Part 17 (2/2)
”Don't mistake my being here for me liking you or anything. I'm here for Leo. He's a f.u.c.king wreck.”
I can hear her words, but they're not really making sense yet. I try lift my hand to rub my eyes but my arm is in a cast. When I look down I realize I'm wearing a hospital gown.
”There was an accident,” Raven says at the same time I think the words.
”Brooke!” Leo bolts into the room and is standing at my bedside before I have time to blink. ”You're awake.”
”I feel like s.h.i.+t,” I tell him and that makes him laugh. I love it when he laughs.
”Do you remember anything?” His voice is so soft I hardly recognize it. It's almost like he thinks it's going to hurt me if he speaks too loudly.
”You came to the bar. You wanted to scare away all of the other guys. You were taking me home. Someone hit us. That's all I remember.”
”You were hurt pretty badly. They had to do surgery on your hip. And your arm is broken. You've got some bruised ribs.”
”And her face is all cut up,” Raven calls out from behind a celebrity magazine. ”Don't forget about that.”
Leo glares at her.
I imagine myself looking like Frankenstein's monster.
As if he can read my mind Leo says, ”The cuts will heal. Just some scratches from broken gla.s.s. You didn't need st.i.tches.”
”How long do I have to stay here?”
”Another day or two, they think. As soon as they can get you out of bed and see how well you're able to move around, they'll make a decision. Rayne and Harper are getting your bedroom set up so you'll be able to do your rehab there. Rayne's hiring a physical therapist just for you.”
”Do I look as bad as I feel?” I ask.
”You said you feel like s.h.i.+t?” Raven shouts. ”That's exactly what you look like.”
Leo gives her a death stare.
”It's the truth,” Raven adds.
”At least my outside finally matches my inside,” I state.
”You're beautiful.” Leo runs a finger ever so gently down my cheek. ”Inside and out.”
”Don't make me gag over here,” Raven remarks.
”Maybe you need a bathroom break,” Leo prompts.
Raven rises from her chair. ”Great idea. Maybe I'll see what Xander's up to in the lounge.”
Once Raven exits the room Leo leans down and gives me the softest of kisses on my forehead.
”Raven said you were here all night...”
Leo nods. ”I slept for a few hours in that chair over there.” He points to a chair in the corner of the room. ”But mostly I just paced. Waited for you to wake up.”
”Do you know what happened? Why we got hit? It happened so fast.”
He nods. ”I talked to the cops. They wanted to get a statement. The other driver was drunk. He ran a red light.”
I frown. ”Is he hurt?”
Shaking his head Leo says, ”I wanted to hurt him. He wasn't injured at all. Not even a scratch. He's lucky he's in jail right now.”
When I try to take in a deep breath my chest hurts. ”This is karma.”
”What do you mean?”
”Payback for all the times I was loaded and got behind the wheel.”
”I feel like it's my fault. I should have taken better care of you. I should have protected you.”'
”It's definitely not your fault...” He doesn't let me finish my sentence.
”I'm going to take care of you now, Brooke. I promise. I won't let you down.”
”You don't have to do that. I have a feeling it's going to take a while for me to get back to normal. When my grandma broke her hip it took her a few months to recover. Of course she was in her seventies.”
”Every day, Wild Child. I'm going to be there for you. You're going to get so tired of seeing my face twenty-four seven.”
”Don't you guys have some kind of charity concert coming up? Harper said something about it. You're supposed to be out east for a week.”
”I'm not going,” he snaps.
That surprises me. ”You have to go. You play guitar for the band. It's kind of an important instrument.”
His eyes turn dark. ”I said I'm not going. It's not up for discussion.”
”But...”
”You're in a f.u.c.king hospital. You just had surgery. You're going to need a lot of help when you get out. I'm not going anywhere, Brooke. I already told you that.”
”Harper can help me.”
He shakes his head. ”Where Rayne goes Harper goes. He's not going on the road without her. And I'm not leaving you. So it's settled.”
I'm too tired to argue with him, but there's no way I'm letting him ruin his career to take care of me. As I slowly nod off I decide to deal with it all later.
<script>