Chapter Ten
I can hear the faint muffling sounds of voices. They are too quiet for me to work out who they are or what they are saying.
Something feels off. I haven’t opened my eyes, I'm too scared to, but I do know that I'm not in my room. Hell, I don't even think I'm in my house.
The voices grow louder for a few seconds and then quieten down again.
I think someone just opened a door. I'm confused, there's shuffling near me, metal clanking, and beeping as though someone is pressing buttons.
Someone touches the back of my hand, and I jump, my eyes shoot open, and I try and pull myself away from them, only to cry out in pain.
"It's okay. Just take it easy," a tall, older woman tells me, as she holds out her hands to show me she's non-threatening. "You've got a few injuries there, you don't want to pull any stitches."
"What? Where am I?" I ask, feeling a little confused, but as I look around the room it's clear that I'm in hospital. Suddenly the memories come flooding back to me, the beating, running away, Mason, the car crash. Oh god Mason. I don't know what happened.
My eyes dart around the room. He's not here, nobody is. "Where is he? Where's my brother?" I cry out, my eyes stinging with tears that I'm trying my hardest not to shed.
"Easy, sweetheart, I need you to relax. I need to go get the doctor." As she walks to the door, I throw the covers off me and climb out of bed.
"Miss, stop, you need to stay in bed. Can someone help me?" she shouts through the door as she rushes back over to me, trying her best to keep me on the bed, but I push her away from me and swing my legs off the side.
The door opens as my feet hit the floor, and I go to stand but my legs give out. Before I hit the floor, large, muscled arms grab me, and I look up to see a tall, tattooed guy in scrubs. "You need to get back into bed, Nova," he tells me.
What the fuck? Who is this guy? How does he know my name?
"I'm Doc," he tells me.
"No shit, I can see you're a doctor," I snap at him. "I need to go; I need to find my brother."
"No, my name is Doc. And your brother is here, he's fine. I'll get him for you, but you need to get back into bed." He gives me a reassuring smile as he gently lifts me back onto the bed like I’m made of feathers.
Now that I'm lying down again, I suddenly realise how sore my body is.
Every inch of me hurts. Some of it from the crash, but most of it from the beating.
I close my eyes as my head begins to pound.
"Please can I see my brother?" I ask a little above a whisper, anything louder and I think I might vomit.
"You can, the nurse has gone to get him. Nova, we need to talk about your injuries, how you got them." I open my eyes to find him standing at the side of my bed, watching me. I feel the panic rising inside of me. I can't tell him the truth; nobody can find out.
"Erm, yeah the crash..."
"Did not cause ninety percent of your injuries, please don't pretend that it did." I look away from him, picking a spot on the other side of the room, choosing to stare at that as I talk.
"I remember getting into the car and driving, then not feeling well, but I don't remember anything else. What happened, where is my brother, is he okay?” I plead with him to tell me if Mason is okay.
"You put yourself and your brother in danger, you should have pulled over the minute you started to feel unwell. Fucking hell, you shouldn't have even been driving." I turn toward the door to the angry voice.
One of the men form the diner stands in the doorway of my room, his eyes focussed on mine.
He steps into the room and leans against the wall next to the door, folding his arms over his chest. He watches me, not saying anything, and it’s a little intimidating.
In fact, having these guys in here is hugely intimidating.
Movement to my left has my eyes slowly moving from the guy near the door to the other newcomer.
He's tall, at least six foot, maybe taller.
His hair is a light brown, shaved on the sides, but long enough on the top to have tucked into a bun at the back of his head.
He has a longer beard that stops just below his chin and large gauges in his ears.
I swallow the huge lump in my throat as I look at his tattooed covered neck and arms. He's gorgeous. But as I look back up to his face, his stormy grey-blue eyes tell me he’s pissed, and at me.
"Where's my brother?" I ask again, the fear in my voice making me sound like a child.
"He's fine. We wanted to talk to you for a few minutes," the guy by the door answers. "I'm Nitro, Doc you've met, and that is Ice."
My eyes flick to each of them, before settling on the guy right next to my bed. Ice is right, he's one cold motherfucker.
"Please." I don't know how much longer I can hold off my tears. "I just need to see my brother; we need to get out of here. We need my car."
They all stare at me in silence, and I drop my eyes down. I'm suddenly very interested in the covers as I pick at invisible threads.
"You can see him after we talk," Nitro tells me. "I'm guessing you don't remember the accident?" he asks, and I shake my head. Big mistake, the room spins and my head throbs even harder. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths.
"Here." The Doc holds a small cup of water in front of me. I go to take it but he gently pushes my hand away. "I'll hold it. Just take a small sip." He places the cup on my lips and tips it a little. The water hits my lips and he pulls it away almost as quick, so I barely get anything.
"Please can I have another sip?" I ask, only now realising how thirsty I am.
He gives me another small sip then places the cup back on the side.
"Nova." Nitro calls out my name as he walks closer to the bed, taking a seat in the empty chair next to Doc. "The crash, do you remember it?"
"Not really. I remember feeling a little dizzy and then like I was losing control," I whisper.
"Well, you can't have your car." I look over at him, confused. “It’s at the bottom of the river, sweetheart. You were driving over the Lone Traveller Bridge when you lost control, hit the barrier and landed in the river."
No longer able to hold back the tears, I suck in a few breaths as they roll down my face. I feel sick. "I could have killed us both. Oh my god, please tell me Mason is okay, is he here? I really need to see him, please," I beg them through sobs.
"Hey, easy there, Dragonfly, take a breath. He's safe, we promise. Mase is totally fine, he's just in the other room with the nurse." Ice leans over, placing one hand on the back of my neck, curling the other over my fidgeting hands.
His hand on the back of my neck gently squeezes, as he rubs his thumb back and forth over my hands.
"Please let me see him," I beg, my eyes flicking between the three men in the room. I watch as Nitro gives a small nod to Doc who returns it and then heads out the door.
"Look at me, Nova," Nitro tells me. I turn to look at him, Ice still holding on to me. "You need to calm the fuck down before the kid comes in here. He'll freak out if he sees you upset."
I nod, taking a few deep breaths. "Please could I have a little more water?
" I ask, looking up at Ice. He smiles then reaches for the cup before gently tipping it to my lips, letting me have a small sip of water.
He places it back down on the table just as the door opens and in rushes Mason, followed by Doc.
"Nova," he calls out, racing over to the bed. Relief washes over me as Ice lifts him onto the bed. I wrap my arms around him, pulling him to me. I don't care that every inch of me hurts.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
He nods into my chest. "I haven't told them anything. They wanted me to tell them, but I didn't. I promise." My chest tightens at the thought of Mason making sure he keeps our secrets.
"Hey, little man." I look up to see another man standing in the doorway. He has his arm wrapped around a small blonde woman who gives me a smile and wink.
"Hey, Mason, why don't you come get some food with me?" she asks, and I hold him tighter to me, shaking my head.
"Nova, let go of the kid and let him go with Marissa so we can talk," Nitro tells me, his tone leaving no room for argument.
I look at him, then at the blond. She gives me a smile before stepping forward. "He'll be fine I promise, we're just going to go grab a bit of food."
I give a small nod, agreeing, knowing that I don't really have a choice. I give him a kiss on the top of his head, and Ice helps him off the bed.
"Nova?" he questions, as the woman reaches for his hand.
"It’s okay, buddy, go with Marissa and get some food, I'll be right here."
He looks uncertain but nods and lets her lead him out of the door.
The guy in the doorway watches her leave then closes it behind her.