Chapter Eight
Taleah
I’M FINALLY FREE. Dr. Keen has discharged me from the hospital as long as I go to my parents’ house while I continue to recover from TJ’s attack.
It took me until late last night, but I finally remember everything that happened.
TJ breaking into the store with a key he copied at some point, getting into an argument with him because I froze his access to my money, and then him beating the hell out of me.
That’s the last thing I remember until I woke up in the hospital with Elara at my side.
The one thing I can’t remember no matter how hard I try is Rex showing up.
Elara told me more than once that he’s the one who saved me and then called my parents and her to tell them what had happened to me.
The cops didn’t say much about what happened in Fantasy Realm once they showed up either.
When Officer Reynolds came to see me, he asked me a bunch of questions I had to write the answers to.
He didn’t get much information from me because I didn’t remember anything at that point.
I was informed they have the security footage from that day and it’s a clear case and TJ won’t be able to get out of the charges.
“Sweetheart, it’s time to get changed so we can head home.
Tonya will be back soon with the paperwork so we can leave.
Dad is down moving the car to the front doors,” my mom says as she grabs the bag Elara brought me filled with clothes from her house.
Some of them are mine while others are hers before she got pregnant this time.
Nodding my head, I carefully shift in the bed so I’m sitting up with my legs over the side.
I currently have to use a walker because my legs aren’t strong enough to hold my weight.
Between the injuries on them and laying in bed most of the day while I’ve been in the hospital, I need to gain more strength before my physical therapist will be comfortable enough to let me stop using the walker.
My mom helps me change from the hospital gown into a pair of loose sweatpants and a tank top.
The last thing she pulls from the bag is one of Rex’ old hoodies Elara stole from him when we started our freshman year of high school.
It’s one of his football hoodies. I don’t really want to wear it, but I don’t want my body on display either.
I look horrible and know strangers and people I know from town will stare at me with pity in their gaze because I’m literally covered in marks from head to toe.
By the time I’m dressed, Tonya makes her way back in my room and hands all the papers over to my mom.
I’ve already signed them. She lets us know prescriptions for pain medicine and a muscle relaxer were called in yesterday so they should be ready to pick up from the pharmacy in town.
Tonya and my mom help me from the bed and I sit heavily in the wheelchair I’ll be riding in for my trip to the front door.
I don’t want to walk because my movements are still so much slower than normal.
I’m ready to leave here and go home. Only I’m not going home. I’m going to my parents’ house.
“Mom, after we pick up my medicine, I want to stop at the house. I want some of my own clothes to wear at your house and I need to see the damage that’s been done to my space by him,” I say, refusing to use the name of the monster who put me in the hospital.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Bean?” she asks me as we exit the elevator and I can see my dad waiting for us by the car.
“Yeah. It’s something I need to do today.
If I put it off, I won’t ever go back there,” I tell her honestly because there are so many horrible memories with TJ there.
Honestly, I just want to get rid of the house for good and never step foot inside again.
Realistically that can’t happen because I know there’s damage I’ll have to fix and that doesn’t include packing all of my stuff so I can move.
“Okay, Bean.”
My dad helps me in the backseat of the car before covering me with blankets.
I’ve been freezing since the day I woke up in the hospital.
I know they keep it colder than anywhere else, but I can’t seem to warm up entirely.
The nurses have given me multiple heated blankets throughout the day and I’ve kept most of them on me.
I wouldn’t drink ice water and chose to have room temperature water instead.
Anything that was cold I avoided and I still have yet to warm up.
Even now when it’s hot as hell outside, I have goosebumps on my arms and am shivering.
I close my eyes as my parents get in the car after loading the bag and walker in the trunk.
They open the windows a little bit causing a gentle breeze to blow through the car.
It feels good to breathe the fresh air, but does nothing for my already chilled body.
I pull the blankets tighter around my body as we leave the hospital behind.
My mom tells my dad to go to the pharmacy for my medicine before we go to my house.
