“Girl,” Willow whistles, “While decking the bitch is what I was rooting for, you do not have a good swing.”
“I’ve never hit anyone before!” Olivia defends. “I don’t like confrontation.”
Willow softens, “I know, babe.”
“Go on,” I tell her, “We will be through in a moment.”
“You good?” She asks her friend and when Olivia nods, she rubs her arm and then turns, following the path Sebastian just took with Regina.
With no more eyes on us and only the dull hum of music filling the hall, I lift Olivia’s hand, running my thumb over the swelling, the bruising darkening by the second.
“Is it broken?” She asks.
“I’m not sure,” I tell her, “Perhaps we should go to the hospital. Get it checked.”
“Absolutely not!” She pulls away from me, “I can’t leave yet and how am I supposed to tell them what happened? I’ll go to jail!”
“You’re not going to jail, Olivia.”
“No,” She shakes her head vehemently, “No hospital.”
My teeth grind, “Olivia you’re hurt. In pain. If it’s broken, we need to know.”
“I can’t believe I hit her.” She shudders.
“You defended yourself,” I smooth a hand down her hair, “I’m proud of you.”
At my words she melts a little, her dark eyes turn soft and round, “You are?”
“I am, kitten,” Cradling her injured hand, “But please, I don’t want to fight on this, let’s go to the hospital.”
She shakes her head, “Malakai, I don’t want to.”
“And if it’s broken?”
She looks down, not answering.
“How about this,” I offer as much as it pains me. I want to throw her over my shoulder and take her out of here kicking and screaming, “We get some ice and I give someone a call who can come check out your hand?”
She looks up at me, “And?”
“If he says you have to go then we go.”
“Fine.” She relents.
I nod, “Good girl.”
Another shiver.
I add praise to the list of things that make her weak for me.
Guiding her back toward the main room she hesitates at the doors, “Is she gone?”
I nod, “Sebastian would have forced her to leave.”
“I’m banning her,” Olivia pouts, resuming her walk back into the room.
“Banning her?” I guide her toward the bar, waving down one of the servers.
