“May God rest his soul,” I hear my own coach mutter in the background as Stella shakes her head at me.
“Stella, I swear—”
“Nana, please, please, take me to Mr. Brick. Pretty pleaseee,” Emett pleads, and almost immediately the grumpy trainer turns to putty.
“Sit tight, Peach pistol. I’ll drop Emett off.”
“Yesss!” Emett exclaims, and I allow myself to relax.
“Thank you!” I end the call, giving it back to Aurora who’s watching me with those wide, green eyes.
“What’s wrong, Lychik?” I allow the doctors to come back to my person.
“You want Emett to come here?” I nod. “But you need rest, you shouldn’t have told Stella to bring him. He won’t leave your side now.”
“That’s precisely how I want it.” I kiss the top of her head. “The two people I love the most, next to me.”
Her shoulders drop as if whatever tension was there lost its fight. “Why do you say all the perfect things?”
“I don’t, I’m simply stating facts.”
“Mr. Minaev, can you please look up,” the doctor interrupts our conversation and runs a series of tests and scans over my head and body.
Eventually, he comes back with a concussion diagnosis. I have to take it easy and no practices for at least a couple weeks, but it could be so much worse. Still, Aurora pesters the doctor with a million questions and writes everything down to make sure I’ll have all I need.
I’ve never been cared for, not like that. Not as if I’m someone’s world and they are actually worried about me. Not for the show or because they are bound by duty, and I contemplate how bad would it be if I accidentally broke a finger or something along the lines to keep her close like that. Yeah, the level of crazy rises every time I’m near this woman, because every time it’s not enough. Every time I need more of her.
It’s maddening.
But she loves me. She said she loves me and I’m not letting her go again.
Aurora may think me bringing Emett here is crazy, but little does she know neither one of them are leaving ever again.
22
All mine. Already yours
Aurora
I’mwatchingthemedicalstaff pack up their gear, still in shock that Sava brought them to his house…all because I wasn’t comfortable going into a hospital. I was ready to go in there, even though I could feel the crippling anxiety take root at the pit of my stomach, growing with each passing second and then it was cut off.
Just like that. With one simple call.
No one’s ever put me first. Not until tonight. I glance at the gorgeous man in gray sweatpants lying on the giant modern dark gray couch. It’s more like a puffy cloud, but we’ll go with couch. The bruises on his face are slowly turning more purple than red, and I know the same is happening beneath that snug black T-shirt of his, but nothing can shake the power and enigma spreading from him in waves. And just because I’ve finally admitted to myself and the world that I love him, it doesn’t change the fact that I know he’s dangerous. Dark.
But he’s also my kind of dark.
“Make sure you wake him up through the night,” the doctor reminds me, and I nod.
“Yes, I wrote it all down. Thank you so much for coming over,” I tell him, and he looks at me like I’m an idiot.
“You haven’t been with him long, have you?”
“Um, no.” It’s my turn to frown. What does that have to do with anything?
“It’s not my place…and normally, I wouldn’t say anything, but you have a son.” He sighs, eyeing the bruising on my face. I had it well covered by makeup but it’s been a long day, and God only knows what he’s thinking right now. “Child, if the Mineav family calls, you drop everything and come. It’s either that or a bullet to the head. Take care,” he adds and slips out of the apartment before I can answer.
“Okay then,” I mumble.
