Chapter 48
Cam
Riding in an ambulance driving on fields is a crazy experience. The EMTs decided the placement of the knife wasn’t a problem probably, but they still left it in for the ride to the hospital.
Evan sits next to me with her leg bandaged. They looked over the bump on her head as well.
Jackson gets the next ambulance. Damon and Hawk are stuck talking to the police about what happened, but from the look on Damon’s face, they’ll be with us shortly.
Evan holds my hand like she’ll fall off a cliff if she releases it. I’m probably holding her just as tightly. There aren’t enough words to explain how I felt when I heard Jackson asking Damon to cut his legs.
Damon knew we were coming, so I assume he was bluffing, but there was such conviction in his voice. Standing outside that room, knowing what was happening and being powerless to stop it, was brutal.
We had to wait for the right opportunity. Wait until the knife was away from Evan. Wait until it was safe-ish. Obviously, I would have preferred not to get stabbed. But when Evan realized I was there, she gave me the signal.
I didn’t think. I just acted.
We finally reach smooth highway and speed to the hospital. They unload me first and then help Evan down. I’m staring up at the sky before they push me inside, and then my mom and dad’s faces hover over mine.
“Oh my god, are you okay?” Mom grabs my hand and pales as she sees the knife sticking out of my leg. “You were stabbed?!”
“You should see the other guy.” I smirk. The knife hurts, but I’m imagining what happens next will hurt more.
Dad shakes his head. “You should have let the police do their jobs.”
I turn and see Evan, buried in her mother’s embrace while the nurse argues that they need to redress the wounds. Heather just shakes her head and holds Evan so fucking tight. Adam has his arm around Heather and talks calmly with the nurse.
Then I’m wheeled away. It’s a while later before I’m in a room waiting. They sliced off my jeans and pulled out the knife before closing up the wound with some stitches. Someone gave me drugs at some point, and I stopped caring what they were doing.
Now I’m in a hospital gown, in a bed, twiddling my thumbs. Dad opens the door and Mom hurries in. She grabs my hand and touches my forehead like I’m sick, brushing my hair away from my face.
“How are you feeling?” She looks over me like she’s cataloguing everything is where it’s supposed to be. I’m surprised when she doesn’t lift the sheets to check that I have all my toes.
“I’m good. How’s Evan?”
Dad glances toward the door. “She didn’t need stitches. The police were in with her getting her statement.”
Mom looks at all the monitors. If there was a clipboard at the end of my bed, she’d be reading that, but all the notes are in computers now. Not that she could make anything out of it. She’s not a nurse. But I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to hack the computer.
She finally sighs. “The nurse should be back in a few. The doctor said you’ll need to stay off it for a little while, but everything should heal nicely. You’ll follow up with our doctor. They’re sending you to physical therapy to help with strengthening.”
Dad rubs her back. “If it had been anywhere else, you would have needed surgery.”
“So I can get out of here soon.” I sit up.
“They’re going to discharge you instead of keeping you overnight.” Dad acts like they really should keep me, but I’m glad they aren’t.
Damon opens the door and walks in. “Hey.”
I smile and know it comes across a little weird because of the pain meds.
Dad nods to Damon.
“You were a beast.” Damon holds his hand out to me, and I clasp it.
I laugh. “You would have done the same.”
When he shrugs, my mom makes a noise of disapproval.
“You all could have been killed running into a kidnapping like that.” Mom shakes her head and Dad pulls her into his chest. She releases a choking sob.
“He’s fine, Lisa.” Dad makes soothing noises, rubbing her back.
“He had a knife in his leg! A knife! In his leg!” Mom takes in a shaky breath.
“Give us a minute.” Dad nods at me as he leads Mom out into the hallway, speaking quietly to her.
“How is Evan?” I ask. She’s safe. That’s all I needed to know before.
Damon glances toward the door. “I drew the short straw.”
I chuckle. Such a dick.
“Not really,” Damon says with a smirk. “I wanted to see how you were doing, so I could tell her when I saw her.”
“Always playing the hero.” I shake my head.
When the door opens, Dad and Mom move back inside. Mom lowers into the chair and watches me with watery eyes. I hate that I made her worry.
Damon looks me over and his face grows serious. “How is it?”
