Chapter 10
Emery
“Really?” I ask, unimpressed by the sunny smile on the nurse who has made it her mission to hang out with me every time Oakley hasn’t been here. It also took me until last night to realize the reason she seemed so familiar is because she is the woman from the front desk at Obsession Friday night.
“Yep, really,” replies Marie, her long hair tied up in a high ponytail, swishes as she nods and gestures at the wheelchair. “Hospital rules.”
I make a noise of frustration before pushing up to standing from my spot on the bed. “I’m not going to miss you.”
She laughs as she comes around to hold my arm and assist me in sitting. “Yes, you are.”
Not that I’ll admit it to her—because I want the hell out of here—but I’m thankful for the wheelchair. Walking on my own to the bathroom attached to my room this morning zapped my energy.
Who knew that getting a knock to the head would be so exhausting?
Once I’m in my seat, she grabs the duffel bag Oakley loaned me, since mine is still at the sex apartment, and places it on my lap before starting our journey toward the exit.
Even thinking about my stuff there all by itself makes my heart pang pathetically in my chest. Because thinking about my stuff reminds me that I will actually have to talk to them at least one more time to get it back.
Maybe even see them.
I have to intentionally think about releasing my clenched jaw.
See them.
Literally, gross.
Hard ignore.
When I had that startling thought last night, I quickly compiled a list of the items I’d taken with me, and even though talking to them is ten-thousand percent something I do not want to do, I know I will.
My laptop. Phone charger. All the clothes. My new sketchbook and graphite set. And not to mention my teddy bears.
While I want all my things back, I don’t want them back.
Nope. Absolutely not.
“Do you have someone picking you up?” Marie asks as she presses the down button at the elevator.
“Yeah, a friend is coming,” I reply, pulling out my phone and making sure that Will hasn’t messaged me again since he said he was on his way.
No new messages.
There are no messages from them, either. Not a peep. Not in our private chats or our group chat, which is kind of weird. While the last three weeks haven’t been full of messages, it is super odd not to have any contact with them.
But it’s fine. I’m fine. I’m good. Great, even.
“Great! And you have all the paperwork the doctor gave you, right?”
I squish the side of the bag and hear the cardboard flex inside the bag. “Yeah.”
“And what are the signs you should come back to the hospital?”
“My vision gets blurry or sparkly. Headache gets worse. I vomit. Any form of bleeding from the face. Slurred speech. I pass out,” I rattle off. I’m probably missing a few, but whatever. “Basically, if I feel worse in any way, I need to come back.”
“Yep, exactly. Or you can tell your d—” she starts right as there is a ding and the door opens.
We’re inside, turned around to face the front, with the ground floor button pressed, and she still hasn’t finished her sentence.
“Or I can tell…?” I start off for her.
“Oh, right. Uh, you can tell your dormmate. I gave her the rundown as well before she left last night.”
I nod. “Yeah, she’s probably going to hover like crazy once she is back from her classes.”
“The way she hovered while you were here, I would believe it.”
The elevator dings and the doors open, people immediately stepping forward before we’ve even begun to leave.
Marie’s voice turns extra perky as she says excuse me and everyone steps back, but I make a harrumphing noise.
“Why do people do that? Can’t they stand back at a reasonable distance and then wait to see if there is someone leaving? It just makes them look rude,” I rant to no one in particular.
“People live in their own worlds these days, forgetting that other people exist too. All we can do is keep reminding them that we are here as well.”
Even though I’m not looking at her, I nod in agreement.
Maybe that’s what I need to be doing more of—letting people know I’m here. I have barely anyone in my circle, just Oakley and maybe now Will. Derek, Hudson, Darcy, and Xavier have all disappeared, not even contacting me once since that first night in the hospital.
But, really, that’s what I want, right? I told Oakley to make them go away, and she did.
Except for the money. That still came.
Scowling at that thought, I clutch tighter at my bag as Marie works her way around the people in the lobby area, making our way to the front door.
As we get closer, I lose the frown and start scanning for the entryway for Will, only to have my heart do something that my doctors would have been very unhappy with.
Derek.
Sitting in the waiting area, laptop balanced on his bent and crooked knee, ankle resting on the opposite knee.
My heart swaps places with my stomach as we get closer, and he must sense my stare because he suddenly glances up in our direction.
He came.
Has he been here this entire time?
His gaze flicks above my head and back down to mine, the beginning of a smile starting to stretch his lips as he closes his laptop and reaches for his bag on the floor.
I…what?
Did he not leave?
“Emery!”
Head snapping in the direction of the front doors, I see both Will and Vinnie coming through. Will’s expression is concerned, then he smiles that Colgate smile of his, and my heart goes back to its proper place. But it doesn’t feel right at all.
Will rushes toward me and crouches down so we are at eye-level. His gaze roves over my face, pausing significantly on the cut and bruise on my cheek. His lips quirk. “Are you an underground cage fighter, and this is how you’re letting me know?”
