Chapter 23 #2
He passes him off to me, staring at us as he pulls his pants on and slips on his cut.
“I’ll be back in a while. If you’re in pain, tell Doc.
He’ll give you something stronger for it.
” Hash pauses to shoot me a hard look at my expression.
He knows I’m one to downplay every situation because I don’t want anyone fussing over me.
“Now isn’t the time to be the hero, Aisling.
The more relaxed you are, the faster your body will heal.
I’m going to tell Doc when he leaves to send Evan up with some food. You need to eat.”
Hash moves in, placing a kiss on my forehead. He looks like he wants to say something else but decides against it, leaving the room and shutting the door behind him.
I haven’t forgotten the four words he spoke to me on the phone.
Love you, baby doll.
I need to bring it up, but I don’t want the first time I say it back to him to be clouded by this. It should be a happy memory.
A knock on the door sounds just as Cormac is done feeding. It must be Doc.
“Come in!” I call as I tuck myself away.
The door opens, and Doc’s head pokes in. “Is it okay if I come in?”
“Of course,” I try my best to smile at him, but with how swollen my cheek is, it comes out wonky.
Doc smiles politely, unfazed by how I look. I haven’t seen myself in the mirror yet, but if the way it feels is anything to go off of, I bet it’s pretty fucking bad.
Doc steps inside the room and gently closes the door behind him. He sets his medical bag on top of Hash’s dresser.
“How are you feeling?” he asks as he opens the bag, taking out a few things.
“I feel a tiny bit better now. When I first woke up a few hours ago, I felt like I had been run over by a car. Hash gave me some pain meds, and now it only hurts really bad if I move too fast or do any weird movements. It’s more of a dull ache now.”
Doc nods along as he makes his way over to me. “I’m going to check your vitals and look you over. Have you had any dizzy spells or felt faint?” he asks as he moves the stethoscope along my back and chest.
“My vision got really spotty, but I think it was just because I sat up really fast in bed. Besides that, no.”
Doc hums. “Probably. I’d still like to err on the side of caution and have you not doing a lot of anything for the next few days.”
“Are you putting me on bed rest, Doc?” I joke.
“I am.” He smiles. “I need to feel your cheek, okay?”
I suck in a breath, knowing it’s going to hurt like a bitch. “Okay.”
I set Cormac down between me and the wall as he wiggles around. Doc’s hand gently presses along my cheekbone, making me wince and grit my teeth as I hiss.
Owe.
Holy shit, it hurts.
“I know it hurts. I’m sorry,” Doc says, sounding professional and not really all that sorry as he continues pressing around my face.
He pulls out a tiny flashlight and holds it up to my face, angling it slightly away from eyes.
“Good, your pupils are dilating,” Doc says as he clicks it off.
“I don’t feel anything out of place in your cheek, but the swelling is still pretty intense.
You’re up and alert and seem to be talking normally.
Have you had a hard time remembering what happened last night or memories you should remember but can’t? ”
“No,” I answer.
Everything is crystal clear, unfortunately.
Doc moves to put his things away in his bag before turning back to me.
“Well, I told Hash last night I wanted to do an MRI to be sure nothing was wrong, but I think I’m going to hold off until the swelling goes down and see how you do from there.
Unless you would rather have it now, I can have it arranged. ”
“I’m okay with waiting.” Nothing sounds more miserable than being in a hospital right now.
I’m not about to go anywhere where that man can find me again. I don’t even know who he is, and he found me once. I highly doubt that, with the way hospitals let people walk all around, it would keep him out.
“Perfect,” Doc says as he walks toward the door. “If you change your mind, Hash knows how to reach me. I’ll be back tomorrow to check in on you.”
“Thank you.” Once again, I try to smile.
Doc nods before slipping out of the room.
I slide back on the bed until my back is against the wall as I watch Cormac play with his pacifier.
I should be lying down, but I’m starting to feel a little restless. Picking Cormac up, I set him down in the pack n play.
“Mama just needs to go to the bathroom really quick, baby. You won’t even know I’m gone.”
Cormac doesn’t acknowledge me as he occupies himself with some soft toys he finds as I make my way into Hash’s bathroom.
I flip on the light and walk straight to the toilet, not having the balls to look at myself yet. I know it’s going to be bad. By the time I’m done doing my business, I wash my hands without looking up.
Okay, I need to do this.
I suck in a deep breath as I look up. My mouth drops as I take in my reflection staring back at me.
The entire right side of my cheek and underneath my eye is a nasty combination of black, blue, and purple. The flesh is so swollen it looks like I’m retaining water.
No wonder my eye feels funny, and I can barely smile.
I slowly bring my hand up to my cheek, pressing on the welt ever so slightly.
“Owe,” I whine, backing my hand away fast.
How can Hash look at me and keep a straight face? No wonder his body has been wound so tight. Even when we were taking a nap, it didn’t feel like he was truly relaxed.
