Chapter 21
“I’m going to kill him,” I groan, hissing as even muttering makes my chest feel like I’m breathing in shards of glass. My eyes open just enough to see Ty shove his phone into his pocket before he turns to face me fully.
“Don’t worry. There’s a line.”
I try to turn my head to the side to look at Ty properly–he’s gotta be pissed as hell, I know I would be if I walked into what he did–but my neck, goddamn, my neck.
“Don’t move, baby,” he says quickly, moving to sit on the side of the bed more so I can see him without having to move my head at all. “Asher’s getting some stuff to help. You’re… You’re in pretty bad shape, Rox. God, I… I’m so fucking glad you’re alive.”
“I feel like death,” I mutter, swallowing roughly.
“I’m sure you do. You just barely healed from the last fight and now this.” His voice sounds rough, and his eyes are open as he lifts my hand to his lips. “I thought you were dead when I saw you laying on the kitchen floor, baby. You can’t keep doing this to me.”
“I’ll make sure it sticks next time,” I joke dryly and I can see the moment it doesn’t land well. Ty clenches his teeth, the muscle at his jawline jumping with frustration. His eyes narrow at me, mad that I’d even joke about me dying.
“Don’t think that, ever again. Do you hear me?” His voice drops low and dangerous like he wants to fight my own thoughts for me.
“I was just kidding, Daddy, calm down,” I say with a small chuckle and try to move my other hand in a dramatic wave, but the moment I move it I have to bite my lip to keep from crying out.
“What, what is it?” Ty asks quickly.
“What?” I ask, trying to play it off as nothing, but he’s not letting it go.
“What was that?” He gently sets the hand he’s holding down and then picks up my other one, but I jerk it back in fear of it hurting more. It’s a knee-jerk reaction and the moment it happens, I freeze.
I know Ty wouldn’t hold my fear against me, not at all, but that doesn’t mean that my actions don’t have the ability to hurt his feelings.
Nervously making eye contact with him, I’m immediately lost in those chocolate irises.
Ty’s looking at me with such openness I can see all that he’s feeling; worry, love, protectiveness, care, stress. But what I don’t see is anger.
At least not pointed at me.
“You broke your finger. The middle one is broken and your ring finger might be, but without going to the hospital for an x-ray, I just decided to splint them both. I know, I bet it hurts.” He nods empathetically and whispers against my hand in Spanish, kissing the top gently.
“What does that mean?” I ask softly, my words coming out just as soft as his did.
“My brave one… My strong girl.” The way he speaks those words… It takes my breath away.
Here’s this big intimidating, hot-as-fuck, guy and he’s looking at me like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever touched, calling me strong and brave when all I wanted was to hide?
“Ty,” I start to say, but I hear the door shut. Immediately, I’m on edge and start to shift away, but Ty puts his hand on my thigh to steady me.
“It’s just Asher,” he says soothingly and I groan in pain, resting back against the pillows.
“Goddamn, that hurt.”
“I’m sorry,” Ty apologizes and he’s so torn I can practically see him bleeding through his eyes with disappointment and despair.
He’s not just talking about the hurt. He’s apologizing for all of it.
Taking responsibility for it all.
That can’t happen.
“This isn’t your fault, Ty.” If there’s one thing that I know, it’s that right now, Ty is beating himself up because he thinks that this is his fault.
“Carino,” he starts to say, but Asher walks in with a pharmacy bag.
“Hey slugger,” Asher says with a small, warm smile before looking down into the bag. “I got some things to help your ribs, some more painkillers, too. Did Ty tell you…” He stops talking when he sees Ty and I’s face and probably feels the tension. “Everything okay?”
“No, everything’s not okay. She was attacked,” Ty snaps. “Attacked in our house. Our home. He sent someone here to hurt her. All because I went too far.”
“No, Ty,” I try to sit up, but there’s no way I can without help.
“It’s the truth, baby. But I’m going to fix it, I promise.” Ty’s always been quieter, more intrinsic and observational. But right now, he's determined and very angry. A lethal combination for someone with as much power as he has.
“What do you mean ‘you’re going to fix it’?” I snap worriedly.
“I’m going to make sure he doesn’t come to you for anything else. Ever again.”
I turn my neck to try and see him clearly, to show him how stupid that thought was, but I cry out in pain.
“Oh no, don’t move!” Asher says quickly, reaching towards me quickly as Ty does too. “Did you tell her?”
“Tell me what?” I say through a wince, settling my head against the pillows as gently as I can.
