“I saw him checking his phone nervously all day.”
I felt red creeping into my face and guilt slammed into me.
“You know I love you,” he said gently. “And I know you’ve been through your own hell too. But Jules… Don’t come if you aren’t planning to stay with him. Don’t do that to him.”
Chapter Forty-seven: Grey- present
I opened my eyes to a bright room with sun streaming in. My head was pounding as I looked around and took stock.
Looking down I noticed I was in a hospital dress and dread washed over me like a bucket of cold water.
“Hiya handsome,” Paige said as she entered the room. I just stared at her. “You feeling okay?” She asked in a chipper voice. Her happiness was rubbing off on me the wrong way.
“Where-?” I realized with one word that it hurt my head to speak. I lowered my voice to a whisper, still wincing. “Why am I here?”
My brain was extremely foggy and I hoped I wasn’t stuck like this. I struggled to think back to the last thing I remembered.
The parking lot.
I started to get up, but a pain shot through my side. I looked down the hospital dress and noticed I was taped up.
“You have broken ribs, bud,” Max said, coming up behind Paige. He rubbed his jaw. His eyelids looked heavy, like he hadn’t slept. He was still in the clothes he wore to the tournament, so I doubted I was out longer than the night.
But staring at Max and Paige from the hospital bed, a bad sense of déjà vu set in. Why were they here and not Jules?… Surely she knew I was here… they must’ve told her.
The two of them looked at each other with grimaces and avoided looking at me.
She wasn’t here again.
I couldn’t go through this. Not again.
I brought my hands up to my head and closed my eyes. I wished I’d been hit harder because I didn’t want to remember her and not have her. I didn’t want to live alone again.
“Get out,” I grunted without looking at them. They didn’t budge. “Get! Out!” I yelled and then cringed, closing my eyes against the pounding in my head.
“We just wanted to give you this…”
I whipped my head around at the sound of that tiny voice and immediately regretted it. It felt like my brain was loose and rattling around in my head.
Standing there was a shocked looking Canyon holding a card and a Tupperware box. Jules was behind him with her hands on his shoulders wearing a look of worry on her face.
“Don’t worry, he just thought you guys didn’t come,” Paige said with a warning look at me.
Immediate relief coursed through my body. I took a couple deep breaths to try to steady the way my head was feeling.
“Canyon, bud,” Max said. “How about you come with us to find Smitty and Aunt Ashlie while Grey let’s his brain catch up a bit.”
Canyon gave a nod of approval, walked toward me and gave me his presents.
I ruffled his hair, “thanks, kid. I’m sorry for yelling,” I said quietly.
He seemingly held no grudge, and I thanked God for that. He put out his little fist for a knuckle punch, causing me to painfully chuckle.
I heard Max whisper to Jules, “I’m glad you came.” And then they were out.
“You weren’t going to come?” My face cracked with emotion.
“I was afraid,” Jules told me. “Kevin wasn’t going to let it slide that you hit him. He was going to try to take Canyon away from me. But… Thank God… Max had new security cameras installed in the parking lots to scare away kids from drinking out there… and they caught the whole thing. Kevin knocked you out and kicked you when you were down. I didn’t watch. Max just told me… but please…” She stepped closer to me and lightly touched my arm. “Please press charges…”