“He’ll be off it for a few days. With physical therapy, he should be back on the ice in a month,” Dad says as he leans against the wall next to Mom with his hand on her shoulder. “He should be good by the first game.”
Damon releases his breath and nods. “Good.”
I didn’t even know that yet, so I’m glad Dad told us. “I’m not looking forward to recovery time, but definitely hoping for pampering.”
Damon smirks. “Sounds like she might have a concussion, so you might be recovering together.”
“She’ll make me do my schoolwork,” I complain. Though the thought of hanging out with Evan is better than taking it easy on the couch alone.
“I like this girl.” Dad chuckles. “Driven, focused. You could do a lot worse.”
“I doubt I could do better,” I say honestly. I turn to Damon. “I’m good. Go check on our girl.”
Hawk
When a voice says to come in, I open the door to Annie’s room. She’s in the ER. Heather sits in the chair, clutching Adam’s hand and looking pale. Annie said before that her mom has hospital trauma. This must be killing her.
“Hawk,” Adam says softly. “The doctor said to let her sleep when she can.”
I nod to him and go to where Annie sleeps. She wears a hospital gown now. I look her over and breathe. Things were chaotic at the house. Cam held me back from going in so many times. When he threw Jackson to me, I released everything on him.
He’s also here, with police standing outside his room. The police weren’t happy that we beat them into the house and beat up the guy, but Annie was in danger. And I’m sure my dad will convince them it was necessary force.
Annie’s memento was a little harder to explain.
The blood was on her hands. Though her, Damon, and Jackson held the knife at some point tonight.
The officer who took the report didn’t write the carving down, just that Jackson had been wounded by a knife.
He mentioned his two daughters were five and three and gave Damon and me a nod of acknowledgement.
The cuts aren’t why Jackson’s in the hospital.
I put him there. He was beaten worse than he beat up Chase.
“Is it a concussion?” I turn to ask Adam.
“Likely. They’re going to get her an MRI to rule out anything major.” Adam runs a hand through his hair. “How’s Damon?”
“He’ll be in. He wanted to check on Cam first.” I drag in a breath. “He’s good though. Some redness on his wrists from the cuffs, and he’ll probably have a bruise on his side from the fight.” I smirk. “We’re all a little beat up.”
I washed my hands and put some antibacterial ointment on the cuts. My knuckles are a little swollen, but I have zero regrets. At least not about beating up Jackson. Not stopping him from taking Annie will haunt me for a while.
She was on my watch. It was stupid. I should have asked someone to stay with her. Not just assumed someone would. I don’t know how I’ll leave her again without one of the others with her. It’s not rational.
I can’t be on top of her twenty-four-seven to keep her safe. Not and have a life beyond her. Right now, that’s all I want, because it was almost taken away from me.
“Hey.” Her voice is soft, drawing my attention to her open blue-gray eyes. She slides her hand into mine. “Sorry, I drifted off there. They gave me some pain meds.”
I brush her hair away from her face with my other hand and she smiles at me. “You doing okay?”
“All things considered,” she says. She pushes the button to lift her head up a little. “My head hurts. The doctor said I need to take it easy for forty-eight hours.”
She frowns. She’s probably thinking about the play. I glance over at Heather.
“Did you call Mr. Watson?” I ask.
Heather nods. “Yes, and her assistant director. They know she’s not going to be in for a couple days, but they know she’s fine.”
“I can’t take a couple of days off. It’s tech week.” She reaches for her head as the door opens.
“You can recover for a couple days, Annie. You need the rest so you can blow everyone away with your performance.” I smile down at her as her eyes meet mine. So much strength. She closes her eyes and rests her head against her pillow.
Damon takes one look at her and steps in, closing the door behind him. He goes to the other side of the bed and gives me a questioning look.
“Concussion, days off.”
He nods because he understands. Out of all of us, he’s the one who would have been just as anxious to get back on the ice. But he would have taken that knife if it meant Annie didn’t have to. He would do anything for her. We all would.
“Cam’s doing well.” Damon takes Annie’s hand, and she looks up at him. “He had to get some stitches and a couple days off the leg. Probably fully healed in like a month.”
“Good.” Annie glances toward the door. Her lips press into a thin line. “Is he here?”
We all know she means Jackson.
“Until they get him patched up enough to go to jail.” Damon glances at his dad. Adam gives him a solemn look. Jackson isn’t getting away with this shit.