“You’ve got two broken ribs on this side,” Asher gestures to my left, “and one on that side. Broken fingers. Now that your eyes are open I can see that your one eye looks like it’s been dipped in blood.
What did he do–choke you out?” Asher lists off my injuries and the more he speaks, the more I feel the pain seep into my bones.
Then, he mentions the choking and I jolt.
“He did,” I whisper. “He got me pinned, and then I… I stabbed him.” I close my eyes tightly, trying to fight off the memory of Cory’s fat-fucking-fingers pressing against my windpipe so tightly I was sure I was done for.
I’d rightly pissed him off and I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to play by Mickey’s rules anymore.
But there was one thing I wasn’t going to let happen.
I wasn’t going to let him kill me in Ty and Asher’s house so that they had to come home to my broken, bloody body.
Not after everything. I twisted my arm out from his grasp and stabbed him in the shoulder.
I fell to the ground, hitting my head on the counter, and the next thing I remember is Ty calling my name.
“I’m so proud of you, Roxie,” Ty says softly, brushing my hair off my shoulder gently. His praise makes me want to cry because… I fought like hell, and he knows it.
“You did good, Roxie.” Asher stands back, nodding in approval, but then steps closer, his eyes turning apologetic. “The ribs are going to really fucking suck to wrap, okay? But what has me worried is the concussion. Do you remember him getting you in the head?”
I try to search my adrenaline-filled memories but just thinking hurts.
“I hit the counter…” I say, scrunching my eyes together to try to remember more, but it hurts.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay,” Ty says sincerely as he puts his hand on my thigh reassuringly before looking to Asher. “Right?”
“Did he hit you in the head?” Asher presses, and I can’t…
“I don’t think so. Maybe, but I can’t remember right now.” I bite my lip nervously. Ty moves closer, brushing my hair back from my face gently.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he murmurs softly.
“Here’s what we’ll do.” Asher sits on the side of the bed, looking at me, “You’re not to be alone again.
Okay? And all through the night we’re going to be waking you up and asking you questions.
If your head starts to hurt more, we can’t wake you up, or your speech starts to worsen, we’re taking you to the hospital. No arguments.”
“But–” I start to argue, but they both pin me with a ‘don’t-fucking-try-it’ look.
“Say okay, Roxie,” Ty growls.
“But–”
“No, baby. Say you understand.” There’s an interesting combination of emotions that I can see cross his face. Dark determination mixed with fear with a bit of helpless desperation. Ty wears his heart on his sleeve for me.
And I love it. I love him.
I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but I’m never taking it for granted.
“Okay, I understand,” I whisper my agreement, and my voice cracks.
“We need to wrap your ribs,” Asher announces as he stands up and starts pulling stuff from the bag. “Do you want the painkillers first?”
“Yes, please,” I answer him honestly, and maybe a little too earnestly because they both look at me with wide eyes.
Asher tosses Ty the bottle of pills and it rattles as it flies through the air, but before he breaks the seal, I stop him.
“I can take the ones you gave me the other day. So you can return those and get the money back.”
Ty knows what I’m saying, what I’m telling him.
That I trust him, them, completely.
His eyes stay locked on mine as the understanding dawns on him and his expression changes, just a bit. He looks down, but I can see the small smile that forms on his lips..
“Are you sure?” he whispers, voice full of tentative hope.
“Yeah, Daddy, I’m sure.”
Ty smirks, his cheeks turning a delightful shade of red. He throws the meds back to Asher before going and getting his open bottle of pain killers.
“I’m going to grab you some water, okay?
I’ll be right back,” he says the words quickly, holding his hand out like he can convince himself that he’ll be faster than he ever has been if he looks at me until the last possible second.
Actually, it’s probably that he doesn’t want to take his eyes off me longer than he has to.
Protective ass.
Well, I have to give him a pass. I did just get attacked…in the apartment that they thought I was safe in… Yeah, I’ll give him some slack.
“I guess it’s time to move,” Asher says as soon as Ty’s out of the room.
My heart stops, dread filling my chest as I hear him say that. It hurts to breathe and it has nothing to do with my broken ribs.
More because the guy I looked at as a brother is kicking me out. Not that I can blame him, all I bring is trouble.
“Okay,” I say after I feel like I can talk without crying. But even I can hear the sobs in my throat. “Okay, let me get my stuff and I’ll go.”
“What?” Asher asks quickly, eyebrows pulled together as his head shakes slightly as if I slapped him.