68. Corinthians
Corinthians
Ipushed open Uri’s room door and slowly entered.
The room was dark, not pitch dark but dark enough that it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. Hood told me there was a setback while I was gone.
He’d gotten up when he wasn’t supposed to, popped a few stitches, and one of the tubes in his chest moved.
They had to sedate him. I hated that I was gone when it happened.
The soft, deep sound of his monitor echoed through the room, and I stopped walking.
Seeing him lying in that bed, eyes closed, chest rising and falling, will never be something I’m used to.
I want him out of here, home, with Judah and me.
Home, holding me like he does every night. Not here, anywhere but here.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I took it out to see Wednesday’s name. Sighing, I swiped the screen, and his concerned face filled it.
“I called Psalms, but she didn’t answer,” he said, not waiting for me to greet him.
His dark eyes searched for her in my background before he returned his focus to me.
I tried not to smile, but I couldn’t help it.
His concern for my sister was cute. Psalms may have just come to the understanding that she loved him, but there has never been any doubt in my mind that Wednesday loved my sister.
Had since he saw her sitting on that couch years ago.
He had competition with Script, though. We all saw it coming.
“I dropped her off at home,” I whispered, being mindful of Uri sleeping. I needed him to rest. “She’s probably in her garden.”
“What did she do?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I sighed. His brow went up, and I leaned against the wall. “It was me. All of it. She was just there.”
“You-“
“Yes,” I said, cutting him off before he could ask the question I hated to hear. I was alright; even if I weren’t, my answer would always be yes. I lowered the phone and tapped it against my thigh. My throat started to feel tight, and my eyes burned. I wouldn’t cry, couldn’t cry.
“Yo, Corinthians,” Wednesday called out.
“I’m good,” I said without lifting the phone. I hit the back of my head against the wall. “I’m good.”
Just before I felt him, the smell of Uri filled my lungs. His hands went to my wrist, and his forehead rested against mine. “I need you to breathe,” he said. His voice was low and rough, almost a growl. He took the phone from me. “She’s good. I got her.”
“Uri,” I whispered without opening my eyes. “I, I, I…”
“Breathe, Corinthians,” he repeated. The warmth of his body surrounded me, and I felt my heart slam against my chest. “I got you.” He moved his forehead against mine and put his mouth to my ear. “How long have I had you?”
“From the beginning,” I answered him.
“Right, and I’ve never let you down before, right?” he asked. I shook my head, not trusting my voice. “Let me hear you, baby. Have I ever let you down before?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Never.”
“Right, so do what I said and breathe; I got you.” He let go of my wrist and pulled me off the wall and into his arms. I tensed, and he chuckled. “You know better than that. You can't hurt me, Corinthians.” I hugged him back, resting my face on his chest, and took a deep breath. “There you go.”
“Uri, you’re hot,” I said, lifting my head. “What’s your temp?” Hood hadn’t mentioned anything about a fever or him possibly having one. The chance of him getting sick was always higher in the hospital.
“I’m good,” he said, smiling down at me. “You’re here, so I’m good.”
“No,” I said, stepping back. “What is your temperature?”
“I don’t know, baby,” he said.
Sighing, I looked at his wrist and bit into my lip to keep from going off. “Where is your bracelet?”
“I don’t know,” he answered with a shrug. “Probably on the computer stand.”
I stepped around him and walked to the computer stand near his bed to find his bracelet.
He couldn’t be without it, and he knew it.
“Uri, this isn’t to come off while you’re here,” I said, turning to face him, holding up the bracelet that Nine had designed for him years ago.
“Keep it on.” He hated the bracelet, but it had saved his life on more than one occasion.
Uri crossed his arms and smirked. “Or what?”
“Are you trying to fight right now?” I tilted my head to the side and narrowed my eyes. “Is that what it is? You want to fight?”
“I don’t know what I need,” he replied and licked his lips. “I got a million thoughts running through my head right now. I don’t know shit; hell, I barely know my name.”
“Then sit your ass down, Uri; you shouldn’t even be up right now,” I said, shaking my head. I knew what he was doing, but it wasn’t going to work. I needed something to focus on. To keep my attention so I wouldn’t do anything stupid. “As a matter of fact, get back in bed before you pass out.”
“I’m fine,” he chuckled, shaking his head. I knew he felt fine, but he never knew any better. His body would run him until he died if he wasn’t careful.
“Uri, get in bed.” I pointed to the empty bed.
“No.”
“Uri.” I started tapping against my thigh with my right hand. “Get. In. The. Bed.”
“No.”
