Chapter 34
TJ
M y mouth is so fucking dry.
Out of all the thoughts I could be having right now, this is the one occupying my mind. That and why the hell is the room spinning?
My eyes crack open, shivers scampering down my spine when I’m hit in the face by the brightest light I’ve ever seen. I groan, overwhelmed by how shitty I feel, and squeeze my eyes shut to make sure the bright-ass light doesn’t fry my retinas.
Fuck, why does everything hurt?
“TJ? Oh my God, Kelsea, I think he’s coming to,” a voice I’d recognize anywhere says.
That voice is Vera’s, but I’m still so dizzy I couldn’t tell you which direction it came from if you put a gun to my head.
“TJ? TJ, can you hear us?” my sister asks, her voice thick with concern.
I inhale a painful breath and peel my eyes open, blinking the blurry seal polluting my sight away. Only then do I take in my surroundings.
I’m in a small white room, lying on what I can only assume to be a hospital bed, with my aunt and my sister practically perched over me.
“Oh, sweetie, I’m so glad you’re awake. We’ve been worried sick.” Vera reaches for my hand and squeezes gently, but even that’s enough to make me wince in pain. “I’m sorry, did that hurt?”
Breathing hurts, but I don’t bother telling her that, seeing as she’s probably all maxed out on pity.
“What the hell happened?” I try to sit up in bed but immediately get slammed with brutal nausea.
“Wait, you don’t remember?” Vera asks.
I pause to think, but it feels like my brain is buffering, my thoughts wrapped in a thick fog.
“I… I don’t…”
It comes back to me in a flash, depicting a single image.
Her face.
“Lacey.” Her name rolling off my tongue gives way to a thousand memories, each more unpleasant than the last.
Fuck.
Fuck, she almost got taken.
Again.
A frantic rhythm pulses through my chest as I recall following Lacey home after it started raining. I just couldn’t go back into the club knowing she was out there, scared to drive in the rain.
She was never supposed to find out. The plan was to follow her home from a safe distance in case she needed me. I left the club a little after she did, so she was already fighting the motherfuckers when I got there.
The next thing I knew, I was throwing myself at them.
But then…
Nothing .
“Is she okay?” My voice breaks on the last word.
Did I save her? Or did they get her anyway?
“She’s okay, don’t worry. She just stepped out to take a call from her stepdad. I’ll go get her.” Kelsea hurries out of the room.
Thank God.
It feels like they just lifted a goddamn sumo wrestler off my chest.
“You got there just in time. You saved her, TJ,” Vera adds.
Something isn’t adding up here. They were looking at me like I was a dying puppy earlier. Did something else happen?
“What? What am I missing? And what am I doing here?” I bombard them with questions.
“You saved her, but you got stabbed in the process. Good news is, you didn’t sustain any severe internal injuries. The doctors want to keep you for observation, but you should be good to go home soon,” Vera explains.
That piece of information is the trigger to the line of dominos buried in my head. Another flash, another image. The memories come rushing back, each forgotten moment becoming clear again.
I glance down at the blanket covering me. Then my hand snakes down my stomach, landing on the spot where the motherfucker plunged his knife. I lift up the blanket, uncovering the side of my stomach and wincing at the stitches sealing the wound.
“You were incredibly reckless, honey. You could’ve gotten yourself killed running at those criminals like that.”
I’d do it a thousand times over if it meant they didn’t hurt my girl. No questions asked.
“Doctor said you were lucky the internal damage wasn’t more substantial. You’re going to need to take it easy while you recover. That means no basketball until you’re a hundred percent.”
Ironically enough, basketball’s the least of my concerns right now. All I care about is seeing her. Holding her. I can’t imagine how she must’ve felt when she saw me go down. I have no doubt it must’ve triggered the fuck out of her abandonment issues and trauma regarding her dad’s death.
“What about the bastards that attacked her? Did they catch them?”
“Not yet. They’ve got one, but he’s not talking right now,” Vera explains.
The thought of Aaron and the fucker who stabbed me walking free turns my blood into lava. They deserve to rot in a cell for the rest of their miserable fucking lives for what they did to Lacey.
I never liked Aaron. He always rubbed me the wrong way. I should’ve known something was off when he went out of his way to hurt us. That’s probably what he was sent here to do. Cause mayhem. Create a distraction. So that we wouldn’t notice his buddies moving in on our sisters.
If the police don’t find that disgusting sack of shit, you better fucking believe that I will.
My anger dies down the second the door to my room opens and my sister appears in the doorway. She steps inside, allowing the love of my life to come in after her, and my breathing stalls when our eyes lock.
She looks exhausted, wearing her hair up in a messy bun, one of my hoodies, and a pair of black leggings. Even then, the dark circles under her eyes don’t take away from her beauty in the slightest.
Tears immediately begin to pool in her eyes, a look of pure relief spreading across her face.
“TJ,” she croaks.
All I can do is smile.
“We’ll give you two a minute,” Vera declares, gesturing for Kelsea to follow her into the hall.
Neither of us move until we hear the door close.
I sit up in bed, wondering if I’m in a good enough shape that I can run to her and smother her with the biggest hug you’ve ever seen, but she doesn’t wait for me to meet her halfway, sprinting toward me and closing the gap between us in no time.
She’s sat on my bed before I can blink. It all happens automatically, me opening my arms wide, her launching myself at me for a hug. My arms lock around her body so tightly, it draws a groan of pain out of me. That’s right, I’m hurting myself voluntarily, but feeling her warmth, the way she claws at my back as if to make sure I never let her go, more than makes up for it.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she chokes on a sob.
In response, I slide my hand into her hair, massaging her scalp, and it only makes her cry harder.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” I reply, my throat clogged with emotion. I only realize I’m crying along with her when salty tears course down between my lips.
We separate a heartbeat later, but I’m going to need more than a hug to celebrate that we made it through this nightmare.
I don’t miss a beat, grabbing the fabric of her hoodie and jerking her forward to kiss her. She answers by cupping my face with both hands and matching my energy with twice the ardor. My tongue slips past her teeth in no time, and she opens up wider, letting me devour every inch of her mouth. Fuck, this never gets old.
She wipes some of my tears away with her thumb—or maybe they’re her tears. We’re both crying our eyes out at this point—and smiles against my lips, dropping her hands to the nape of my neck as I kiss her so deeply I know we’ll both be gasping for air soon.
“Thanks for saving me… again .” She cries when she withdraws from the kiss.
This is so crazy to think about.
I used to want to ruin this girl’s life. But in the end, to save her, I would’ve gladly sacrificed mine.
“I love you so much,” she adds.
My lips twitch into a grin. “I sure as hell hope so. I got stabbed in the gut for you.”
My dry humor lures a laugh out of her. “Dick.”
I go back in for one more kiss, and she moves her head, dodging my lips.
“No kisses until you say it back,” she announces.
My heart melts into a fucking puddle when she closes her arms over her chest and pretends to sulk.
Mark my words, I’m going to marry this girl one day.
I don’t think twice, giving in to her request and catching her hand in mine.
“I love you, too, rich girl. It was a pleasure getting stabbed for you… Kind of .”