Chapter 8
COLE
Iwas going to throw up.
I’d seen a lot of shit in my life. Hell, I’d been through a lot of shit in my life, but seeing Rosalie on the ground, hurt, and trying to escape me was a new kind of pain.
I drove quickly to the hospital and rushed inside.
“Doctor Scott, hey—”
I pushed past a nurse named Josie. She was always flirting and trying to get on my dick.
Shit drove me nuts.
I went to the supply closet and filled my bag with everything I’d need to care for Rosalie before chucking it out the window to the ground below.
I left the room, and Josie was quick to catch up to me.
“A group of us is going out tomorrow night. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me—”
“No,” I said, not bothering to entertain the idea.
“Well, you’re not on the schedule. It says you’re taking a few days off.”
“I’m busy.” I kept walking, and she kept pace with me.
“If tomorrow doesn’t work, I’m free all weekend.”
“I’m busy,” I repeated, hitting the button for the elevator.
“All weekend?” She winced as she stared up at me.
Truth was, Josie was hot, but I wasn’t interested. She definitely couldn’t hold a candle to Rosalie even on Rosalie’s worst day.
In another life, I may have fucked Josie before maybe fucking her friend, but this wasn’t that life. In this life, I had a woman I’d die for waiting for me to save her… from myself.
Fuck. What a damn mess.
The elevator arrived, and I got inside. Much to my annoyance, Josie followed me in.
The doors closed, locking me inside alone with her.
I looked at my watch.
“You look nice in your regular clothes,” she murmured, stepping closer to me.
“Thanks,” I muttered, checking my watch again.
“I-I’d really like to get to know you outside of work,” she said softly. “Maybe we can text or something.”
Fuck.
Josie was a nice girl. I appreciated her perseverance, but she’d never followed me into a damn elevator before.
“Maybe,” I muttered, just needing to get the hell back to Rosalie.
Josie’s eyes lit up. “OK. Um, great. I’ll text you when I get out.”
I was distracted as all hell as I went through my head on what I remembered about broken bones and sprains. There was no way I could give Rosalie crutches. She’d beat me with them. But how the hell was I supposed to leave her alone if she couldn’t walk?
Damnit.
This was going to be a real problem.
“Perfect,” I said, shaking my head.
The elevator dinged at the lobby, and I stepped out.
“Talk to you later!” Josie called out.
I waved her off and went outside and straight to the bag I’d dropped. I grabbed it, took it to my car, got in, and raced back to Rosalie.
I got back to the old house, rushed inside, and went straight to her.
She was where I’d left her, only she was crying on the bed.
I dropped the bag and went to her.
“Hey,” I said softly. “I’m back.”
“It hurts,” she whimpered. “Please. I need to see a doctor.”
“I am a doctor,” I murmured, going to her foot.
She cried out as I carefully examined it.
“It’s a bad sprain,” I said. “I have my doubts it’s broken.”
“You can’t know that. Please. Take me in. I need X-rays.”
“Rosalie, there are a few things in this world I excel at. Fucking, and knowing medicine. I promise you this isn’t broken.”
She wiped her eyes as I carefully wrapped her foot before adding an ice pack between the layers. Once I was satisfied with it, I adjusted her pillows, propped up her foot, and sat next to her.
“Here,” I murmured, dumping a pill onto my palm. “Take this.”
“What is it?” she asked, eyeing the pill wearily.
“Pain med. It’ll help you sleep.”
She hesitated before she took it. I went and got her a bottle of water before returning to her. She winced as I helped her sit up to take the pill.
I was surprised when she didn’t tell me to fuck off as I held the bottle to her lips. She sucked down the water and the pill before settling back against her pillows.
I covered her, leaving her foot exposed.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
She shook her head.
We sat in silence for a long time before she spoke.
“You can leave. I probably won’t die.”
“I’m not leaving,” I said. “I’ll stay tonight.”
