I still don’t know why we had to come here. Fuck Jesse’s family. If they don’t want to come to the clubhouse, then too fucking bad.
“He knows this is going on?” I ask, watching the stairs for Holly to make her entrance.
“Didn’t you know?” she laughs, leaning back and rubbing her small belly. She’s only just showing, but each week it slowly grows bigger. It makes it hard for Holly and me watching it. I know Holly doesn’t let it get her down, and I know I’m trying to get her pregnant again, but sometimes I see Holly looking at Kadence's belly and the look in her eyes just breaks me.
“Well, if he knows, what the hell is Holly doing with him?” I ask, annoyed he’s pulling this shit. Holly was dragged into organizing this party two weeks ago, and it's bullshit. I want her all to myself, but everyone keeps stealing her from me.
“It’s not his fault. His family said something to him, but we shouldn’t ruin the surprise because of it.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal. Fuck, Jesse’s family are a pain in the ass.
“She’s down there when she doesn’t have to be?” I ask, growing uneasy.
“Calm down, Sy. She’s with Jesse, which means she will text before they come up,” she says when she sees me watching the stairs.
“Knowing Jesse, he found a quick lay and pissed off on her.” I turn back to the table, trying not to worry. Since Chad and his father had the clubhouse searched and paid the girls a visit, we’ve all been laying low. I haven’t let Holly out of my sight. I know I’m probably overreacting, but between the asshole who took her and Chad who hurt her, I’m not taking any chances.
“Looks like your woman is fine down there.” Beau points down to the bottom dance floor where Holly and Jesse are dancing away, together. Are you fucking kidding me?
I try to control my anger at seeing her sexy-as-fuck body sway to the music while a bunch of men look on. She always was a tease, something that attracted me to her in the first place. And I know she’s only doing it to get a reaction, but every time I see it, it not only makes me see red, but feel it.
“HOLLY!” I shout over the music, but she doesn’t hear. “HOLLY!” I shout again, the anger in me growing each moment she looks at the motherfucker who should be up here, but is instead down there dancing with my woman. I give up the shouting. Even if she did hear me, the fucking minx probably wouldn’t stop.
“Sy, you can’t go down there.” Kadence tries to stop me but I don’t listen. Storming down the wooden staircase two stairs at a time, I whistle and finally get her attention. She falters for a moment, reading my anger and assessing what she’s going to do with it.
“Come here, now,” I mouth over the music. She doesn’t respond at first, her eyes moving up to the balcony of the VIP party, and then finding mine again. Yes, sweetheart. You’re meant to be up there with me. Slowly, a small smile plays on her lips, her grin growing the moment she sees just how pissed off I am.
“Now,” I mouth again, but this time my command doesn’t stop her. Lifting her hands she goes back to dancing next to a fucking clueless Jesse. Done with this game, I finish taking the stairs and push my way through the crowd.
She doesn’t see me; her back is to me as she continues to move her ass to the music, but I know she knows I’m there. Without skipping a beat, I take her hand and spin her around. I don’t watch for her reaction, just bend at the waist and pull her over my shoulder,
“Sy! What the hell are you doing?” she shrieks, hitting my back while I smack her tight ass. I keep my hand there making sure her dress doesn’t come up to flash any fucker her panties.
“Put me down, motherfucker,” she curses, trying to get out of my hold.
“Have I told you that your dirty mouth turns me on?” I taunt, ushering her through the crowd and ignoring all the looks.
“Sunshine, you’re going to ruin Jesse’s surprise.” She tries to wiggle out of my grasp, but I hold her tighter.
“He knows we’re up there, and if you don’t stop hitting me, I’m gonna slip my hand up this dress and slide my finger into your panties and every fucker in this club will see me finger fuck you. Do you want that?” I ask her. My cock wakes from its slumber at hearing my threat.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she seethes.
“Try me, baby,” I sneer, taking the steps two at a time.
