“Yeah,” I find myself saying without thought. “I’ll just need to head to the clubhouse and grab my truck beforehand. Just in case she gets discharged. Don’t think it’s wise to put her on the back of my bike.”
No way was I putting Della on the back of my bike. The thought of her riding pressed up against me did something to my head.
Maddox offers, “Just take mine,” and jerks his chin toward his truck in front of the house. “Keys are in it. I’d say take Della’s car, but she doesn’t leave the keys in it.”
I snort and shake my head. People around here don’t seem to worry about leaving keys in a car or locking up the house. However, having been gone so many years, Della has learned to take safety measures. Doesn’t matter where you are, a woman most definitely needs to always take precautions.
“That’s the way it should be. No woman should leave her shit open for anyone to get into,” I tell him. “I’ll follow and be there for her. Give you updates.”
“Thanks, Shadow, I appreciate it.” He grunts and looks back to the barn before looking to me once again. “Let me know how she’s doing and when they’re gonna release her.”
“I’ll let you know.”
“If you’ll tell Della . . .” Maddox pauses and shakes his head, a grim expression in place. “Tell her that I’m here for her, and if she needs me, I’ll be there.”
I nod, keeping my thoughts to myself. I know what I said to him, but he should be the one to go and be with her. I know when it comes to my sister, Taylor, no matter how much she pisses me off and I don’t want anything to do with her, I’d still fight for her. That right there speaks volumes, considering I’m not a huge fan of who she is.
I can’t believe I’m agreeing to go to the damn hospital for him and look after his sister. I’ve got a lot better things to be doing today, but here I am, doing my friend a favor by looking in on his sister. That’s the way I need to look at it—no reason to even ponder past that. Helping him is a better alternative to any other reason.
Leaving Maddox at the barn, I jog the distance to his truck. He’s right about taking it and not going to get my own. If I didn’t trust leaving my bike here, I wouldn’t be doing any of this. No one was going to fuck with it. If they did, there would be hell to pay.
“You can discharge me and let me out of here. I’m fine.”
It’s not the first time I’ve heard Della snap at one of the doctors and a few of the nurses. Each time I’ve told her to chill, yet she hasn’t listened to me.
Nope, gone was the soft-sounding of her voice, and in its place was a full tantrum attitude.
“Ma’am, as the doctor already said, we’re waiting on a room for you to be moved to. With your vitals being as they’ve been when you were first brought in, he wants you monitored overnight to make sure with the two bites on your leg you’ll be okay,” Bella, one of the two nurses who’ve been rotating in and out, says.
“It was just a snake bite. You guys have given me the anti-venom, and I’m fine now. I can rest at home. I don’t need to be in the hospital. Let alone be here overnight.”
“Della, the docs want you here. Now, knock it off with givin’ them all a hard time and stop acting like the world revolves around your ass.” Now, why the fuck did I just say that to her? I’m an asshole, and I damn well know it.
Della shoots her glare in my direction, allowing the nurse to escape yet again. I guess that’s why I’m being a dick toward her. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone, not even Taylor, act like a bitch toward people the way this woman is.
“I’m not acting like the world revolves around me?” She huffs, nostrils flaring. “I simply want out of here.”
“Well, they want you here,” I point out as I lean back in the way-too-small seat and cross my arms. “You need to do what they tell you because the doctors would say it if they didn’t have concerns. Rattlesnake bites aren’t to be taken lightly.”
“I’m not taking it lightly,” she snaps, glaring. “If I have to stay here, then you can leave. I don’t need you here.” Looking away from me, I hear her mutter, “I don’t know what Maddox was thinking sending you.”
“He asked when I told him that he should give you space.” I’m not about to let her act like a bitch toward me when I’ve done nothing to earn the attitude.
I didn’t have an issue with her attitude last night, but for some reason, today it’s doing nothing other than pissing me off. I must be fucked in the head when it comes to her. Though there’s a difference between the way she was then and acting now—more anger than sass.
Which I don’t get.
None of us has done anything to invoke her anger, and she wasn’t about to take it out on me. Nor was I gonna sit here and listen to her abuse the nursing staff further.
“Calm the fuck down and lose the attitude, Della.”
“Just go. If they’re not going to let me out of here, then I want to be left alone.” She shoots me another glare. “And that doesn’t mean you sitting there the rest of the night. I don’t need a damn babysitter.”
I don’t think I’ve heard Della cuss before. “You want me to go?”
“I just said I did,” Della snaps.
I get out of my seat, take the one step I need to get to the bed she’s in, and lean in, getting directly in her face. “I don’t know what the fuck your problem is, but you being a bitch isn’t the Della I remember. The sass you gave me last night for trying to do something nice, I get, but you acting like a full-on bitch, yeah, that’s uncalled for. You want to be that way, fine, but put the anger where it needs to be, toward your damn self.”
