Chapter 24
RHYTHM brOOKS
Anurse kept hovering over me as I tried to push myself up in the bed again, but pain shot through my side and down my hip, and the monitor beside me started beeping louder.
“Ma’am, please,” the nurse huffed. She put her hand on my shoulder and gently pressed me back. “You cannot get up yet.”
“My kids,” I fussed. “Where are my kids?”
“Your children are being treated. You are being treated. So, you need to stay still.”
I looked down at my body, still in complete disbelief of what had happened.
My right arm was wrapped in gauze from wrist to elbow, and my skin underneath burned.
My left shoulder had a thick bandage across it, and the sting beneath it pulsed every time I breathed.
My cheek felt swollen, and when I lifted my hand toward my face, my fingers brushed raised strips of tape where they’d closed small cuts from broken glass.
My lip had a split that kept pulling whenever I talked.
My ribs, hip, and knee hurt. My whole body felt sore and bruised, like I had been thrown around like a rag doll.
“You’ve got minor burns,” the nurse said, reading off a chart. “Mostly on your forearm and shoulder. You’ve got superficial lacerations on your face. No major fractures. We’re watching your rib area for bruising. You have a sprain in your knee and your hip is badly bruised. You’re lucky.”
“I don’t care about any of that!” I snapped. “I need to see my kids!”
“You will,” she pressed. “When the doctor clears you.”
I tried again anyway. I was wired. My mind kept replaying the car flipping, the fire, Sincere running toward it, and the explosion. I could still hear myself screaming Kinsley’s name.
The nurse raised her voice. “Ma’am... Stop.”
The door opened then, and Sincere walked in.
I froze the second I saw him. He looked like he had been through hell. His hands and forearms were wrapped in fresh bandages. There was soot still caught at the edge of his hairline.
He looked at me and his eyes softened, but his nostrils flared, like he was still rattled.
Tears rushed up so fast it made me dizzy. Because for a moment, when that car exploded, I thought he was gone. I thought my baby was gone. I thought I watched the two loves of my life disappear.
Then I remembered the relief. I remembered him running out with Kinsley in his arms.
I started crying so hard my body shook.
He crossed the room fast and came to my bedside, careful with his hands when he touched me.
“Look at me.”
I tried, but I could barely see through the tears.
“You’re here,” he told me. “And the kids are fine.”
I looked up at him, wondering what I did in my past life to deserve this man.
“They’re still fine,” he told me, running his finger through my locs so comfortingly that I closed my eyes. “Kinsley is good. She got checked, cleaned up, and she’s with your mom right now.”
My whole body sagged into the bed. “And KJ?”
“KJ took a hit to his head when the car flipped. It knocked him out. They had to run tests. He’s scared, but he is awake. He’s going to be sore for a while.”
I covered my mouth with my hand and sobbed again, but it was quieter this time. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Sincere.”
“I’ll give you a few minutes,” the nurse finally said as she returned my chart. “But you are staying in this bed. Do you understand me?”
I nodded reluctantly. “Yes.”
She stared at me another second to make sure I meant it, then left the room and closed the door behind her.
Sincere sat on the bed, where there was space, and held my fingers with his. “Has Kodi been showing signs of being this unpredictable before last night?”
My eyes dropped to the blankets, but I forced myself to answer. “He’s been upset since my art started bringing in real money, since I moved, and especially when he heard I was dating.”
Sincere’s expression hardened. “And you didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t think it would turn into this,” I quickly explained. “I thought it was just his ego.”
“You didn’t tell me,” he repeated, slower.
I tried to sit up more, then winced and stopped. “I didn’t want you to think I came with a bunch of drama. I didn’t want to bring problems into a situation that is so perfect.”
“You don’t get to decide what I can handle when it comes to you.”
Tears slid down my face again. “I’m—”
He let go of my fingers, cutting me off, “I almost lost you. You can’t hide this kind of shit from me and call it protecting my peace.”
I shook my head. “I wasn’t trying to—”
His phone chimed.
Sincere’s eyes cut to it. He glanced down at the screen, and his whole posture changed. “I have to go.”
I reached for him. “Sincere, wait.”
He stepped back, already moving.
“Where are you going?!” I cried.
He didn’t answer. He opened the door and walked out.
“Sincere!”
The door shut behind him, and I stared at the door, throat burning, hands shaking.
Then I broke down all over again.