I can’t help the laugh that escapes me. “No, I wish. I—”
“Excuse me, could I please have a word with Emery?” A shadow looms behind Will as the deeper male voice breaks into our conversation.
Nerves rattle my rib cage at seeing Da—Derek so close.
Will is equally surprised to see Derek and shoots up to standing, bringing them almost chest to chest. “Professor King, ah, hi, sir. What are you doing here?”
Derek doesn’t take a step back, using his slightly larger frame to assert his dominance. “Emery and I have a relationship outside of school.”
My mouth pops open at the audacity of this fucking man.
Did he just claim a non-student-teacher relationship with me in front of a student, when that’s all I wanted for the past three weeks? To be acknowledged?
Forcing my throat to find words, I try to interject. “No, we do not.” Not anymore, anyway.
“Yes, we do. And I’d like to have a word with you. In private.” Derek cuts me a look that would have previously had me backing down, but fuck that shit.
He doesn’t own me. He fucking ignored me and trampled all over the one fucking boundary I had for all four of them, and now he wants to swoop in here and do whatever shit this is?
Turning his attention back to Will, who has taken that forced step backward, Derek offers him a tight smile. “Just a couple of minutes, then you can take her home.”
Will glances between the two of us, clearly wanting to go to battle for me. He takes a deep breath and crouches back down, one hand cupping my knee and the other reaching forward to tuck some hair behind my ear. “I’ll be over by the door with Vinnie. Unless you don’t want to talk to him?”
I swallow and flick a look at Derek. His jaw is tight, and he’s wearing an expression that should be flaying Will alive. I’m so fucking confused right now, and I don’t think I can even blame the concussion. “I…yes, that’s fine. I, just give us a couple of minutes?”
With a squeeze of my knee, he stands. “No worries. Like I said, I’ll be over there.” Shooting one more look at Derek, he goes over to Vinnie, who has a confused look on his face.
“Thanks, Marie. Could you give us a minute?”
I whip my attention back to Derek. Of course he knows Marie. They are both Obsession members.
“Yes, sir,” she replies, the happy, bubbly nurse disappearing as she responds with a quiet and soft voice.
A subby voice.
What the hell is going on?
My heart is fucking racing and my limbs feel all tingly.
Is this another goddamn game?
Derek pulls out a yellow envelope and crouches down the same way Will had. The hardness of his features softens as his gaze roams over me, taking in everything, all the way down to my braced wrist.
“You gave us quite the scare, do you know that?” Derek asks, brushing the knuckles of his free hand over the back of my non-braced hand, a sad smile on his face.
The sensation is like touching fire, and I pull my hand back, not bothering to respond. Well, really, I can’t respond, not with the way my throat has swollen up.
He sighs, his smile slipping away, and offers me the envelope. “This is for you.”
I don’t reach for it. My heart is absolutely racing, and I feel a little sick. I don’t want any more envelopes from them. Ever.
Derek lowers the envelope onto my bag. “You don’t have to open it right now.
Actually, I advise you not open it until you’re ready.
Some privacy might also be beneficial. I won’t tell you what’s in the envelope, but I will tell you this.
I know I messed up this thing between us.
You will never know how utterly sorry I am for that.
You have every right to be angry that I cut you out of the decision-making process.
This is your life, after all. I’m not going to make excuses or try to explain my side of things.
Not letting you know what the plan entailed was our mistake, so this time, I’m going to make it abundantly clear.
“What I am going to do is let you know that we aren’t going anywhere. All four of us are still here, and we are going to wait for as long as you need us to. We aren’t ready to let you go. Yes, we are going to give you space, but we are going to be here for you in whatever capacity you allow.”
My cheeks burn with frustration as I frown at him, my entire body burning with irritation and a little fear. “But I said red, it’s over.”
He nods, pensive energy radiating from him. “You did. But what we never discussed is what comes after using your safe word.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
“Discussion. A conversation about what was happening, what went wrong, what would need to change for future situations. Make a plan. I know you aren’t ready to have that conversation with us right now, that’s what the letter is for.
In the envelope is a plan the four of us have devised and will be actioning over the coming weeks and months if necessary.
This is us providing you with all the information.
Please consider reading it.” Derek holds a hand up before I can voice my protest. “When you are ready, of course. If you choose to never open it, that is your decision to make. You have all the power here.”
Chest heavy, I stare at him before slowly placing my hand on top of the envelope.
A quick twist of a smile appears on his handsome face, then he reaches for the sunglasses tucked into his shirt and slides them onto my face, before he stands and takes a step back.
He glances back over his shoulder and gestures to Will.
“You can take her home now.” He turns back to me.
“I’m having your things delivered back to your dorm. ”
Will immediately comes forward and takes charge of my wheelchair, and without a word, pushes me toward the exit where Vinnie is waiting.
Right at the last second, I glance over my shoulder at Derek and find him standing in a moving sea of people, watching me as I leave.