Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Kresslee
Today hadn’t ended how I expected it to.
Nothing I thought about today was what I expected. Seeing Creed get hurt was a lot for me. I was glad nothing permanent happened.
I hated seeing the pinched expression on Creed’s face, knowing he was in pain and letting his team down.
I rode with him to the hospital, hating that I left Ridge there, but knowing that being at Creed’s side was important.
I had gone outside to get some fresh air after Creed had gotten to his room and hadn’t expected to see my father standing there with Ridge.
Hearing my man put our sperm donor in his place was something I hadn’t known I needed, but it broke something free inside me that I hadn’t realized I needed to let go.
It was freeing. And after hearing him speak to my brother, letting Creed know he was going nowhere without us both was something I knew I longed to hear.
I fought my tears with everything inside me. This moment was something I didn’t think would ever happen.
I knew Ridge was mine. With every single word he spoke to Creed, I knew that I would choose him from here on out.
I didn’t owe him that; I owed it to myself. He was mine. My life, my love. The man I always thought was off-limits to me was mine. I wouldn’t let him go. Not now, not ever.
As we drove to Ridge’s house, Creed stared out the window, then he saw me staring at him.
“What?”
I shrugged, “I just never thought we would be here right now.”
Creed nodded, “I know. I’m sorry I was such a stubborn asshole to you.”
I leaned forward, hugging his neck, “I’m glad that’s done now, though.”
He chuckled, “Yeah, yeah.”
Ridge shook his head as he pulled into his driveway.
He helped Creed out of the truck, handing him the crutches he needed.
Ridge unlocked the garage door, letting Creed into the house first, then allowing me to follow. He came in behind me after he pulled the truck into the garage, shutting the doors behind him.
Creed sat in the living room, looking around at Ridge’s house. Ridge rubbed the back of his neck, “Um. If you want to see your room, it’s this way.”
Creed stood, using the crutches to follow Ridge down the hallway.
I wandered along behind them, knowing I had seen every inch of the house while Ridge had gone to practice, and loving that there were a few spare rooms close to his bedroom, and ones that were further away.
Ridge put Creed in the one furthest from his room, making me bite my lip to hold my laugh in.
Creed looked around the room, and Ridge said, “The bathroom is there. It’s got soap, towels, a brand-new toothbrush and toothpaste.”
Creed turned, lifting a brow, “Why do you have all that stuff?”
Ridge sighed, “My grandma wanted to make sure that whoever stayed with me, had what they needed. It’s usually them, but my grandparents and my dad have their own rooms in this hall.”
“So, this is an extra room then?”
Ridge nodded, “When I bought this house, I wanted to be sure that I could have any of Kresslee’s family or friends be able to visit.
I have five rooms in this wing, and another three close to my room.
Plus, my basement has three more rooms. I wanted to be sure there was more than enough space for anyone and everyone to visit. One day.”
Creed turned to him, “Holy fuck.”
Ridge’s cheeks went pink, and I walked over to my brother, “I have to get our stuff from the stadium.”
Creed nodded, “Are you sure?”
She grinned at him, “You heard the doctor. You need time to heal a little more before we take a four-hour drive back home.”
Creed looked over at Ridge, “Are you okay with us being here for a bit?”
Ridge nodded, “If I weren’t, I wouldn’t have brought you here.”
Ridge grabbed my hand, leading me from the room, back to his truck, “Back to the stadium?”
I nodded, “I have my bags there. So does Creed.”
Ridge gently kissed me, “Then let’s go.”
We drove to the stadium quickly, getting to the cheerleader’s locker room, then I waited as Ridge went to the boys’ locker room. He came out with Creed’s stuff.
A few seconds later, Creed’s coach, Gary Johnson, rushed over to me, “Is Creed okay?”
I nodded, “He has to stay here for a while though.”
“Fuck. Of course he does. Well, we lost anyway.”
He looked over at Ridge, who stood watching him.
“Coach, no offense, but your best quarterback was hurt today, and you don’t seem to care?”
The coach nodded, “Of course, but now it doesn’t matter, does it? We lost because of him.”
I rolled my eyes as Ridge shook his head, “You didn’t lose because your quarterback was hurt. You lost because you didn’t seem to care that your star player was hurt.”
The coach sputtered at me for a second, then he slowly nodded, “I know. I was shocked he got hurt, and I let everyone down.”
Ridge walked over to him, “You are a great coach. Don’t worry. You have next year to make up for lost time.”
The coach nodded, and I grabbed Ridge’s hand, walking out of the stadium with him.
