“I am. Thank you so much for inviting me to stay. I don’t think I’ll be able to ever repay any of you.”
He placed his hands on his hips and offered me a slight smile. “It’s no problem. If you need anything else, just let one of us know. Porter put all our numbers in your cell?”
I grabbed it from the side table and checked to make sure. “Yep. Looks like you’re all here. Would it be okay if I added my brother and Alice in here?”
“It’s your phone for as long as you need it, Soph. Go right ahead.”
My heart skipped a beat at him using that nickname for me. My dad used to call me that and Kaden still does. “Thanks,” I replied, still a bit unsure of myself in all this.
Alden turned to walk out and paused at the door. “I’m glad you’re safe and on the mend. This can’t be easy, but we’re here for you.”
I gave him a soft smile. “I appreciate it. It’s been a crazy few days.”
He bobbed his head in agreement. “I’m sure it has. Pretty cool to see you again though. Been a long time.”
“Sure has. I don’t know why I don’t remember the lot of you like you remember me though.”
Alden stepped over and took a seat on the bed. “Well, we all got too busy I guess to do the usual barbeque’s your dad used to do. You had your life and we had ours. Different schools, different paths. But we remembered you pretty fast when we heard your address was the one we were heading to that night.”
I shrugged. “Wouldn’t have blamed you if you hadn’t. Clearly my memory is terrible.”
Alden chuckled. “We won’t be hard on you for that. It’s been a long time, and you’ve been through a lot.”
“True,” I agreed. “But again, thank you. For this, and saving me.”
“It’s no problem.” He looked at the watch on his wrist and stood. “I need to hit the gym and get some grub in case Porter and I get called in. Darren should be home later either way. Let us know if you need anything, okay?”
I bit at my lip and simply nodded, not really knowing what else to say. He gave a little wave then walked out, closing the door behind him. I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
What the hell was wrong with me? I was never this weird, nervous girl around men. Talking to people was one of the things that made me such a good nurse. So why was it so hard to talk to them?
Because they’re the hottest men you’ve ever seen and they saved your life,my brain taunted me.
“Oh shut up,” I told myself aloud. I groaned and put my face into my hands. “Oh my God, I’m losing it.” It was definitely time for a nap.
I looked forward to not needing these pain meds anymore. God knew what other weird shit I’d say or do under the influence. I couldn’t wait to go back to a sense of normal. I just needed to get healed and get my feet back on the ground. I could do this.
Drifting off, I thought to myself, just a few weeks and I’d be on my way.
I was back in my house, my knees and elbows digging hard into the carpet of the hallway as I dragged myself along. Fire crawled across the ceiling above me, dropping tiny embers into my hair and onto my exposed skin.
“Move faster, Bug!” I heard my dad shouting at me, his voice panicked.
“I’m going! I’m going!” I retorted back desperately.
“Don’t stop! The front door is so close!”
I moved faster, gritting my teeth harder as the anxiety inside me rose as fast as the fire surrounding me. I made it to the living room, remembering my cat Smoky. Only, there was no meowing this time.
“Smoky? Come here baby,” I called to him.
“The cat is dead. You need to get out,” my dad’s voice urged me.
I shook my head and began to sob. “He can’t be. He’s all I have left of you.” I rolled onto my back, all hope leaving me, and stared up at the burning ceiling above, watching the glowing hues of orange and red dance with all their beautiful rage.
Suddenly, my dad appeared standing over me, looking down with disappointment etched on his face. “You couldn’t save me. You couldn’t save Smoky. You can’t save yourself.”
I cried harder. “I tried, Daddy. I tried so hard. I’ve lost everything.”
