Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
MAYA
“D o you want me to get your parents?” the nurse asked after the doctor left. I hadn’t been awake long and still felt off, sore, light-headed, and nauseous, but I nodded. I wanted my family around me.
They told me I’d died.
My heart had stopped beating after what he’d given me.
Blinking slowly, I glanced off to the wall. My brain felt sluggish, like my head was filled with cotton wool.
What happened to John? I hadn’t asked.
Why hadn’t I asked?
It should have been the first thing on my mind. Instead, I’d just felt relief that I was okay.
Guilt ate at my stomach.
Before I could call someone to find out, the door opened. Mum and Dad were there. Tears pricked my eyes. Mum was already crying as she rushed over and gently hugged me. Through my watery gaze, I met Dad’s soft one. Even his eyes held moisture. I reached out, and he took my hand instantly.
“You’re okay. You’ll get through this. We’re here. Lean on us, sweetie,” Mum cooed, brushing my hair from my eyes. Her eyes lingered on the cut on my face that was covered by a bandage, the bruises, the swollen eye.
But I was alive.
Nodding, I tried for a smile, but it wobbled. “I know, Mum.” When I noticed the nurse who brought them in starting to leave, I called out, “Excuse me.” As soon as the nurse looked back, I continued, “John. The man in the ambulance. Is he all right?”
When the nurse didn’t answer right away and I looked at my parents, I knew.
My throat closed over as a sob caught. “No,” I whispered, my bottom lip trembling. “No.”
“Sweetie.” Mum tried pulling me close, but I shook my head and pushed her back.
“It should have been me !” I screamed. “He has a wife, a family. It should have been me.”
He didn’t deserve to die.
God. Moreen would be devastated. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fucking fair.
Tears welled and fell, and I pushed Mum back again. A sound I’d never made before broke out of me.
“Sir, you can’t—”
“Get the fuck out,” I heard Dad bark, and next, I was lifted and on Dad’s lap. I tried to get away. I tried to fight his hold. “Darlin’, come here. Come on, baby.”
“No, no, no.” I pushed, I grabbed, I ripped, but Dad just held on to me.
“Baby girl.” He locked me in tight and rocked me. “Breathe, sweetheart, breathe.”
“Dad,” I cried.
“I know. I know it hurts.”
“His wife. His family.”
“I know. Fuckin’ unfair, sweetheart.”
I gripped his tee and held tight, crying into his chest. “It should have been me. He had a family.”
“No, sweetheart. I won’t fuckin’ hear it. What happened to him was a goddamn tragedy, but your life isn’t any less than his. We….” He cleared his throat. “We nearly lost you, Maya. We know his family’s pain. We get it. We can help them. Be there for them. But never say it should have been you, because you’re important to many as well.”
“Sweetie,” I heard Mum say softly and felt her at my back, careful of the stab wound that I knew would hurt worse if I wasn’t on pain medication. Then again, they’d told me it wasn’t that deep.
But none of that mattered.
The sorrow and guilt were drowning me. I couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t stop picturing John, his smiling face, his laugh, and then how he would have taken his last breath in that vehicle.
Because of that fucking man. I wouldn’t say his name. I wouldn’t think it. He was nothing.
“T-The man who did this….”
“He’s dead,” Dad said.
It wasn’t enough for me. He should have been alive and suffering. He took a good man from his family. From me.
“I know, kid. I wish he was fuckin’ alive too,” Dad said without me saying a word. “An easy death wasn’t enough for him. He deserved worse.”
I nodded into his chest. Was I supposed to feel bad for thinking such things? I didn’t know. I didn’t care. That man did deserve to suffer through more pain, more heartache. Knowing he wouldn’t gutted me.
It wasn’t fair.
He got off easy.
“Kitten, shift back. Gonna lay her back down,” Dad said to Mum. I gripped his tee tighter. “Sweetheart, your nightie is damp. You mighta pulled some stitches.”
