Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
RORY
Beeping alerted me to the fact I was in the hospital. Wait, I’d known that, so I must have gone back to sleep.
“Hey,” I heard as I blinked against the bright lights, finding Lukas asleep in the chair beside the bed, his hand in mine and his face on the bed. I glanced around a little more, finding Jensen walking closer.
“Where’s Slash?” I asked instantly, lifting a hand to the side of my head to feel it was wrapped with a bandage.
“Baby, Slash isn’t here, remember?” he asked carefully, running his eyes over me. “You were in an accident. You had a big hit to your head. You got lucky though. So far, there’s no sign of any bleeding on the brain.”
“Where did he go? Didn’t he bring me here?” I mumbled, wincing against the light.
“No, the ambulance did. You called them yourself when you crawled out of the car.”
“I didn’t. Slash pulled me out, he was carrying me,” I insisted, my heart monitor picking up and causing a nurse to come in and check on me. It hurt the harder I tried to think, but Slash had definitely been there. I’d felt him and saw him with my own eyes.
The nurse didn’t appreciate my rambling about him, sedating me and knocking me back out again.
The next time I woke up, Caden was with me, jerking forward when he saw I was awake.
“Hey, baby. Thirsty?” I tried to nod but winced as pain throbbed through me, and he lifted a cup of water with a straw to my lips. “Easy. You somehow don’t have any fractures or breaks, but you’re in for one hell of a bruise and ache recovery.”
My throat felt so much better after some water, and I reached for his hand.
“Slash was there. I saw him.”
Pity filled his eyes, and he let out a sigh. “Baby, he’s gone. Your brain created him after the knock to the head. You were found next to the wreck and had pulled yourself out.”
“He carried me.”
“It was a hallucination. They found traces of coke in your blood.”
“I did lines before school. I was fine. The car hit me, and then Slash took me out of the Corvette. He spoke and everything,” I said, my voice cracking. “Why won’t you believe me?”
“You need to rest and we’ll talk more later, okay?”
“Where’s Skeet?”
That made him wince. “He’s with Hunter. They’re looking for the car that ran you off the road last night.”
“Last night? It’s Tuesday?” I asked with confusion, reaching for my phone that was plugged in next to the bed. Sure enough, it was eleven in the morning on Tuesday. “Have you seen Diesel?”
“No. I assume he’s handling shit at the Shed while Skeet’s off playing detective hitman,” he shrugged, and I dialed Diesel’s number to try and call him. No answer. “Is something wrong?”
“No. Well, yes,” I groaned, trying again but he still didn’t answer.
“That’s not really helpful, baby,” he huffed, taking the phone from my hands. “Stop. What’s wrong?”
“Yesterday was the anniversary of Sasha’s death,” I said softly, blowing out a breath. “And when I went to check on him, he was really drunk. He sort of kissed me.”
“Diesel kissed you? The woman hater?”
“He doesn’t hate women,” I scowled, trying to get my phone back. “He lost his soulmate and doesn’t want another one.”
“So why’s he kissing you?” He didn’t sound angry, just confused.
“I don’t know, but he wasn’t okay when I left him yesterday. Can you check on him?” I asked, and despite not looking happy about it, he nodded.
“I’ll try. Did you kiss him back?” he asked, and I swallowed, my silence giving him an answer. “Okay. We’ll sort through all of that later.”
“Don’t punch him or anything, please. He was really—”
“I won’t. I promise,” he murmured, giving my hand a squeeze before handing my phone back. “Stay off your phone. Your brain needs rest.”
“You’re the best big brother ever,” I joked, and he gave me a sly smile.
“You’re too injured to play the step bro game, baby.”
“We’ll have to wait until we get home. I’ll get stuck in the washing machine or something.”
“As long as you show me where the laundry room is first. I don’t think I’ve ever been in there,” he said seriously. “You’ll be stuck for a while otherwise.”
I laughed, pain jolting through me from the movement. “Ouch.”
“Close your eyes. One of us will be with you at all times, so sleep more. Step bro’s orders.”
“There’s something wrong with us,” I murmured, making him chuckle as he leaned over to kiss my cheek.
“Oh, absolutely.”
The next two and a half weeks went by in a slow drag. When I was released from the hospital after a few days, Josie forced me into bed rest.
When she decided I was ready for school work, she made me do it from home, bringing everything I needed up to my bedroom so I didn’t have to tackle the stairs.
Skeeter visited on and off, but he was on a mission to find the asshole that had almost killed me. The car had been found burned out in Briar Falls, which was the next suburb south of Ashburn Valley, only fueling his fury more when the trail went cold.
