Chapter 42 #2
Liv laughs this time, causing a few people from the ‘don’t look over there’ side to break their rule. “Because none of you were paying attention.”
“What?” Zeke asks her.
“Yeah, they were like fucking opposite poles most of the night.”
“What?” someone asks. I’m not really sure who at this point.
“Magnets.” I mumble out.
“Yeah. It was like they had to maintain a 50-foot barrier.”
I watch as Z’s brow furrows, and he tilts his head. Before he looks over at me, and I realize what’s happening. He’s connecting dots of things I’ve previously told him.
“Motherfucker,” he snaps before standing up and storming off.
“What just happened?” Tate calls after Z as she follows.
“That’s not good.” I tell Liv as I stand up and move in the same direction they went.
“What’s going on?” Tate asks him.
When he sees me walking up, he shakes his head.
“Get the hell away from me right now.”
“Let’s just get this over with. You want to hit me, hit me. I told you, squash this shit.”
“Believe me, I want to. But we can’t get thrown out of this fucking hospital before she wakes up.”
“Then why didn’t you just hit me when we were at my house?”
I watch the anger spread on his face as he looks at me, wanting to say something but knowing this isn’t the time nor place for it.
Tate steps in front of him. “Zane, what’s going on?”
“I’ll tell you what it is.” He’s talking to her, but glaring at me. “He fucked her down the hall in my house while we slept.”
“I mean, technically, you weren’t asleep.” I don’t know what possesses me to say it.
His eyes widen and darken simultaneously.
“Anderson.” Saves my life, as it’s called, from the doors.
And it’s like everything stops.
Z looks at me, and in this instant, all the anger falls from both of us, and he grabs my arm, pulling me along.
Tate catches my eye and mouths: oh my god, Eli.
All I can do is shrug as he drags me behind him.
“Family?” the doctor asks.
“Brother.”
The doc actually looks from Z to Zeke and just nods his head. Then he looks at me.
“He’s family.”
The doctor looks skeptical as he continues to look at me.
“He’s her boyfriend.” Z’s voice is lined with anger, his teeth clenched as he says it.
The words still cause me to look over at him, shocked.
“The surgery went well; we were able to fix the arteries that were damaged. She’s gonna have a little trouble with it until the tendons fully heal, and we won’t know the full damage to the nerves then.”
“But she’s okay.” Zeke asks.
“She’s very lucky. She lost a lot of blood. I’m not sure how much more time she would have had.”
Both brothers look over at me, not wanting to think about what would have happened if I’d left with them.
“Can we see her?” my voice surprises me, shaking as I ask it.
“I can take them back.” A woman looks at us as she walks up. I recognize her from when I brought Tate and Zeke to see Z. “That sister of yours.”
“You know her,” Zeke laughs as they all hug.
“You look different this time.” She laughs as she looks at me.
“How do you know Eli?” Z asks.
She laughs. “Who do you think snuck them in to see you?
* * *
“Ohhhh… Eli… oooohhhhh… it’s the ghost who haunts your dreams.”
“You’re so weird.” It makes me laugh anyway as I open my eyes. Her blue ones meeting mine.
Z and Zeke are both passed out on the couch on the other side of the room.
“Have you heard anything about Low?”
“We cornered Dan earlier.” It makes her laugh. “He said she was still in surgery and will probably have to be medically induced for a while afterwards. He feels like he’s to blame.”
“He did the best he could with the shit environment he was given.”
Nodding my head, I stand up, lean over her, and press a kiss to her lips. “You scared me.” I whisper against her lips.
“Hate this.” Is mumbled from across the room as Z sits up, pulling the phone out of his pocket and looking at it. “Hello?” he pauses, and he laughs, pulling the phone down. “Do either of you know why Terri’s calling me about money?”
“Cause I haven’t paid her in like 6 months.” I shrug. “Blackmail.”
“Terri, it’s ironic that you’re trying to blackmail your granddaughter while she’s in the hospital recovering from emergency surgery.” He pauses again. “Go fuck yourself.” And he hangs up.
“Explain the blackmail.”
“We ran into her when we were out of town.” Drew starts. “She remembered Eli.”
“How? She met you, like, once?”
“No, she was one of the few arrests I actively made.”
Z’s face lights up instantly.
“Eli went and got the money while I got to spend some good ol QT with our loving grandmother. I asked him why he paid it and…”
“It needed to come out. But if we paid her one of the payments, it gave us enough time to control how it came out.”
“But then I was arrested.”
“Yeah,” I nod. “After we broke up, I paid her once more cause I knew you’d be pissed at Drew, and then I was arrested. By the time I’d gotten out, I’d already decided I was done with the secrets.”
“That’s the little money you spent of it?”
“Yeah,” I smirk, looking back at her. “Well, that entire week.”
Drew smiles at me and laughs. “I feel amazing.”
“That’s because you’re on morphine.” Z and I say in unison.
“Definitely don’t like it when you guys do that now.” She laughs as she says it before looking back at me, pulling me down into the bed.
He stands, clearing his throat, “I’ll go get the doc, give you two a minute.” Glancing over at Zeke and kicking him awake.
“Fuck! What?”
“Come on.”
“What?”
“Come help me find the doc.”
“Find him yourself.” He grunts out, rolling onto his side as best he can while he’s still upright.
Z kicks his brother again.
“What!” Zeke shouts.
I try to look away as Z nods back to where we’re sitting. Zeke glances over and glares. “Why —”
Z’s next kick cuts him off.
“Fine!”
The door’s closing as I wrap my arms around her. “You scared me.” I whisper as I brush my lips along hers again. “What do you remember?”
“I remember you carrying me and running, screaming for help.” She whispers. Sighing and looking back over at me, water lines her eyes. “I’m not mad anymore.”