I wished I felt the pain. It could numb my head, numb my thoughts. Dad slowly lowered me, and my back tugged, causing me to wince.
Mum pressed the call button as I wiped my face and took a shaky breath. Only new tears welled when I thought of John.
Dad brushed my hair from my face and kissed my forehead. “You’ll get through this.”
I nodded slightly, sniffing and wiping at my eyes. Mum took my free hand in hers and squeezed just as the door opened and a different nurse entered.
“Can you please check her stitches?” Mum asked.
“Of course.” With help from Dad, I leaned forward, my head spinning a little, and the nurse checked them. “They look good, but there has been some bleeding from the gauze moving. I’ll get a new waterproof one.”
“Thank you.” Mum smiled. She looked exhausted. They both did.
When the nurse left, I said, “You two need to rest.”
“Maya—”
“Dad, I-I know I lost it for a bit, but I’ll be okay.” I waved a hand towards the door. “Ruby and Drake are probably out there. They’ll need you.”
Mum shook her head. “Don’t you worry about anyone else but yourself.”
But I did. I would, and really, I wanted to be alone. I didn’t want to stress them more than I had. We’d all been through enough. “I need some sleep too,” I tried.
Mum’s lips thinned as she shook her head. “I know, and look, they’re only planning on keeping you in tonight, in case of concussion. Sweetie, I’d like to stay with you, please.”
Mum had probably already guessed my plan to push them away so I wasn’t a bother and could wallow on my own, but she wanted to support me. She wanted to help me, and deep down, I knew I would need and love some type of comfort.
Glancing at Dad, I caught his small nod with a soft smile.
“Okay, Mum. Thank you.”
She waved me off. “Don’t thank me. I will always be here for all of our children.”
“I know.”
Dad’s hand rested down on my arm. “You up for some visitors?” He felt it when I tensed, and quickly added, “You don’t have to have anyone in here if you don’t want.”
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate their support.”
Dad nodded. “I get it.”
“So…” I licked my dry lips. “Would it be okay if I just saw my brothers and sister?”
“Fuck yes.” He leaned down and gently kissed my temple where I’d been sliced. “Be back.”
When Dad left, Mum pulled over a chair to sit beside the bed. She took my hand in both of hers. “It’s a bit crowded out there, so it’ll be good your dad sends everyone off.”
I gave her a tight-lipped smile and nodded. Weariness suddenly took over. Shifting my gaze up to the ceiling, I had to blink rapidly as more tears formed at the thought of John.
All I could think was how unfair it was to lose such an amazing man.
“You’ll be okay, sweetie.” Mum ran her fingers over my hand.
“I-I don’t know if I could go back to… I wouldn’t be able to—”
“Hey, work is not something you need to worry about right now. Let’s just take each day as it comes. No one will force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
Roughly, I wiped at my eyes and drew in a shaky breath as I nodded.
The door opened, and in flew Ruby and Drake. Mum pushed back in time for Ruby to take her place while Drake stood on my other side. Ruby’s bottom lip trembled. She leaned in, and I reached out to cup the side of her face. Her tears fell as my eyes filled once more. Ruby bent further and placed her forehead against my shoulder. I put my hand around the back of her head and held her close.
“I’m all right,” I whispered, choked.
“Fuck,” Drake clipped, and when I looked at him, he spun his back to me. I didn’t miss his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. Dad stepped up to him and gripped his shoulder.
“Drake, come here,” I said softly.
“Give me a sec.” His tone was tight.
“Drake.”
He turned my way, and I caught a glimpse of anger in his gaze before he leaned in and clasped his hands around my upper arm to then push his face into my shoulder. “Fuck.”
Dad cleared his throat. “Cody will be in soon.”
Nodding, I kissed the top of Drake’s head and then Ruby’s. “Guys, I’m okay.”
Drake sniffed and straightened. “If that guy was still alive, I’d fuckin’ kill him myself.”
“Drake, language,” Mum tried from where she leaned against Dad, though it wasn’t her usual peeved or annoyed tone when Drake slipped up and swore.