“You’re embarrassing me, Sy,” she finally says when we get to the top of the stairs. Sliding her down my body, I bring her to a standing position and hold her in front of me.
“No, Holly. You’re embarrassing me,” I explain to her. “You want me to mark you to let every fucker in this club know you are mine?” I ask, feeling my temper rise.
“You know me, Sy. I like to dance. It doesn’t mean anything.” She tries to pass it off as nothing.
“I don’t give a fuck what you think is nothing. You fuckin' dance like that again, we are gonna have problems.”
“There is nothing wrong with my dancing,” she fights back, but I know she fucking knows that’s a lie.
“You want me to tell you what the fuck is wrong with your moves?” I ask, watching her.
“Oh, please. Enlighten me,” she starts throwing her attitude around. Taking her hand, I yank her to me, making her feel the hardness of my cock.
“Every fucker down there watching that little fucking show is hiding one of these,” I say, grabbing my cock for added effect. “The only time you dance like that is for me, in our bedroom, naked,” I threaten, waiting for her to mentally picture it.
“Whatever, Sy, you’re not the dancing police.” She pulls her hand back. Fuck me, she is a fucking pain in my ass.
“No, but I’m your fucking man and if I tell you to quit dancing or I'll spank you, you should listen.” She holds my gaze, anger dancing behind her beautiful blue eyes, but I can’t let her see me cave. I can’t let her know that I fucking love it when she argues, when she pushes me to the point of this reaction.
“Can I go back and get Jesse now?” she queries, ignoring my command, and I fucking love it.
“Not until you tell me you love me.” I pull her close to me.
“I don’t love you, you big bully,” she lies, but I can see the truth behind her lies.
“You want to try that answer again?” I pinch her tight ass, nudging her further into me.
“Fine. I love you, but hate your bossy, sexy ass.”
“You love my ass,” I tell her, knowing that for a fact.
“I do not love your ass. It’s too tight,” she says, turning and leaving me standing there with an annoyed cock.
“Not as tight as yours, baby,” I call back and watch as a mortified expression fills her features. “If you don’t be careful, your ass will be mine,” I call out, watching her race down the stairs to retrieve Jesse.
“You’re so pussy whipped,” Beau accuses behind me.
“Fuck off. I am not.” I sit down, trying to hide my semi-hard cock.
“I don’t know. I think he might be worse than Nix,” Brooks chimes in, sliding into the booth across from me. I don’t reply. Ignoring them is the best way to go in these situations.
“Everyone, he’s coming,” Kadence announces, standing from the chair and getting down low. I know this is meant to be a surprise party, but if the fucker already knows we’re all here then I’m not fucking hiding. “Sy, get down,” Kadence orders, but I don’t fucking listen. The asshole owes me an afternoon with my girl, and I plan to make him pay up.
After waiting another few minutes for him to make it upstairs, he finally makes his grand entrance, acting shocked when they all yell surprise. Fucker played it good, too. His family approach him first, so I hang back waiting for them to have their time together.
“You still pissy?” Holly asks, coming straight to me and sitting on my lap.
“I don’t know. You gonna suck my cock to apologize for making it angry?” I ask, hoping she says yes.
“You wish.” She wiggles her ass into my cock.
“Quit it,” I tell her, trying to control the urge to leave and fuck her senseless.
“You’re no fun,” she pouts, acting all fucking cute again.
“When we get home I’m gonna make you pay for that,” I warn. She doesn’t say anything, just slowly moves her ass against my hardness. I let her, relishing the feeling of it.
“I’m going to get a drink,” she says when Beau and Brooks start talking about some new bike. “Do you want anything?” She turns to face me.
“Bourbon, baby,” I order and then watch her walk her ass down the stairs.
“You know there’s a bar up here?” Brooks laughs, watching her descend down the stairs.
“She’s probably going to dance.” I shake my head, letting her be. Who am I to stop her from fucking dancing?
“Boys.” Jackson walks up, sliding into the seat across from me.
“Jackson.” I nod.
