Part 26 (1/2)
I let go of Lana and fell into Tara's arms. She whispered in my ear, but I didn't hear a word. I couldn't tear my gaze away from Royal and the fury in his eyes.
”What the f.u.c.k do you think you're doing?” he hissed. He grabbed my arm and dragged me into the hallway and pushed me against the wall.
His gaze lowered, and it was as if a spell had been broken. I lost it.
”Oh my G.o.d,” I cried. ”Benji! Where is he?” I sobbed.
He pulled me against his chest and kissed the top of my head. ”Jesus Christ, Jenna. What the h.e.l.l has gotten into you?”
”Take me to him,” I murmured into his chest, distinctly ignoring his question. I truly had no idea what was wrong with me. I was crazy. My entire life had turned on its a.s.s, and I had no navigation out of the f.u.c.ked up situation.
”Come on. He's down here.” He started to lead me down the corridor when Lana's voice reverberated from behind us.
”Royal,” she whined pathetically.
His whole body tensed, and I heard a soft growl rumble in his chest. Turning slightly, taking me with him, he faced her. ”Look, Lana, you need to take off. Abbie will call to reschedule with you. I need to take care of my family here. Work can wait,” he said flatly.
”But,” she started, taking a few steps toward us.
He clenched his teeth and the muscles of his jaw quivered. He was losing his temper, and that was never pretty.
”Beat it, Lana. Abbie will call you later.”
With that, he turned us around and continued to walk down the hallway. We didn't talk, but I could feel the tension rolling off him. He was angry with me, but the feeling went both ways. He'd obviously missed Lana's horrible comments, and it reminded me so much of the past. The woman was an evil snake with the ability to manipulate him constantly.
”Oh, Bubba!” I cried. He looked so pitiful in that little hospital bed. He had a bandage wrapped haphazardly around his head, and his arm lay limply at his side, saddled down in a small splint.
”What happened?” I kneeled on the floor and brushed my fingers along his cheek.
”Derek pushed me off the climber. I was all the way up.”
I laid my forehead against his good hand and cried. I was so grateful it hadn't been worse, but my heart was still broken.
”Don't cry, Mommy,” he said softly. ”I'm gonna get a cast, and Daddy said I can get a blue one.”
My eyes shot up to Royal for confirmation. ”He broke his arm?”
He nodded, giving me a soft smile before looking back at Benji. ”He did. They said it's not too bad, but he broke it.”
”Oh, baby, I'm so sorry you got hurt. How's your head? Does it hurt? Do you have a b.u.mp? A bruise?” I stood swiftly so I could get a better look at his head.
”He's got a good sized b.u.mp, but it's not too bad. The doctor wants to do an X-Ray just to be sure, but he's had worse. He's a big boy. He's fine.” Royal shot Benji a small wink and looked back at me. ”I'm going to check with the nurse to see how long it will be before he has the X-Ray. We're looking at another hour before he sees the orthopedic surgeon.”
”My poor baby boy,” I cooed, leaning down to kiss his forehead.
”I'm not a baby, Mommy! Gosh,” he groaned.
I heard Royal chuckle before he leaned down and kissed Benji on the cheek. ”Of course you're not, little man. I'll be right back. Mommy will be right here.”
He nodded at me once before disappearing behind the door and into the hall. I pulled a stool over to the bed and sat down next to Benji.
”So, was the ambulance scary? Mommy is so sorry I wasn't there.” I felt a tear fall from my eye and run down my face. I swatted at it quickly so he didn't see it.
”It was cool, Mommy! The fireman guy told me I was a tough kid.”
I giggled and squeezed his hand. ”You are a tough boy. I'm proud of you for being so brave.”
Royal came back into the room a few minutes later and asked me to step in the hall with him.
He paced back and forth in front of me, fisting his hair and mumbling to himself. I couldn't help it. I started to cry again.
”I'm so sorry I turned off the phone. Don't be mad,” I rambled.
He turned, eyes wide and moved in front of me. ”I'm not mad at you, Jenna!”
He pulled me into his arms and sighed. ”I'm not mad. I was worried. I've never seen you so mad. You could've gotten hurt!”
I shook my head and cried into his s.h.i.+rt. ”She told the nurse she was family. That's my baby in there! Mine!”
”She said what?” He held my arms and pushed me back so he could look at me. ”She's a f.u.c.king moron, Jenna. Just ignore her.”
”I really hate her,” I sniffed.
He chuckled. ”I don't like her much either.”
Chapter 18.
I didn't even remember getting into Royal's truck. I knew I was drunk, and I knew I was p.i.s.sed off, but everything else about the night blurred in the back of my consciousness. I held my head and groaned.
”If you're going to be sick, let me know so I can pull over,” he said tightly before turning back onto the highway.
I turned away from him and faced the window. ”Why'd you even come?” I hissed.
He shook his head. ”You were making an a.s.s of yourself. Palmer called me to come get you.”
”You're an a.s.s!”
He gritted his teeth and gripped the steering wheel tightly as he sped up. When I noticed he was pulling off the freeway toward our neighborhood, I slapped my hands against the dashboard.
”Stop!”
”You getting sick?”
I shook my head. ”No. I want a shake. Stop there,” I said, pointing at a burger place across the way.
He pulled into the parking lot and veered into the drive through. The sudden motion turned my stomach, but I held my breath. In front of us, there were six cars waiting, and I wasn't in any shape to sit there and wait.