“Not here, though,” she replied. “Right?”
“Right here, Rosalie. I’m not leaving you.”
She sighed, the fight seemingly gone. At least for now, anyway.
I cleared my throat after a long silence.
“So how is Cotton?”
“Good,” she said softly, staring at the wall in front of her.
I nodded. “Have you gotten any other pets?”
“No.”
I clicked my tongue.
“Do you still love lavender?”
“Yes.”
Noted.
“And bubble baths?”
“Yes.”
Noted.
“Vegetable pizza?”
“Yes, Cole.”
“What’s your favorite country that you’ve been to?”
She was quiet again for a moment. I didn’t think she’d answer me, but finally, her voice sounded out.
“I like Italy. Switzerland is pretty too.”
“I’ve been to Italy. Enzo and I went last year. It’s really nice there. He still has family over there, so we had a lot of food and tours.”
She said nothing to that.
I swallowed. “Enzo misses you.”
More silence.
I breathed out, not really knowing what to talk about. I was desperate to know her again. To know anything about her.
“What’s it like playing in those big arenas?”
“Scary,” she murmured. “But I love it.”
“I bet you get tired.”
“I do.” She winced as she tried to shift.
Immediately, I was on my feet, adjusting her.
“Thank you,” she said softly as I handed her more water. She sipped it before handing it back to me.
“When will the pain pills start working?” She winced.
“Any moment,” I said, eyeing her. She did look uncomfortable. I wish there were more I could do for her. I hate that she’d been desperate enough to crawl out a window to get away from me.
I looked down at my hands.
“Did your parents go to your wedding?” I asked softly.
“No. It was just a few friends.”
I nodded at that. “Jamie go?”
“Yes.”
I’d seen Jamie over the years. She’d never once told me Rosalie was with Anson. I suppose Jamie was a good friend in that respect, but it still pissed me off.
“Did… Colten?”
“No.”
“Did he know you and Anson…” My voice trailed off. He likely did and just didn’t want to hurt me by telling me. Seemed like a Colten thing to do.
“Never mind,” I mumbled, deciding I didn’t want to know.
We sat in silence longer this time before I spoke.
“Have you ever thought about me over the years?” I chanced a look at her. Her eyelids looked heavy as she stared back at me.
“Yes,” she murmured. “I always do.”
“Did you think about me when you married?”
“Yes.”
I nodded, my throat tight. “But you did it anyway.”
“You left me,” she whispered. “Cole. You left me when I needed you the most. You went with Enzo. You took Ethan. You left me all alone when I was trying to-to survive. To know that you left me for someone else… it hurt. It still hurts. So forgive me if I’m not eager to see you these days.”
I nodded. I knew what I’d done, but there was so much more to it that she didn’t know.
I breathed out. “Rosalie, I didn’t fuck Celeste.”
She crinkled her brows as she stared at me.
“I never touched her. I was alone too. I just… I love Enzo. He’s my brother. He needed me—”
“I needed you,” she choked out, her eyes wide and filled with tears. “I needed you, Cole, and you left me when I needed you the most.”
“Fuck, baby, I’m sorry—”
Her bottom lip trembled as she stared at me. I tried to reach for her, but she shoved me off, a soft cry coming from her because she’d shifted her ankle again.
“Don’t. Please,” she choked out, her voice trembling. “I-I don’t want you to touch me.”
I pulled back and nodded. Instead of letting her see how fucking broken and pathetic I was, I fixed her pillows again and got to my feet.
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” I said.
I grabbed a blanket and pillow out of the closet near her bathroom before settling on the couch. I’d leave her alone for now.
She didn’t try to stop me. Instead, she closed her eyes, and soon, she was sleeping, her brows crinkled.
I went over to her and adjusted her blanket before pressing a tender kiss to her forehead.
“Love you, Rosebud,” I murmured before backing away and returning to my couch. I covered myself and closed my eyes, miserable for completely new reasons.