“You guys been staying out of trouble?” he asks, looking at us. If he's talking about any of the recoveries or pickups, we haven't had any since Mackenzie. The club decided that until we know for sure Chad has given up, then we keep our hands clean, let it all blow over.
“You heard any more from the Morres?” I ask, wanting to know if we’ve got the all clear.
“I haven’t personally. He stopped coming in riding my ass about finding Mackenzie. I've seen him around, heard some talk. Looks like someone had a go at him a few weeks back, messed him up.” He continues to watch me carefully.
“Really? Looks like Mr. Morre pissed off the wrong person then,” Beau says, not giving a fuck if anyone knows it was us who messed him up.
“Either way he seems to have backed off. Though last I heard he lost his job, and his father is losing his pull. Chad has gone off the rails. Seems like losing his wife pushed him over the edge,” he adds when Holly comes back with our drinks.
“Well, maybe he should have treated her right,” I say, letting Holly sit on my lap.
“Now that is something I agree with.” Jackson raises his glass. “Great party, Holly. Sorry about my parents.” He changes the Chad subject. Thank fuck, too. Just thinking about him gets me worked up.
“Thanks,” she smiles, looking over at Jesse and his dad in a heated conversation by the far wall.
“What’s that about?” I nod over at them. I know Jesse has a close family, but something isn’t right there.
“Long fucking story.” Jackson shakes his head at his father and younger brother. Jesse’s eyes narrow at something his father says before he replies and stalks off.
“Maybe I should go and intervene.” Holly goes to stand but I hold her in my lap.
“Leave it,” I warn, not wanting my woman going off to console anyone.
“No, I’ll go. They always get like this.” Jackson stands and follows Jesse to the bar.
“I wonder what their problem is.” Holly turns to look at me. “They refused to come to the party if it was at the clubhouse and now they’re on his back.”
“That’s why we’re not having it there?” I ask, finally understanding why this party is here.
“Yeah, they were adamant,” she shrugs.
“I think his dad has issues with Jesse’s way of life,” Brooks observes, putting two and two together.
“Well, don’t we all? I think the only one who doesn’t have an issue with Jesse's way of life is his cock,” Holly claims, silencing everyone for a moment before the boys erupt into laughter.
“Fuck, you’re funny, Holly,” Beau says, shaking his head.
“That was a good one, wasn’t it?” She smiles at the table, but it lights up the whole room. I fucking love her like this, happy and free.
“I love you,” I whisper so the boys don’t hear me, but I don’t give a fuck if they do anyway. They already give me shit like I used to give to Nix.
“I love you, too.” She leans in, kissing me softly.
“Get a room,” Beau groans from next to me. I ignore him, groaning into her mouth louder just to piss him off.
“Want to go dance?” Kadence comes up with Kelly, looking like they’re up to no good.
“Hell, yeah.” She stands, turning back to give me a wink. I give her my warning look but she just smirks, sashaying her ass down the stairs.
“You need to put a ring on that one,” Brooks chuckles, watching the girls walk down the stairs.
“I’m going to,” I admit, not checking for his or Beau’s reaction. Wouldn’t give a fuck what they thought anyway; this woman is it for me. The sooner she wears my ring, the better.
“Fucking hell, him too?” Beau grumbles, giving his opinion anyway.
“Fuck yeah,” Brooks laughs, no doubt loving he called it all those months ago.
“Well, I’m not wearing a fucking suit again,” Beau continues to grumble.
“Shut the fuck up, Beau. I’m not fucking whipped like Nix,” I tell him, knowing there is no way I’m fucking getting married wearing one either.
“Yeah, we’ll see, asshole,” he argues, not believing me.
“She has to say yes first,” Brooks jokes but I’m not worried. The woman is so far gone, she wouldn’t be able to say no to me. Even if she did, I wouldn’t accept it. She’s mine and that’s the end of it.