Hunter broke in twice to see me at night, hanging out long enough to watch a movie before leaving again, and Diesel—
Diesel didn’t even send a text to make sure I was still alive. It was complete radio silence, and Skeeter dodged me whenever I asked him about it.
It shouldn’t have, but it hurt to know he was actively avoiding me.
It was now Sunday, Christmas Eve, and the house smelled like baking with the sound of Christmas music playing quietly from downstairs. Josie was in her element again, like on Thanksgiving, and the house looked like Santa’s workshop had thrown up all over it.
Good thing my concussion was gone, or all the tinsel and lights would have given me a blinding migraine.
“Need help?” I asked Josie as I wandered into the kitchen, finding her pulling cookies out of the oven.
“Yes, actually. I need someone to taste one of these,” she grinned, placing the tray on the stovetop and grabbing a small plate, placing a hot cookie on it for me. “Is there anything you’d usually do on Christmas Eve?”
I shrugged, picking at the cookie. “Not really. I’m usually by myself.”
“Last year?”
“Alone.”
“That awful man,” she growled, snagging a hot cookie for herself and taking an angry bite. “He was here enjoying my hot cider and baking, while you sat at home alone?”
“I do recall last Christmas we had no electricity too, so I was alone in the dark with a blanket,” I said dryly, popping some of the cookie into my mouth and groaning. “It’s so good. You’ll make these for me every Christmas, right?”
“I will as long as you promise to call regularly once you run off to college,” she hummed, and I rolled my eyes.
“I’m not going.”
“One day, you will. I can see your future, and it’s bright.”
“Nothing is as bright as your Christmas tree,” I teased, finishing the cookie. “Tell me about my future. I grow old and gray here, don’t I?”
She smiled, patting my hand warmly. “I’d love that, but no. You’ll find your purpose one day. Probably have all those boyfriends still. Which means you’ll probably have lots of kids.”
That thought made me snort.
“No, thank you.”
“Not the future you’d like?”
“No. Sorry, but you’re not getting grand babies out of me. Caden will need to find another girlfriend,” I answered, and she huffed.
“Nonsense. I’d rather have no grand babies than that boy find someone else. You’ve been a blessing for my family, Rory. I really hope you know that.”
“I haven’t felt blessed in a very long time,” I said softly, motioning to the room around us. “But this feels pretty blessed. I wish Mom was here to see it.”
“We’ll make sure she’s here next year. Heard anything else?”
“Nothing since finding out my uncle’s alive in prison,” I sighed, placing my head on the counter.
“Something will pop up, I’m sure of it,” she insisted, patting my arm before returning to her baking.
It was nice just sitting with her while she hummed along to the music, and I was still sitting there when Skeeter walked in a few hours later.
“You staying for dinner, honey?” Josie asked him as she handed him a hot coffee without him asking.
“If you can fit me, sure,” he replied, taking his coffee in one hand and placing his other hand on my thigh.
“There’s always room at my table for you, and you know it,” she promised, placing a cookie on a plate for him with a grin.
She scurried off to check something in Karl’s kitchen, he’d been doing meal prep so he could take the next few days off, and Skeeter sighed contently as he took a bite of the cookie.
“I’m going to get fat if I keep coming here.”
“Tell me about it. I’ve put on so much weight,” I grumbled, stealing a mouthful of his coffee. “Is Diesel—”
“Baby girl,” he said gently, patting my leg. “Leave the man be. He did ask how you were today though. I nudged him to ask you himself.”
“I should have pushed him away faster. It’s my fault. He was the drunk emotional one, I was—”
“Don’t do that. He’s a twenty-five-year-old grown man.”
“Did I give off the wrong signals?”
“D wouldn’t know someone was flirting with him even if it smacked him in the face.
He was drunk, emotional, and he’s lonely.
He made a move that he wouldn’t have had the balls to do sober, that’s all, and now he doesn’t know what to do with it.
He’s more angry at himself for waving his gun at you,” he said dryly.
“We need to talk about it though. Clear the air.”
“Let him figure it all out first.”
“What if he actually likes me?” I asked, eyeing him. “You going to beat him up for it?”
“I’ll deal with it if that happens. It’s highly likely he’s just gotten his emotions confused,” he shrugged, and I rolled my eyes.
“And if he hasn’t? What if he called you right now and said he has feelings for me?”
“Then I’d call him a pussy for telling me over the phone, track him down, and punch him,” he snorted.
“I’d feel better if he came tomorrow.”