“He needs intensive therapy.” Annie sighs. “Losing time to prison won’t help him. It will just ruin all his hopes of a career.”
“I don’t know a coach who will pick up someone with felonies on their records.” Adam shakes his head. “If he wanted a career, he should have chosen that over taking you. There’s no guarantee therapy would help him if he doesn’t want help.”
Personally, I hope the guy rots. I glance at Damon. We still need to do something about Brandt too. He doesn’t get away with this without a few scratches.
“How’s Chase?” Annie asks. “He was with me when Jackson took me. He tried to help.”
Damon releases a breath. “I can find out. He was beat up when we found him, but breathing.”
“I’ll go find out.” I lean down and kiss Annie. Damon gives me a nod when I lift my head. “I’ll be right back.”
Damon
Hawk leaves us alone with our parents. I’m expecting a lecture on how stupid it was to go after her that way. How I could have died or gotten Evan killed. Lisa’s words echo in my head. I swallow. She’s not wrong and my father would be justified in yelling at me.
Dad clears his throat. I meet his eyes and brace myself.
“I’m so glad you’re both okay.” He swallows and clears his throat again.
Heather squeezes his hand and puts her other hand on his arm as she looks up at Dad.
Dad continues, “I can’t imagine what you two went through, but I’m glad you have each other.
Things could have gone horribly wrong, but they didn’t. ”
I release my breath, and Evan squeezes my hand.
“There’s a lot we try to prevent or get ahead of to avoid pain, and I know you guys did your best to protect each other.
I’m hoping you’ll both take my offer of therapy for at least a month.
There’s going to be a lot to unpack once you get over the relief of being alive.
You both are so driven with your careers it would be easy to just keep plugging away.
To say you don’t have time, but I want you to strongly consider this as not something you opt out of. ”
“I think that’s a great idea.” Evan lifts her gaze to mine.
“Yeah.” There’s guilt underlying our success. I could see it in Hawk’s eyes. “I think we should all go in together a few times too. If that’s okay?”
Dad nods. “Whatever you need.”
Heather stands and comes over to Evan’s bedside. “I’m going to go get some sodas.” She brushes Evan’s hair a little off her face, careful of the bandage. “I’ll be back.”
Evan nods, and Heather turns, taking my dad’s hand and leading him out of the room, leaving us alone.
I don’t know what to say. There were moments I feared the worst in that room, but would have done anything for her. I wasn’t sure who we’d be on the other side.
“Would you have?” Evan asks softly, shifting in her bed to make room for me. She tugs my hand, trying to pull me on the bed with her.
I sit beside her. “Would I have what?”
But I know what she’s asking. Would I have cut my tendons to save her?
“Given up hockey for me?” There’s a hint of fear in her voice.
I shift so I’m lying beside her on the bed, careful of the leg I know was cut. I watched it happen. If she hadn’t carved him up, I would have. If she hadn’t needed me to hold her, I would have carved him up more.
“Watching him slice open your clothes while you lay helpless on that bed was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.” I bring my forehead to hers, careful of her bump. “I would have burned down the world for you in that moment, little devil. Anything.”
“And if he had...” The words catch in her throat. A tear clings to her eyelash.
I touch her jaw and breathe her in because we’re out of it, but part of me is still in that room, helpless to save her, willing to do anything to spare her pain.
“I would have killed him if he tried. And if I couldn’t stop him.
..” My breath catches in my throat. If he had, he wouldn’t be alive, but that’s not what she’s asking.
“I would have held you and helped you heal because you’re mine.
You’re mine to take care of. All of you.
No matter what happens to you, nothing will change how I feel about you. I belong to you.”
She grabs my shirt and cries softly against me.
“If it meant you lived, I would have gladly given up hockey. He forgot to mention that I’m smart.”
She laughs a little.
“I’d just become a lawyer and make sure he spent every day in prison for the rest of his life.”
“Maybe with help he could be a good guy.” Her watery eyes lift to mine. “As long as it’s far away from me.”
“I think he got the message this time, little devil.” I kiss her forehead. “And if he didn’t, he’ll be reminded every time he looks in the mirror.”
“I still can’t believe I did that.” Her eyes widen.
“I can. I know better than to get on your bad side, Evan.” I pull her into me, and she snuggles against my chest. “I’ve always known you were a little devil.”