***
“She’s crazy and doesn’t stop. I’m telling you,” Kelly says, sitting in the booth next to Brooks. She came back after dancing with Holly for thirty minutes, leaving her when Holly said she wasn’t near ready to leave the dance floor. I’d go down and find her, but I know she’ll just get me worked up, and I’ll end up dragging her out of here before the cake is even served.
“You learn just to sit and watch,” Kadence says, sitting on Nix’s lap. I can't help the smile that forms on my face. Four months ago this Holly was lost; she walked into the Knights Rebels clubhouse, and I knew I had to help her. Now she’s back to her crazy-ass self, and I couldn’t be happier. Standing, I decide I need to find her and see this crazy woman of mine.
“Where is my wife?” I hear from a familiar voice over the lull of the crowd.
“Oh, fuck.” Nix stands quickly, moving Kadence behind him. I turn and follow his gaze and my stomach drops. Chad fucking Morre. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. “Answer me, you thugs,” he sneers, walking forward. His hair is disheveled, and the dirty clothes hanging off him look like they haven’t had a decent clean in the last week, but most importantly and terrifying, he has Holly in his grasp. The man is bordering on a mental breakdown and there he stands, holding my woman, his forearm against her throat. I’m going to fucking kill him.
“I know one of you assholes took her. I fucking know it. Just tell me where she is and no one gets hurt.” He snatches an empty beer bottle and smashes it down on the railing, breaking the end of it open, glass shards now covering the surrounding area. Holly screams as the jagged glass nears her throat. I step forward, but Beau and Brooks hold me back.
“Let me fucking go.” I try to pull out of their clutches while I search for Jackson. Where the fuck is that asshole?
“Just cool it. Think clearly here,” Brooks warns, nodding over to where Jesse’s closing in.
“You need to calm down,” Nix says, stepping forward, but the crazy fucker slashes out in front of him. “Kadence, get to the back of the room now,” he warns, keeping his wife out of harm’s way.
“I’m not fucking kidding,” Chad threatens, stepping forward and taking a swipe at Nix again. I step up, ready to bring him down, right before I see the tip of the glass pierce Holly’s perfect skin.
“Ahh!” she screams out, her hands going to the fucker’s forearm as blood weeps from the cut.
“Hey, fucker. You better put the glass down before I fucking take you down,” I growl, watching Holly’s expression move into panic mode. Catching Jesse’s attention, we both shift carefully, trying to get Holly out of his hold.
“Come at me, fucker,” Jesse says, taking one step closer and getting his attention off me.
“Stay back,” he warns again. But if he thinks for a second I’m gonna let him hold my woman with glass to her throat, he has another thing coming.
“Look at me, baby,” I call to Holly, trying to keep her here in the moment. Her eyes come to mine, and the panic behind them threatens to ruin me.
“If you fucking hurt her, I swear I’ll reach down your throat and rip your fucking heart out of your chest.”
“I don’t give a fuck what you think you’re going to do. You don’t know who the fuck I am. You don’t know who my father is. This fucking club could be shut down in the next hour. Now, tell me where the fuck my fucking wife is,” he barks, taking a step back as I move closer.
I see Jackson come up the stairs, slowly and unaware of what he’s about to walk into. Gaining his attention, I quietly signal for him to stop. I’m not sure how, but his eyes lock with mine and something passes between us—a knowledge that shit is about to go down, but we need to play it cool.
“Holly.” I search her face, watching fear dance over her features. “Look at me, Holly,” I instruct, the authority of my voice calling her back from the darkness. “Just keep looking at me, baby,” I say, watching Jesse inch in closer. I want more than anything to just go forward, but one slip by that crazed asshole could have him slicing that glass through her neck. And that’s something I will not let happen.
“Don’t listen to him.” Chad pulls her back, digging the glass further into her flesh. “You fucking took my wife. Tell me where she is,” he repeats, pulling her harder against him. But I don’t respond. I keep my gaze only on Holly. I know this is coming to an end, but I can’t control my rage at not being able to help when she is less than ten feet from me.