I pulled him to a stop before we reached his truck, “You are a good man, aren’t you?”
Ridge looked down at me, “What?”
“You could have been a total jerk to Creed’s coach. He let his team down when they needed him the most.”
“Any time someone gets hurt like Creed did, it’s understandable to be shocked. He has so many people to worry about, that anyone would be upset.”
I smiled at him, and Ridge cupped my face in one of his hands, his thumb running over my cheek.
He leaned in, kissing my scar on my forehead, “I love you, you know?”
I nodded, “I know. I love you too.”
He looked down at me, “Thank you for making my dreams come true.”
I felt my eyes burn, “You made my dreams come true.”
He kissed my lips softly and helped me into his truck so we could go back to his house.
His phone rang, and he looked down at it, grinning. “It’s my dad.”
“Answer it.”
Ridge answered, “Hey, Dad.”
“Ridge! My boy. That game was something else.”
Ridge chuckled, “Thanks dad.”
“I hated seeing Creed get so hurt.”
“I did too. But he is recovering. He only sprained his knee.”
“That’s still horrible. Your grandma is so worried about him.”
Ridge looked over at me, “He is staying at my house while he recuperates for a bit.”
I heard his dad splutter, “What?”
“Well, Creed and my girl.”
“You better not be messing with me right now.”
Ridge winked at me, “Not in the least. She is with me now.”
“Hi, Mr. Benson.”
“Ah, Kresslee. I hope you are well. As is Creed.”
I smiled over at Ridge, who raised a brow at me, “I am well. So is my brother. You raised a good man, one who refused to let my brother scare him away.”
“Ridge is a good man. Thank you for saying that.”
Ridge lifted my hand to his lips, kissing the back of it, “Dad, come over for dinner tonight. With grandma and grandpa. We missed our weekly dinner.”
“We sure did. We will be there. Are you sure we won’t be intruding?”
I answered for him, “We are sure.”
“We will be there.”
Ridge hung the phone up, then looked over at me, “It’s a good thing my grandma stocked my fridge.”
I laughed, “We better get cooking.”
Ridge pulled into the garage, helping me out of the truck, then lifted the bags that he insisted on carrying.
Creed was in the living room, his crutches at his side, when we walked in.
Ridge walked over to him, putting his bag down next to him, and I smiled, “Ridge’s family is coming for dinner tonight.”
Creed looked over at Ridge, “Aren’t we intruding?”
Ridge shook his head, “Not in this family.”
Creed slowly nodded, “What can I help with?”
Ridge laughed, “Come into the kitchen. We can talk.”
Creed followed us slowly into the kitchen and sat at one of the chairs, while I opened the fridge to find something to cook.
We all talked, laughing as we prepared dinner together. Even Creed laughed a few times.
I loved seeing it. Knowing that my brother finally accepted the man I loved.
When the doorbell rang, I bit my lip, a little nervous to meet Ridge’s family.
His father walked in first, and I knew Ridge got his good looks from him. He had the same build, the same-colored hair, though Liam had gray sprinkled in.
His eyes were lighter than Ridge’s, but I loved that Ridge looked so much like his father.
Then his grandparents came in next. His grandma Carol made a beeline for me, hugging me tightly, then letting Liam come next. Patrick lingered next to Creed, “How are you feeling?”
Creed barely made eye contact, “I’m fine.”
I looked at my brother, noting that he had looked extremely uncomfortable just minutes before, when he had seemed fine.
“What’s wrong?”
Creed shook his head, and Ridge stopped him from standing, “What’s wrong?”
Creed glared at him, “I just don’t think I should be here.”
“You were fine earlier.”
Creed sighed when Carol made her way over to him, and she put her hand on his gently, “What’s wrong, love?”
Creed fought to look away from her, but finally said, “I hated Ridge for so long that I didn’t want to make you be nice to me because he forgave me. I don’t want anyone’s pity.”
Carol cupped Creed’s face, “My sweet boy. Ridge told us a little of what happened to you, and I’m sorry you were put in that position, that you felt as if you had to be perfect when no one on this earth is.
Your father shouldn’t have put that on your shoulders, that was so much weight for you to carry at such a young age. ”
Creed looked at Carol, who smiled at him, “Put that weight down now. It’s okay. You are part of our family now, whether you want to be or not.”
Creed’s eyebrows drew together, “How can you be so kind to me? I tore Ridge and Kress apart for years because I hated him. I placed my anger, hurt and frustration on him. I blamed him for everything bad that happened to me.”