He looked like he was barely holding it together when he left to get Doc.
I splash some water on my face, the coolness feeling good against my skin.
“Knock knock.” Evan’s voice sounds in Hash’s room.
I walk out of the bathroom and see her standing in the doorway with a tray of food.
“Hi,” I greet, moving over to the bed as I check on Cormac on my way.
He’s still playing, oblivious of anything going on around him.
“Doc told me he was done, and I figured you would want some food. Your swelling looks like it’s gone down from last night,” Evan says as she comes fully into the room and sets the tray down on the bed.
“It has?” I look at her in disbelief.
What I just saw in the mirror doesn’t look like it’s gotten better.
“Your eye was barely open last night,” Evan says, her face sympathetic. “How are you feeling?”
“Aside from the dull headache I can’t get to go away, just tired. So, all things considered, not too bad,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.
Evan smiles.
“I brought you an ice pack. Doc said it would help with the swelling, but if you need something a little stronger to take the edge off, I brought you this.” Evan sets a few joints on my nightstand.
“I’m not saying smoke around the baby, of course.
I’ll watch him so you can garden,” she explains as she winks.
“If they find who did this, I told Cain I’m first in line to fuck his ass up.
Sutton said she would hold my jewelry. She isn’t really one for confrontation. ” Evan shrugs, making me laugh.
She’s fucking serious too.
“If they find him, I have a feeling I’m going to have to hold Hash back.”
I don’t want him to do something he will regret because of me.
“Oh, bitch, no. You let that man release all the rage he’s barely keeping a lock on. Once that’s over, you’ll have a nice, good back cracking fueled by the adrenaline that’s pumping through his veins, and then you two will live happily ever after.” Evan waves her hand.
She makes it sound like it’s the most normal thing. I’m beginning to think Hash is right; his life is very different from mine.
“I just don’t want him to go to prison for murder because of me. I just got him back. I don’t want to lose him again.”
“Prison?” Evan exclaims, her eyes wide with amusement.
“I know this is all new for you, but Hash isn’t going to prison.
And if the day does come when the club finds who did it, they’ll do it smart and make sure there isn’t a trail.
Cain is very calculating in his moves. He never acts before he takes a million years to think it over.
” Evan rolls her eyes. “It’s honestly so fucking annoying sometimes. ”
“I think I just feel guilty I’m bringing all of this on. It’s my mess. It shouldn’t be offloaded onto all of you guys,” I tell her as I take a cracker off the tray.
The girl made a whole-ass cheeseboard for me. I knew I liked her when I met her at the cookout.
“I get that.” Evan nods as she follows suit with eating.
“Cain and I met because I said I would help them out and then accidentally brought my shit onto them. I felt guilty about it for a while, but then I slowly realized that’s what family does.
They take each other’s backs without asking for a thing in return. ”
I look at her thoughtfully as I wait for the cracker to dissolve slightly in my mouth so it’s easier to chew.
I never thought of it like that. Sure, I had two parents who didn’t divorce growing up, but we were never close. When I moved out at eighteen, the distance grew even further. There’s no bad blood, but there also isn’t a relationship.
“How does your family feel about the club?” I ask.
It seems to be either people want nothing to do with the Dirty Devils or don’t care that they’re around. There’s no in-between.
“The only family I have is my brother, Scotch, who is in the club. So they love it.” Evan smirks.
I laugh, wincing as it hurts my face.
She’s such a smartass.
“Well, I’m going to let you rest. I’ll leave you the cheeseboard.” Evan moves to get up.
“Oh, you don’t have to leave yet. I’m really not that tired.”
“Doc lectured me about not staying too long and draining you. I know he looks calm, cool, and collected, but deep down that dude scares me. It’s always the quiet ones that will rock your shit out of nowhere.”
I got that vibe from him too.
“Well, we don’t want to make him mad. Do you know how much longer Hash will be?”
The easygoing look leaves Evan’s face, and a hesitant one takes its place. “Before I came up, things seemed to be… tense. I’ll see where he’s at when I go back down.”
I can read between the lines and know Hash is pissed.
“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her, not wanting to put any more stress on Hash.
Evan shoots me an understanding smile. “I’m going to see if I can find you a TV or something,” she says as she looks around Hash’s room. “There isn’t shit to do up here.”
“That’s what I told him, and he had the audacity to look at me like I’m crazy.” I laugh.
“Men.” Evan rolls her eyes. “Bye, little man.” She waves to Cormac before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.
I sigh as I reach over and drag the pack and play to the side of the bed.
I wasn’t tired when she was here, but now that I’m alone, it’s hitting me all at once.
“You want to take a nap with mama?” I ask Cormac, who is barely keeping his eyes open. Poor guy.
I get under the covers on Hash’s side, inhaling his scent on his pillow that’s still lingering. The comforting smell slowly lulls me to sleep.