“Sy,” Holly says. I know she is slipping, but I can’t go to her yet.
“Hold on, baby,” I calm her, and then I see him falter. Next, I see Nix, Beau and Brooks come forward and right as Jesse walks up to him, I give Jackson the go ahead.
“Now,” I shout, instructing Jesse to lunge in from the side, the attack taking him unawares. Spinning around to lash out at Jesse, he loses his hold on Holly. It feels like it happens in slow motion; the broken bottle comes out swinging between Holly and Jesse—Jesse pushing her out of the way and taking a cut to the neck. Then the opposite happens, everything moves fast. The boys jump on Chad while I try to reach for Holly as she loses her footing on the top step. Her hand comes out, reaching for me, but I miss her by an inch as she collides with Jackson and she falls backward down the wooden stairs. Running down after her, I’m left helpless as I watch her fall, tumble and land in a heap at the bottom.
Crashing down to her side, my heart beats dangerously out of rhythm when I realize she’s out cold.
“Call an ambulance!” I shout to the people standing around as I feel for her pulse.
“Is she okay?” Beau collapses down next to me, checking her neck where blood seeps out.
“It’s okay, baby. You’re going to be fine,” I promise, not knowing if it’s a promise I can keep, but I make it nonetheless, praying to God he doesn’t play another shitty trick on me.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Holly
“I want to know why my fucking wife isn’t waking up?” I hear a familiar voice pull me from a dream; a dream of meadows and sunsets and a little girl with dark curly hair running off into the distance.
“Mr. Dean, you need to calm down. Throwing your weight around isn’t going to wake her up. Like I told you, her vitals are fine. She just needs some time to wake up,” a woman’s voice I’ve never heard before tries her best to calm Sy from his raging outburst.
“Sy?” I croak out, letting the small bits of light filter under my lids. Oh, God. My head hurts.
“Holly?” he turns, rushing forward to where I lie and takes my hand.
“Where am I?” I ask, confused for a second as I try to remember the last thing that happened.
“You’re in the hospital. You fell,” he clues me in while running his finger along my brow. I can tell he has been stressing by the scowl he’s wearing.
“I did?” I try to remember what happened.
“You don’t remember?”
“No.” I strain to think, trying hard to recall how I ended up here.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” he asks, searching my face.
“I don’t know?” I try to figure out why my brain won’t focus on the lost memories.
“What the hell is going on?” Sy turns back to the nurse, demanding an answer.
“I've already asked you to calm down. I will escort you out of the room if need be,” she
scolds him and moves next to the bed.
“I'm not going anywhere.” Sy stands, looking down at the small nurse.
“Can you tell me what happened?” she asks, picking up my wrist and finding my pulse point.
“She fell. I already told you this,” Sy answers for me. I don't know what's happened, but things feel tense in here.
“I’m not asking you, Mr. Dean. I’m asking your wife.”
“Wife?” I ask, starting to freak out. How much has happened that I don’t remember?
“Do you know what day it is?” She places my arm back down and fills out something on her clipboard.
“Saturday,” I answer, knowing today is Jesse's party.
“Okay, dear. The doctor will be in shortly. Everything looks fine. Sit tight,” she states, smiling gently before turning a hard stare in Sy’s direction.
“Thank God, you’re okay, baby. I was so fucking worried.” He leans toward me and kisses my forehead.
“We’re married?” I ask, freaking out that I don’t remember.
“No, baby. I just said that to get back here.” He looks down at me sheepishly.
“I’m confused. So we’re not married?”
“No, but by the sound of your disappointment, it makes me question if I should just ask you now, and not later when I can have you under me,” he says, shocking me for a moment.
“Sy, don’t joke around like that.” I ignore my rapidly beating heart.
“No one’s joking right now.” He leans down in my face again. “When I saw you fall, fuck, baby, I swear to God, I felt my heart stop in my chest. You’re not allowed to do that again,” he says, kissing me softly.