“You’d have to get in line, kid.” My gaze swung to the door where Cody stood. His jaw clenched, nostrils flared, and the anger I saw in Drake’s eyes burned brighter in my other brother’s.
With a weak smile, I said, “I’m okay.”
Cody’s jaw tightened again. “Bullshit,” he clipped. “But you will get there.”
My bottom lip trembled. “I will.” Hopefully.
“Kids, let’s hit the road,” Dad stated.
Ruby whispered in my ear, “I’m sorry this happened, but I’m here, always. If you need anything, just ask.”
I kissed her forehead. “Thanks, sis.”
Drake cleared his throat. “Not sure if I messed up, but I panicked and let Mr Nareen know you were here.”
“Drake,” I breathed as anxiety gripped my chest.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered, glancing away from me.
“Hey,” I said, gaining his attention back, and when I held my hand out, he took it. I gave him a squeeze. “It’s okay. Dad will tell him I’ll talk to him soon. I’m just not ready for it now.”
“Okay.” With a quick kiss to my cheek, Drake walked out of the room, and Ruby quickly followed her twin.
Dad gave me a hug and kiss. “See you soon, kid.”
“You got it.”
“Kitten, walk me out,” Dad said.
“I’ll stay while you’re gone, Mum,” Cody said. Dad laid a hand on his shoulder before leaving.
“Be back soon,” Mum said with a wave before she too was gone.
Cody stepped further into the room and closed the door.
“Where’s Channa?” I asked.
“In the waitin’ room.”
“She could have come in,” I told him with a frown.
“Said that to her. She didn’t want to intrude on family time.”
I snorted, enjoying talking about anything else rather than what happened. “She’s already a part of the family.”
He smirked, taking Mum’s chair and pulling it close again. “Said that too, but you know her.”
“I do. She’s too nice.”
His face softened. “She is.”
“You picked well for once.”
He mock glared. “I always have good taste.” I rolled my eyes and stilled when he shifted in the seat and leaned forward. “So, you didn’t want to see that teach of yours.”
Relaxing a little since he wasn’t going to talk about that… and John, I sighed and ran a hand over the top of my head. It was getting harder to keep my eyes open from tiredness. “No. I… I just wasn’t ready.”
“Texas is out there.”
I looked away. “That’s nice. Mum said there’s a lot of people, or it was Dad who told me… I don’t know.”
“Maya—”
“Don’t. Please.”
“Okay,” he whispered. “Ruin’s also out there with his man.”
“His man. Never thought I’d see that.”
“Me neither, but Wolf is cool.”
I hummed in reply.
“You know, I used to thank God a lot when he brought Mum into Dad’s life. Not only did I get someone who loved me like I was her own right from the start, but I got an annoyin’ little sister.”
I bit down on my bottom lip to stop the tremble before sucking in a deep breath. I wasn’t sure I could handle Cody’s kind words. “Cody, I’m tired.”
“Then rest, sister, because I’ve got your back. I’ll always have your back, and I’m more than fuckin’ grateful God shined down on our family once again so none of us lost you.”
“Cody,” I choked.
He stood up, only to lean over and rest his forehead to mine. “You’re my baby sister, Maya.”
Tears welled and dropped. I couldn’t stop them, and I didn’t want to. My family had been through so much, and this, what happened to me, was so like Dad’s situation.
“Cody,” I cried, slamming my eyes closed.
“When we were little, Maya, you brightened my days when I was down. It was you and me against Mum and Dad for so fuckin’ long. Hell, it’s still like that. I’d do anythin’ for you, sister, you know that…. If you weren’t in my life, it’d be a fuckload duller. Glad you’re here with us, Maya.”
Sniffing, I wrapped my arms around him. “Love you, brother.”
He made a noise in the back of his throat. “Always love you, sister.”
I’d been wrong before when I’d said I would hopefully get through this. There was no hope necessary. I already knew I would because of my family.