I feel his eyes on me in the rearview mirror but don’t open my eyes to look at him.
I’m mentally preparing to see the house and possibly TJ for the first time in over a week.
The trip to the pharmacy was short and my dad went through the drive-thru instead of going inside.
We didn’t have to wait and he took care of the co-pay for me.
With my medicine in hand, I finally opened my eyes and watched the scenery pass me by on the way through town toward my house.
With every mile closer we get, my heart starts beating faster and I have a hard time breathing.
Nervous tension fills my body and I know I was right in coming here today.
This is something that needs to happen if I’m ever going to be able to come back here once I can leave my parents’ house.
We pull up and once again the driveway is full of cars that don’t belong here and I can hear the music blaring from inside. None of the windows or doors are opened and I can still hear every word of the current song playing inside my house.
“Are you kidding me?” my mom says from the front passenger seat. “How often does this jerk do this, Bean?”
“I’m not kidding you, Mom. This happens multiple times a week.
Well, it used to. Probably daily now that I haven’t been here for weeks before the attack.
Someone is funding the party because I’m sure he spent the money he stole from Fantasy Realm that same day.
I’m calling the cops right now,” I answer my mom while keeping my eyes locked on the house I once believed was my sanctuary and has turned into a pit of nightmares.
I call the cops and ask for Officer Reynolds since he’s the one who came to see me in the hospital.
While I’m on the phone, the rumble of bikes coming up behind us fills the air and drowns out the music blaring from my house.
I don’t turn around to see who’s here because this is the first time I’ve ever heard motorcycles on this street.
No one here owns a bike and none of the members from the club come down my street.
“Rex is here,” my dad says from his seat and my heart starts racing for an entirely different reason. Rex has no reason to be here. “He’s got back-up with him. I’m going to go talk to him.”
I remain on the phone with Officer Reynolds as my heart starts racing for an entirely different reason.
I haven’t seen Rex in eight years now. The anniversary of my brother’s death happened while I was in the hospital and I didn’t go to his grave for the first time since he died.
Tears fill my eyes as I realize how much TJ has taken from me.
“Miss Winslow, I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m already on the road. I’ve got the restraining order with me and we’ll get him out of the house for good. He’ll be going to jail today,” Officer Reynolds assures me before we hang up the phone.
Rex and my dad move closer to the car and I’m surprised when my door opens.
Rex kneels down next to me and I get my first look of him.
He’s put more muscle on but he’s still got the body of a swimmer with lean muscle instead of the bulky mass I’ve seen on so many other guys.
His hair is sticking up and damp from his helmet.
It’s so hot, I’m not surprised he’s sweating today.
A black bandana rests around his neck and I take in the leather cut covering his torso.
I don’t know what any of the patches mean, but that’s okay.
I don’t need to know. Rex is wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and has a black tank top under his cut.
The only reason I know it’s called a cut is because Elara and I used to watch documentaries on motorcycle clubs when we were younger.
“How are you feelin’, Doll?” Rex asks me, taking in my body wrapped up in blankets.
“Don’t call me Doll, Rex,” I say, my voice a broken mess as I avoid his gaze. “I’m okay. Thank you for saving me.”
“Couldn’t walk away from you, Doll. You’re my one weakness and always have been,” he says and I can imagine the smirk he’s wearing because Rex is once again ignoring me. “You need anythin’, call me.”
“I’m fine. I won’t need anything,” I say as I hear a car door shut and turn my head to see Officer Reynolds walking up to my dad’s car.
“Miss Winslow, you stay out here until we get TJ out of the house. All of you stay here. I’ve got enough guys here to surround the house.
TJ won’t be escaping us this time. I’d rather not knock if you don’t have a problem with me just opening the door,” Officer Reynolds says before he looks toward the front door of the house.
I watch as several other officers move silently around my yard and disappear around the sides of the house.
“Do what you have to do,” I tell him, still avoiding Rex while looking at the officer standing just behind him.