“Oh, my gosh, I remember that guy,” I explain as the memories wash over me. My hand goes to my neck, and I feel the small bandage covering my injury.
“Just a small cut, no stiches,” Sy grumbles, watching me process it all.
“What happened to the guy?” My first question comes out, needing to know if everyone is safe.
“He's been taken in. The fucker screwed up big time, and after that stunt, Jackson has something to pin on him.
“Jesse?” I ask, hoping he is okay. I remember just before I fell he had stepped in on the side as the mayor’s son pushed me.
“He's in the room down the hall. Just some stitches, nothing serious, but he hurt his foot in the fall. I didn't see it, too busy trying to catch you, but I heard it. Fucker screamed so loud.”
“Oh, God.” My hands go to my mouth.
“It's an old injury so he’ll be fine. I think they're just waiting to get a scan of it to rule out any damage.” I knew Jesse had an old injury which stopped him from going back to work as a firefighter, but I don’t know exactly what happened.
“Am I interrupting?” a female voice asks.
“What’s the verdict, Doc?” Sy asks, getting straight to the point.
“Now first thing’s first; I need to ask you, Holly, are you okay if Mr. Dean stays in the room while we chat?” she inquires.
“Of course,” I answer, wondering what is going on.
“Good. Okay, the CT scan came back negative for any internal bleeding, which is good, but you do have a nasty concussion and we'd like to keep you in for the night,” she goes on, explaining the process of a concussion.
“Whatever you need,” Sy answers for me. I have to hold in a laugh at his good boy act.
“Now, I’m not sure if the next bit of news will come as a shock, but your blood work came back positive for pregnancy,” she enlightens us, watching carefully for a response.
“What?” Sy and I say at the same time.
“We’d like to do an ultrasound to determine how far along gestation is and check on the baby of course, considering your fall down the stairs,” she offers, but my mind still can’t get around what she’s saying.
“Are you sure?” I ask, shock running through me. I knew it was always a possibility that I would fall pregnant again when we weren’t using protection, but hearing it still comes as a shock.
“We’d like to confirm with an ultrasound, but by the HCG levels, then yes, I’m sure.”
“Do you think the baby has been hurt from the fall?” Sy asks the question that I don’t want to think about.
“Oh, God.” I begin to freak out. What if something has happened? I can’t handle more loss. Not again.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We will get you in for a scan and then we can see what is going on in there,” she tries to reassure us, but my panic rises as I think back to the last hospital visit I had.
“Holly, it’s going to be fine.” Sy comes to me, taking my hand in his.
“I’m so sorry. I had no idea,” I rush out, hoping he doesn’t lose it. Not sure why he would, but my heart and my mind are somewhat unstable at this moment, making it hard to connect with reality.
“Nothing to be sorry about, baby.” He kisses me again.
“Okay, let's get this gown up so we can see what’s happening,” she says as the nurse wheels in a machine, ready to start.
“Now? Here?” Sy asks, watching them get the ultrasound machine going.
“Yes, it's very easy and simple these days,” she smiles, coming to stand next to us. “Now, Holly, when was your last menstrual cycle?”
“Umm…” I try to count in my head when the last time I had a period was but can’t think of one. “I’m not sure. I’ve been all over the place the last few months.” The doctor nods, picking up the wand and smearing gel all over it.
“Okay, let’s see if we can pick anything up this way first, and if not, we’ll do an internal.” She moves to my belly. Lifting up my hospital gown, she squirts the cold gel onto my stomach. This all seems so surreal that we are here right now. I know we’ve been having unprotected sex, so it shouldn’t come as a shock. I just didn’t think we would find out like this. She moves the small rounded wand around on my belly and starts flicking buttons on the machine, letting it light up with a picture. I struggle to see the dark screen, but then she presses a button and the room fills with the soft sound of a beating heart.
“That’s the baby’s—”
“Heartbeat,” I finish for her. She smiles down at me. “Looks like you’re about nine weeks along and everything looks fine,” she confirms, chasing my fear away.
