Chapter Twenty-Two #2
“I’d like to get a scan of your head, Miss Mills.
That’s the one thing we didn’t do when you were rushed into surgery.
I’m going to go put the order in now. The nurse will be in soon with your next dose of pain medicine.
Please take it so we can stay on top of your pain levels.
At least for the first few days. You don’t feel any pain in your wrist or ankle that are damaged?
” Dr. Ashford questions me, her voice almost a whisper as she looks where I have a cast and brace.
“No. I really don’t feel any pain in either of those areas. At least right now I don’t feel anything. Is it possible the areas are numb for some reason?” I question the doctor as Matt sits forward with a frown on his face once again.
“I mean, there’s a possibility it would be numb for a little bit.
If you don’t get feeling back in your wrist and ankle soon, we might have to do more testing on those areas to ensure there’s nothing more going on we didn’t see when you were brought in,” Dr. Ashford responds, making notes on the tablet before she gives me a small smile and turns to leave us alone with a gentle reminder of going for a head scan soon.
Matt and I sit in silence for a few minutes.
I know my family and the club members are waiting to come in and see me, but I’m afraid all of them in my room at once right now will be too overwhelming.
Especially knowing I have to go for a head scan soon and that everyone wants to make sure I’m okay.
On a good day, everyone together is overwhelming.
Now, I don’t believe it would be something I can handle dealing with.
“Matt, I’m not sure if I can have everyone in here at once,” I begin speaking as Matt looks at me with a smile on his face.
“I know, Peyton. I already planned on goin’ out to get our family and the kids first. My mom isn’t here right now.
She’s back at the compound with the rest of the kids.
Only our children are here. Callum, Kimber, and Brick with your parents and Jennifer should be okay,” he assures me, standing from his seat and making his way to the door.
I don’t take my eyes from Matt as he remains in the doorway and talks to whoever is just outside the door.
The last thing I want right now is to be alone.
Part of me is still scared the stalker is out there and will get close to me if I’m in this hospital room alone.
It’s not rational, but this person has been stalking me for months and for it to just stop isn’t going to be easy to convince me of.
It’s going to take time for me to process the information and realize it’s true on my own.
Then I’ll be able to go out with the freedom I’ve craved since this all started.
Not just the freedom but a sense of peace I haven’t felt in such a long time.
The only time I do feel it is when I’m in the safety of my house with Matt by my side.
He’s my home and makes me feel secure, safe, and with a peace I haven’t felt since the day I started talking to Clark.
That asshole robbed me of every ounce of confidence I ever had before him.
Matt is the one slowly restoring it within me.
Matt makes his way back to my bed and resumes sitting in one of those uncomfortable chairs they always seem to have for visitors.
I already know he won’t be leaving my side until the second I’m discharged.
My parents, Jennifer, and Kimber will help with the kids.
And I know I’ll have men guarding my door even though the stalkers have been dealt with.
I just hope Clark’s wife doesn’t get bail and remains in jail until the trial and then gets sent to prison or a mental hospital where she can get the help she’s in desperate need of.
“Sweetheart, we were so worried about you,” my dad says, entering my room and rushing to the opposite side of my bed. “Are you okay?”
“I’m doing as well as I can be right now.
Dr. Ashford is going to send me to have my head scanned because I’m missing a little bit of time.
They didn’t do that when I was brought in I guess, so they’re going to do it now,” I answer him honestly as always because I refuse to keep anything from my family. Especially my dad.
Matt lifts Cedric up in my bed and he cuddles in next to me. Callum is holding Caydence in his arms while Kimber and my sister each hold one of the twins.
“The kids will be coming home with Jayson and me when we leave here,” Kimber informs me with a soft smile on her face as she looks at me.
I watch as she takes in my injuries and her eyes become larger and larger. Tears form on her lashes and I know it’s taking everything in her to hold them back right now. This is why she’s one of my best friends.
“Don’t cry for me, Kimber. I’m okay. A little sore, but these injuries won’t last forever. And I don’t have to deal with the stalker anymore. This apparently had to happen and I made it back alive,” I tell her, knowing deep in my heart that’s the truth of the matter.
Clark’s wife wasn’t going to stop until someone made her. And she wanted to have me suffer for the wrongs she supposedly suffered by me getting what she believed was hers.
“You shouldn’t have dealt with this shit at all,” Callum says angrily as he steps up closer when Caydence reaches out for Matt.
“I know. But, I learned a lesson to never trust the words of a person and instead look at their actions. Clark was a walking red flag and I ignored all the signs over the years because I thought I loved him. Now, I know that wasn’t love at all.
I love Matt with every part of myself and that’s what I should have been looking for instead of just being with someone because I didn’t want to be alone,” I state, knowing it’s the truth of the matter and that’s the only reason I was with Clark to begin with.
“I love you, Peyton. Not goin’ anywhere ever again.
You’re stuck with me,” Matt says as he stands from the chair with our daughter in his arms and kneels on one knee.
“I already talked to your dad and asked for his blessin’.
Peyton, I have loved you for as long as I can remember.
I want to spend the rest of my days raisin’ our children with you and growin’ old while creatin’ a million memories and givin’ you things to add to that box.
Will you do me the honor of becomin’ my wife? ”
I can’t stop the tears from falling as I nod my head slightly so I don’t start feeling like I’m going to be sick again.
Matt stands from the floor and slides a beautiful ring on my finger.
It’s a smaller diamond surrounded by the birthstones of all of us.
Small diamonds round the band of the ring and it’s perfect for me.
Something I truly love. This is the last thing I expected to happen in a hospital room, but it somehow fits us perfectly.
Matt and I will never have a conventional love story because we aren’t typical people.
He craves the freedom and brotherhood he gets from being in the Dirty Slayers MC while I crave independence and a sense of peace.
We live our lives on our terms now and I hope it’s always this way moving forward.