Serena
The guys never left my side in the hospital room. I could feel they were on high alert as if they suspected he would come back in the middle of the day to take me, or worse, shoot me again.
Despite my trying to reason with them that he wouldn’t be brazen enough to strike in broad daylight, they wouldn’t listen. They made some good points. We know so little about who this was, we can’t be sure that he is sane enough not to attempt anything.
When Mom showed back up an hour later, she brought back coffee for the four of us and a bag of clothing for me to go home in. I groaned in pleasure as the first taste of coffee hit my tongue. I never considered myself someone who has an addictive personality, but with coffee, I did. I can’t start my morning without it.
After a few more sips of my liquid gold in a cup, I relayed to mom what the doctor had said. Mom was almost as excited as I was to get out of here. I have nothing against hospitals, but being in one makes me feel uneasy. Memories of a life I wish I hadn’t lived have a nasty way of sneaking back in.
Compartmentalizing those thoughts for a later date was the only way I could get through it. Putting them in a tiny box labeled Evan and shoving it to the back of my mind, never to be seen again.
A slight tension fills the room as mom looks at the three guys standing at the head of the bed. Though she wears a thankful smile on her face, I can see the wariness in her eyes as she looks at the four of us together.
Before Mom came back, Odin told me what happened last night. How they came back home after having to speak to their fathers about something that happened at the party last night. None of them would tell me what happened, only that it was club business.
That is something I don’t understand. I know they aren’t official members of the club, but they still have to follow all the rules. I asked them what they do for the club, but no one would look at me, let alone answer the question.
An awkward silence hung in the air until Odin continued with his story. When they got home, they saw my car parked in the laneway and decided to come over. They knocked, but when no one answered, they tried the door. They walked in and saw the masked man standing in the entrance to the kitchen. On instinct, they took their guns out as they got closer. That is when they saw me standing there.
From there, I knew what happened until we reached the hospital. I was wheeled back for examination as they were forced to wait. Midas was the one who called my mom, letting her know what happened. After that, there wasn’t much to tell. They stayed until they were too tired and went home to get some rest. Not that any of them look like they slept at all.
Once they woke up this morning, they rushed back here hoping to be able to see me.
The tension broke when Dr. Kendell came back once more with the discharge papers and my prescription. She gave me instructions on how to take care of injuries and told me that I would need to come back in a couple of weeks to check in. She gave us all one last smile and left the room.
I slowly climbed out of bed and excused myself to the bathroom to change. I opened the bag that Mom brought for me and found a pair of sweatpants and a sweater to wear home. Both loose and comfortable. I slipped them on and tried brushing through my hair before walking back into the room.
Mom is standing by the door, waiting, while the guys are still standing by the bed. No one moved in the fifteen minutes it took me to change.
All three pop their heads up when I walk back into the room. Odin rushes over to me and grabs the bag from my hands. He gives me one of his lopsided grins that instantly makes everything feel right. He wraps his arm around my waist to help me walk across the room, even though my arm hurts, not my legs. I can’t help but smile at how kind he is to me. Zeus approaches my other side and places his hand on my back.
I take a glance at Mom. She looks crestfallen, almost as if she sees something I don’t. I want to ask her about it, but before the words leave my lips, she shakes her head. Mom takes one more look at Odin and Zeus before opening the door for me to leave.
We exit the room with Odin and Zeus on each side of me and Midas as a silent sentry at my back.
The hospital doors open. The warm breeze of the day caresses my skin, and the sun shines down on us. I take a deep breath of fresh air, wanting to replace the smell of disinfectants that doesn’t want to leave my senses.
I take a cursory glance around, making sure that nothing seems out of the ordinary. I’m not the only one either. Midas, Odin, Zeus, and even my mom are doing the same thing. Everyone is on high alert.
Fucking stalker. The fact that every person feels the need to make sure everything is safe is ridiculous to me. No one should live their lives constantly looking over their shoulder for any sign of trouble. And yet, we are all doing it.
When mom deems the coast clear, she rushes off to get her car. I stand awkwardly with the guys, unsure of what to do or say. Odin and Zeus are still holding me, their eyes continuously scanning around, making sure there are no threats nearby.
I am so lost in space that I don’t notice when Midas walks around and stands in front of me. He doesn’t say anything, he just leans toward me and kisses me. It’s not like the last kiss we shared. That was rough and demanding. This is so soft and sweet. His lips are gentle against mine, as if I could break into a million pieces at any second. He doesn’t push for more and is barely touching me, but my whole body feels electric.
As quickly as it started, the kiss stopped. Midas looks at me with such adoration. I step out of Odin and Zeus’s grasp and into Midas’s. His arms instinctively wrap around me, but making sure to keep them loose enough not to hurt me. I inhale his rich, spicy scent, wanting to smell it forever.
Midas and I haven’t had many moments together. Especially not any that feel as intimate as this. Every time I have been in only his company has ended with fighting between us. Sure, there have been moments of passion, but that was anger-filled. Now, the way he is looking at me is as if I am the most precious thing in the world to him.
I reach my good hand up, dragging my finger through his unruly ebony hair. The silky strands passing through my fingers like black water. His golden amber eyes never leave my face. This man is beauty personified. A living, breathing statue of David.
I lean up on my tiptoes, wanting to connect my lips with his again. To feel the burning passion that has sparked between us again. To know that this is something more than just a bet to him anymore.
Our lips are millimeters apart when Mom honks the car horn to get my attention. Midas pulls away from me and shuts down completely. Gone is the man I want to know, and in his place is the man that Midas feels the need to be.