“Are you sure?”
“We will monitor you for the next twenty-four hours, but everything looks good.” She grabs a tissue to wipe away the sticky gel.
“I’m going to be a mom,” I whisper, watching the screen and seeing the small image of our child. A healthy child. I look up at Sy, afraid this is going to ruin whatever it is we have, but instead of fear or rejection, I’m met with a look of pure joy.
“You’re going to be a daddy,” I announce through happy tears.
“Marry me?” he asks as a way of replying to the news.
“W-what?” I stammer, looking between Sy and the smiling doctor.
“You heard me. Marry me.” He looks down at me, his expression full of hope and excitement.
“Yes,” I rush out, not needing to give it a second thought. “Yes,” I cry as he kisses me.
“Yes?” he asks again, obviously unsure he heard me correctly.
“Yeah, Sunshine. I’ll marry you.” I kiss him fiercely this time, knowing I wouldn’t want it any other way.
“I love you, baby,” he whispers softly.
“I love you, too,” I reply, resting my hand over my belly.
“I promise you, Holly, I’m going to be the best dad there is,” he assures me, covering my hand with his.
“I know you will, Sy,” I agree, and he will. From just listening to the way he speaks about Keira, I know what sort of father he will be.
“I’m going to be a mom.” I smile again at the unexpected news.
“We’re going to be a family,” he states, filling me with hope. Our journey has come full circle. There have been moments filling me with despair and heartbreak. Some days, I thought I could never move past it, but then a small moment of hope appears. It’s so magical, so life-affirming that it makes it all worthwhile.
This is one of those moments.
***
“Thank God, you’re okay,” Kadence says, sitting on the end of my bed at the hospital. She came in five minutes ago, and Sy still hasn’t let go of my hand to let me embrace her. I understand he’s worried about me, but I’m beginning to wonder if he’s going to be worse than Nix.
“I’m fine. Promise,” I reassure her, trying not to come across too excited. After the doctor left us with the news, I decided I wanted to keep the pregnancy under wraps for a couple more weeks; just until I’m out of the first trimester. Sy didn’t agree, but is going along with it. I’m sure he thinks I’m going to cave and let it slip, but I need to let it settle in before I share the news with anyone.
“Do you want me to call your mom?” Kadence asks, probably wondering why she isn’t here.
“God, no,” I rush out, thinking that would be the worst thing to do. “She will freak out and come all the way down here for no reason. I promise I’m fine.” She nods, taking my word for it.
“How’s Jesse?” Sy asks, letting go of my hand to come and climb into the bed with me.
“Oh, he’s okay. He’s been keeping the nurses on their toes.” She smiles, shaking her head.
“I feel my ears burning,” Jesse's voice comes from the door. What timing.
“Jesse, what the hell are you doing out of your bed?” Kadence rushes over to him, helping him hobble to the chair.
“Had to see this pretty girl.” He reaches out to take my hand. “How you feeling?” he asks, concern filling his face and ignoring Sy’s growl at his pretty girl comment.
“I’m good,” I smile, but then remember I’m not meant to be too happy. “How are you?”
“Aww, you know, making the pretty nurses fall for me,” he smirks.
“You shouldn’t be on that foot, Jesse,” I scold him when I see him wince in pain.
“Please, don’t you start,” he complains, rolling his eyes. “I’ve had my father and mother on at me about it,” he says, shaking his head.
“What did they say? You going in for another surgery?” Sy asks.
“Let's not talk about the foot for a moment, okay?” he asks, making me wonder if it's worse than he’s letting on.
“What are you doing in here?” A small brunette in a nurse's uniform comes into the room, scolding Jesse for leaving his bed.
“Ahhh, the one nurse who is immune to my charms. Isn’t that right, Nurse Bell?” He wiggles his brows at the poor woman.
“You need to go back to your room. Your mother and father are looking for you,” she replies as a light blush coats her cheeks.
