29. Aiden
Chapter 29
Acouple of hours after they start weaning Jace off his sedation meds, they have to up his pain medications. Even while asleep, his eyes are tightly shut, showing how much pain he’s in. Toby took Oliver to get something to eat, so I let my mind wander.
Finding out Trent was involved in Jace’s car accident was almost more than I could take. Especially since the first time I heard about it was during his rant. But according to Trent, Jace was dead. During the fight and at his apartment, it was like he was in some sort of manic episode but clammed up as soon as Kristian’s detectives started questioning him. The only thing he admitted to was the fight with me and taking me against my will. His bodyguard is the one that threw him under the bus. According to him, Trent was waiting for Jace to leave his office and ran him off the road. Trent’s theory was if he could get rid of Jace first, we would be easier to get to. His plan next was to take care of Toby, but he got too distracted by coming to find me instead.
Through all of this, my dad has been in constant contact. Either on the phone or coming to the hospital. I still keep Oliver and Toby as far away from him as I can, but he’s more than proved himself to me. He seems worried about Jace, and that thawed my heart a little. His reaction to finding out why Trent did what he did thawed it completely. My dad was murderous when I told him what Trent did to me in college.
Jace groans, and I shoot up out of my chair. I grab his hand and swear that he tries to squeeze my fingers. “Jace? Can you hear me?” This time I know he did. “Open your eyes for me.” I kneel beside his bed and run my fingers across his forehead. “Please.” Jace groans again, and I see him struggling to follow my command. “You’ve got this, Jace. We need you to come back to us. We’ve been lost without you.” Jace’s eyes flutter open, and he slams them back shut. My heart sinks when it looks like he’s fallen back asleep, but I did see a peek of those dark eyes. It means that he’s still in there. When I’m sure he’s asleep, I hit the nurse button to let them know. The older nurse, Lou, comes in seconds later.
“I’ll turn his pain meds down just a little. It might take him a couple of tries. His body is still fighting against all the trauma.” She starts messing with the IV monitors. “I heard that they have the fool who did this in jail.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I also heard he’s the same asshole who did that to your pretty face.”
I chuckle. “It is.”
“Well, good. That’s where he deserves to be.” She adjusts a few more things and turns to me with a smile. “This might help him a little bit.”
When she leaves, I drag the chair closer so I can keep a hold of his hand. I idly trace the visible tattoo below the sleeve of the hospital gown with my finger and wait. I let my thoughts drift off again, but this time I’m thinking about the future. Jace told me several times to move in with him, but I always refused. I didn’t realize how afraid I was of that commitment until Oliver came along. As soon as I get a chance, I’m canceling my lease. I want to be there in an official capacity everyday because I no longer want to miss a moment. I haven’t wanted something this bad in so long.
“Aiden.” Those whispered words have my eyes flinging to Jace’s face. He licks his lips and opens his mouth again.
“Shhhh. Don’t try to talk yet.” I move to sit on the bed. “It’s damn good to see you awake.” I grab my phone from the bedside table and shoot a quick text to Oliver before tossing it back. I rub my hand down Jace’s cheek and feel a tear run down mine. “I’ve missed you.”
Jace’s eyes flutter, and he struggles to keep them open. “What happened?”
“You were in a car accident. Do you remember anything?” Jace shakes his head, and his brows furrow. “It’s okay. We’ve got plenty of time to talk about that.”
Oliver and Toby come skidding into the room. Oliver scrambles onto my lap so he can reach Jace, and Toby sits on the other side. “You’re really awake,” Oliver whispers.
“I am, Angel.”
“Fuck, you scared me,” Toby breathes, laying his hand on Jace’s chest.
Jace lips try to kick up in a smile. “I can’t leave you, Dirty boy.”
Now everything is right again.
“I can do it myself,” Jace grouches, trying to grab the fork from Toby, who’s trying to feed him.
It’s been almost a week since Jace woke up, and he’s made tremendous progress. They’re waiting for him to heal a little more before they try to get him out of bed, and it’s driving him crazy. None of us want to leave his side, and we only do when he goes all alpha Jace on us, demanding we go sleep in our bed. When he was well enough, I told him I was moving in, and the smile on his face was the best feeling.
“Stop whining. I’m trying to help.”
“I can feed myself.” Jace finally jerks the fork from Toby with his good hand, stabs a piece of chicken, and shoves it in his mouth. “See?”
“Whatever, you overbearing ass,” Toby replies. “You are supposed to be taking it easy.”
“I think they meant by not running marathons,” Oliver laughs. “Not eating chicken.”
“Of course you would take his side,” Toby pouts, making me roll my eyes.
“Yeah, because he’s right,” I agree.
“Get your tongue out of Oliver’s ass,” Toby responds, making Oliver laugh harder.
“I’d love to stick my tongue up his ass.”
“Shut up,” Jace barks. “My dick can’t get hard because I can’t do anything about it right now. So shut up.”
“Yes, Sir,” Oliver says, biting his lip to stop from laughing. He loses his battle and does anyway.
Ever since Jace woke up, we finally have our Oliver back. Slowly, we’re returning to who we were before this happened. We waited a few days before we told Jace what happened to cause his accident and what happened to me. I thought they were going to have to sedate him again. He was trying to rip out IVs, wires, and anything else he could get his hands on to get to Trent. Lou came to the room and fussed, which was the funniest shit ever because Jace folded immediately. As much as I’d love to serve justice to Trent, I know we’re doing the right thing by letting him rot in prison, which Kristian assured me he’d be there for a long time when convicted.
I hear a knock at Jace’s door, and my face drops when I see my dad standing there. I go to step out, and Jace stops me. “Let him in.”
“Are you sure? I can?—”
“I said let him in.”
I reluctantly wave him in, and Dad stands awkwardly at the doorway. “I just wanted to stop by to see how you were,” Dad says, finally looking Jace in the eye.
“I’m doing good. I heard what happened with you and Aiden. I’m glad you made the right choice.”
“Me too.” Dad and I are getting closer and closer by the day. I can finally let my guard down around him. He no longer grimaces when I say something about the guys. He’s actually happy for me.
“We’ll do dinner at my house as soon as they cut me loose,” Jace says, surprising the shit out of my dad. “I’d love to have you.”
“I’d like that,” Dad says gruffly. “I’ll let you guys get back to it. Love you, son.”
“Love you too.”
I’m afraid to hope that I can finally have my dad and my guys in my life.
But that’s not going to stop me from trying.