“Uri!” I yelled his name, knowing he hated being yelled at and that it would get him moving.
He crossed the room and got in my face. “I’m fine!” he said, staring me down. His dark eyes narrowed, and his nostrils flared. “Do not fucking yell at me!”
The doors opened, and security walked into the room. Uri turned around, making sure to wrap my arm around his waist to keep me behind him.
“Walk out,” I said to the security guard, looking around Uri. “For your safety, you need to walk the fuck out.”
“I heard yelling,” he said, stepping into the room. I shook my head and grabbed a handful of Uri’s hospital gown. “He needs to be in bed.” I nodded but didn’t move.
“I need you to walk the fuck out of this room!” I said, looking at him.
I reached into my pocket for my phone and came up empty.
Quickly, I looked at the bed to see that Uri had dropped it there and debated if I would be quick enough to grab it and call Pyrite, who was down the hall, before Uri killed this dumb ass.
“Y-y-y-you,” Uri started to stutter.
Realizing I wasn’t going to have enough time, I held tight to the gown and sighed.
This was not what I needed right now. “Uri,” I said, lifting to my tiptoes so my mouth was closer to his ear, even though he would still be at least a foot taller than me.
He always said hearing my voice calmed him down. “I need you to hear me right now.”
“Sir…” the security guard said, approaching us.
I looked over at him, shaking my head. “Please stop,” I pleaded. “This is not what you need right now.”
“Sir…” The security guard said again.
My hand tightened on the bracelet, making me remember the small panic button inside. I tapped it, hoping that Nine would send someone to the room in time. I quickly stepped around Uri, putting my body between him and the security guard. “I got him. You need to leave.”
“I can't do that,” he said, shaking his head. He looked up at Uri, and his brows creased in the middle. “He doesn’t look too well.”
“He’s a damn werewolf,” I said, rolling my eyes. The security guard looked at me with a confused expression. “He recently had surgery, and the pain meds are affecting his temperament.” That was a lie; he wasn’t on anything.
“Then let me help you help him into the bed.” he reached for my arm, and that’s when I felt Uri move.
I pushed the security guard back just as he reached for my arm, and Uri grabbed mine instead. His grip tightened on my wrist, and I winced in pain. “Uri,” I said, tapping his hand. “Uri.” He started to twist, and my breath caught in my throat. The security reached for me again. “No!”
“Ma’am, he’s-“
“He’s okay!” I yelled without taking my eyes off Uri. His eyes were glazed over; he mentally wasn’t there. “Uri, baby, let me go!”
“Ma’am!”
“Do not touch him,” I said, shaking my head. I took my eyes off Uri to look at the security guard, and that was my next mistake. His free hand went to my neck. I gasped, allowing my lungs to fill with oxygen like I’d been taught. When he came out of this, he was going to hate himself.
The door opened, and in walked Nine and Cross.
Nine crossed the room and wrapped his arm around Uri and put him in a chokehold.
“Uri!” Nine yelled. “Let her go! Uri!” I tapped at his hands, still holding my breath.
I could hold my breath for a little over a minute.
Cross grabbed his forearm, and the security guard grabbed the other, and they pulled at his arms. “Four, let her go!”
“Please,” I pleaded as my chest started to burn and I felt myself going limp. “Uri, please.”
“Four!” Cross yelled as she pulled. “Four!”
Something in him snapped, and I felt his grip loosen, and then he finally let go. I gasped, bending over, hands on my knees, and took deep breaths.
“Let me go!” Uri yelled as he fought against their hold. “Let me go!”
“Calm down!” Nine yelled. “Fucking calm down first!”
“What happened to her?” Uri yelled. “W-W-W-What happened to her?”
“You choked her!” Cross yelled. “You put your hands on her again.” She tried to push past Nine, but he held her back. “Again, Four! You said you wouldn’t do it again!”
“I didn’t mean to!”
“You never mean to!” she replied. “Not the first time or this time!”
“Ay, what the fuck is going on in here?” I heard Kenbral say. I looked up to see him standing in the doorway: black pants, white shirt, and dark blue FBI windbreaker. I hated him, probably more than he hated me. “It’s reports going through security that it was a fight. What the fuck happened!”
“Your brother choked my cousin,” Cross answered.
He grunted then shook his head. “Oh.” I didn’t expect him to feel any empathy for the situation.
“Fuck you, Kenbral,” I said, shaking my head. My throat burned like crazy, and I felt like I was going to throw up. “Nobody asked you shit.”
“You did-“
“Shut the fuck up, Kenbral!” Nine yelled.