Chapter 8
Phoenyx
I ’ve been awake for a hot minute now, but I’m afraid to talk.
It’s been two days and I still make no fucking sense when I talk.
Cade was discharged earlier and is going home with a heart monitor to make sure he is okay.
No one has left our side, though. A few have come to visit, but it stresses Cade out when I get stressed over not making sense.
I have to stay until I make sense again.
The scans look great, and I avoided surgery.
“Are you going to talk?” Cade asks. I shake my head, and he sighs. “Just one word.”
“Asshole,” I mutter.
“Doesn’t count,” he laughs. “Fine. Either you talk, or I take the monitor off.”
I frown at him disapprovingly, and he shrugs. I sit up and throw my pillow at him, but he smacks it out of the air and starts unhooking his monitor. “Put the goddamn monitor back on, Cade,” I scold him. I gasp, and he grins at me. “I make sense.”
“You do,” he smiles. “I’m going to miss you calling me an unfuckable.”
“Well, you are,” I laugh and stand up. The door comes open, and everyone else comes in.
“Hey, salad brain,” Callum says.
“Hey,” I say with a smile. He immediately picks me up in a hug and squeezes me tight. “Stop, you’re squishing me.”
“Sorry. You’re back!” he says happily as he sits me back on my bed.
“I am,” I say. Knox, Tripp, and Rook take turns hugging and kissing me. “It’s nice to find the right words to say.”
“I thought I heard excitement in here,” Dr. Song says as he comes into the room.
“I don’t have salad brain,” I say happily.
“I see that,” he smiles.
“Can I go home now?” I ask.
“I was coming to bring you your discharge paperwork,” he smiles.
“You talk in your sleep,” Cade says. “They were asleep, but I wasn’t. He came in and you were making sense for being asleep.”
“You are still on restrictions,” Dr. Song says to me. “Relax and be still. Avoid bending, jumping, or moving around a lot.”
“Aww. That means no sex,” I say.
“Unfortunately, yes,” he says. “Once the dizziness and headaches are gone, you can. Just give it a week or two.”
“Damn,” I sigh. “Okay. I don’t like salad brain. I’ll be good.”
“Let’s get you out of here,” he smiles. “I want you to come see me in a week for another scan to see where we are. If anything gets worse, come back immediately. Okay?”
“Okay,” I smile.
We pull into the driveway, and I get out. Knox comes around and scoops me up, making me laugh. “I can walk,” I say.
“I know, but I’m still carrying you,” he says simply as he carries me into the house. He takes me upstairs and sits me on the bed.
“I want to shower,” I say. “I’m sure. I’ll start the water.”
“Why was there a bomb in the cabin?” I ask.
“The detective is a friend of ours,” Rook says.
“He confirmed they are dead. All the materials to make the bombs were in there with them, so it seems like it was a suicide. They knew they were caught. Their arms were tied behind their backs, but that was left out of the report. The theory is, their people turned on them when they realized what they had done, and they were hoping the cops would get to them instead.”
“So, were they trying to hurt us?” I ask.
“Unlikely,” Tripp says. “Would defeat the purpose of killing them at all.”
“Is it over then?” I ask.
“It’s over,” Knox says with a smile.
“Cade… Callum…” I say.
“Yes?” Cade asks.
“Go away,” I say. “You have avoided Ally for days now, and she’s worried about you. You literally died and she doesn’t know. Callum… go fuck someone or something. I am okay.”
“But…” Callum starts to say.
“Go,” I say. “Please.”
“Okay,” he sighs. “Call if you need anything. Okay?”
“I will,” I smile. “I love you, guys. I’m glad everyone is okay.”
“Us too, Nyx. Us too,” Cade says as he leans down and hugs me tightly. Callum hugs me next before they leave.
“Any chance we can bend the rules and y’all gently fuck me?” I ask.
“Uh… no,” Knox laughs.
Over the last year, I’ve been through so much.
I survived death twice and found the loves of my life.
I went into things thinking they’d have to make me break, but I was the one who willing shattered everything I ever knew so they could help build me back up.
I will have a lot of building to do, but there’s no one else I’d rather have reconstructing my life than Knox, Rook, and Tripp.