His eyes turn dark, and his body is rigid. I want to reach out to him, find out what is bothering him, to know why he just shut down again, but he steps away from me towards my mom’s car. He opens the back door for me. His hand tightly gripped the handle as he waited for me to walk over.
Odin sighs beside me. He looks at his best friend as if he is the dumbest man alive, and I can’t help but agree. He gives me a reassuring smile before walking with me to my mom’s car. He tosses the bag into the back seat for me.
“We will be right behind you,” Odin says to me as I climb into the backseat. I nodded my head, and he closed the door.
I watch as they walk to their bikes. I never thought motorcycles were attractive before I met them, but now all I want is to be on the back of one of their bikes. The few times I had the pleasure of riding with one of them were exhilarating. The sense of freedom you feel. Knowing that if one thing goes wrong, you could face death is life-changing. It almost makes me want to learn how to ride one myself.
Mom looks at me through the rearview mirror, but my focus is solely on the Kings. I watch as they say a few words to each other before mounting their bikes. The revving of their engines as they start them sends tingles through my body. Mom shakes her head before putting the car into drive.
My eyes never leave the rear window. Watching the three motorcycles behind us. Is it weird that I feel safer knowing they are behind us?
It’s not long before we are pulling into the driveway. Instead of parking behind my car or my mom's, they pull into Midas’s laneway. I sit perfectly still as I watch them dismount their bikes and rush over to the car.
“Just be careful with those three,” Mom says. For the first time, I take my eyes off the Kings and look at her. “I’ve known guys like them before. As great as they seem now, they can always change.”
“They aren’t like that, mom,” I argue back, but the annoying voice of self-doubt in my head reminds me that I barely know them, and mom could be right.
“I just don’t want them to hurt you the same way I was hurt once.” Mom opens her door and exits the car before I can ask what she means. Was it my dad who hurt her like that, or someone else?
God, this is one of those times I wish my mom were more open about her past than she is. She always gives me these vague warnings without explaining why.
Mom walks over to the Kings. She says something to them that has the three of them looking at her like she is crazy. Great. Mom is telling them off or something. I love my mom, but why couldn’t she have done that with Evan instead of them? He was the real dangerous one.
They all nod their heads at what she says. She pats Zeus on the arm before walking back over to the car. I open my door, not wanting to sit in here like a creep as I watch anymore. I need to know what she said, but from the looks on the King's faces, they won’t tell me.
Zeus pulls me to his side while Odin grabs my bag from the car. Midas is standing off to the side, not looking comfortable getting any closer to me. Mom hops back into her car. I look at her quizzically, wondering what she is doing.
“I’m going to head to the store and pick up something for dinner,” Mom says to me. She looks at the guys surrounding me. “Could you guys stay with her?”
“Of course we can,” Zeus says to her.
Mom nods her head, still looking a little crestfallen, and then pulls out of the laneway. I watch as the car drives down the road, and when she turns onto the main road, we all head inside. If the guys were attentive in the hospital, this is a whole new level. Zeus carefully walks me to the couch and helps me sit. Odin puts my bag in my room and then comes back in. Midas went into the kitchen to get drinks for everyone.
Odin sits down on one side of me, while Zeus sits on the other. Midas walks back into the room, handing out water bottles to the three of us before sitting in the chair beside the couch.
We spent the rest of the day sitting on the couch and watching some movies. The guys shared some stories with me about their lives growing up here, even Midas. Though he spoke less than Odin or Zeus. They relayed stories to me about Pops. How he was the man they all aspired to be like. How much he did for them. His original plan for the MC.
I shared what it was like for me to grow up in Daytona. Telling them about my dad, or at least what I knew about him. I told stories about my grandparents. I avoided anything that had to do with Evan or Cleo, which proved to be extremely difficult, but I managed.
We laughed and joked around, acting like the teenagers that we are. For a few blissful hours, we all forgot about our problems and were just us.
When Mom came home from the store, she bought enough food to last us at least a month, maybe even more. The guys helped her bring everything in and put it away for her.
This is the side of the Kings that I love. The one where they are free of any expectations that are put on them. I will never understand why they would want to get involved with the MC. The hatred they have for their dads is more than enough of a reason not to join, but the danger that comes with it makes it harder for me to understand.
The sun has set. The world is as dark as the feeling that has loomed constantly over me. But the stars in the sky shine brightly, vanquishing some of the darkness. Nights like this, when we can just relax, are like those stars. Though it is still dark, there is always a ray of light that will help guide us.
Mom made a massive dinner, but the guys were able to polish it off. They ate like they hadn’t had a home-cooked meal in years. Knowing their dads, that is the case. All except Zeus. I don’t know the full story, but I got snippets of it tonight. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mom got full custody of him. When she could, she would take in Midas and Odin. Being a mother figure to both when they needed it. The rest of the time, Pops and his wife took on that role for them. They didn’t have the family that they deserved, but they made one for themselves.
As the night wore on, the guys didn’t seem like they wanted to leave, not that it bothered me at all. Mom made herself scarce all day, spending it in her room away from us.
Though the day has been wonderful, spending time with them and getting to know them better, I can’t stop thinking about what happened. I am starting to wonder if that was my stalker. From the notes and texts, it seems like he wants me, not to kill me. He has been so possessive and demanding that I will be his. Why would he try to shoot me? Nothing makes sense anymore, but I don’t want to think about it too much.
For tonight, I am going to forget.