This Love of Mine (Raine Series #1) (5 page)

"Kayla,
can you open your jaw?"

"Yes
but not very far. It hurts real bad." I answered through clenched teeth.

"Well
it looks to be dislocated. I highly doubt it's broken, but we will take an
x-ray of that as well. As far as the gash on your head, we can fix that real
easy with some butterfly strips. Now, let's get you back to x-ray."

I tried
to give my best smile, but it hurt too bad to move. I was once again back in
the wheelchair and being carted off to x-ray. They didn't take too long, and I
was back in my room in no time at all. I was relieved that my little trip to
the emergency room was taking less time than expected. Who knows how long I had
until one or both of them came looking for me. The doctor returned about twenty
minutes later with my x-rays in hand. He pushed them up onto the light board
and flipped the switch.

"It
looks like your jaw is not broken, but just as I suspected, it is dislocated.
That's an easy fix though. I'm not going to lie it's going to be painful, but
easy nonetheless. Your leg on the other hand, we are going to have to stitch
up. I don't know who pulled the blade back out, but they did a good job of
missing any arteries and there was minimal damage to the muscles. I'm going to
have the nurse, Mike, come in and administer some pain medication so it won't
hurt too bad, when we put your jaw back in place. Sound good?"

"Yes,
thank you." I muttered.

The
doctor nodded and then left the room. A minute later, Mike was back in the room
He wasted no time coming back with my pain medication. "What is that
you're giving me?" I asked.

"It's
morphine. It's the best we got here. I just need you to roll over onto your
other side so I can give it to you."

I did as
he asked and within five minutes, I was starting to feel the effects. I felt
loopy and out of it, but the pain was gone and I was thankful for that. Another
fifteen minutes later and I was good to go. The doctor came in and quickly set
my jaw in place. He said he was going to count down for me, but that must have
just been a way for me to not know it was coming. Even with the amount of drugs
I had on board floating though my veins, it still hurt like hell.

"Okay,
onto the stitches. As far as your jaw goes, make sure to ice it and try not to
talk for the next couple of days."

About an
hour and a half later, I was stitched up and feeling no pain at all. Mike made
sure to get me a prescription for the pain and even gave me one more shot for
the road. Cami and I thanked Mike and then we were headed back to her car.

"Cami,
I need you to take me to the bus depot now. I have to catch the last bus to
Texas."

I
cringed as I waited for her response. This was the first she was hearing of my
leaving, but she must have just assumed it was for the summer, just like every
year before.

"Are
you sure you're going to be okay riding on a bus for twelve hours? I'm really
worried about you KJ. I need to know you're going to be okay."

"I'll
be fine Cami, I promise. I just need to get to my grandparent's house. I have
plenty of medication to keep my comfortable on the way there, and when I arrive
there, I can always fill my prescription if I need it.

"Okay."
I knew she was at a loss of words, and I wasn't sure I could even try to
comfort her, because let's face it; the situation was far worse than it had
ever been.

We were
both silent the rest of the car ride to the bus station. When we pulled up outside,
I quickly jumped up and hobbled my way to the trunk of her car. She was
instantly at my side pulling out my small bag. I wasn't sure where my mom and
Wren had stashed my other bags, but they had left this one and my purse, so I
was okay.

I turned
and pulled Cami into a tight hug. "I'll call you as soon as I get there.
Oh and thank your brother again for me, for the shirt and everything else. I
don't know what I would do without you. I love you girl."

"I
love you too, honey. Be careful and I will tell him. Please don't forget to
call. I don't care how late it is, just call."

"I
will." I grabbed my bag and limped up to the ticket counter. I purchased
my ticket and turned to wave good-bye to Cami, before disappearing into the
actual station to see where I needed to go.

Texas
here I come!

Madison

The girl
walking in our direction was not at all who I had been expecting to see. I
didn't know for sure if this was Kayla, but my suspicions were confirmed when
my grandfather pushed himself off the truck and walked towards her. She looked
like she was having a hard time walking, but I paid it no mind.

She
hugged my grandfather tightly and when they separated, I could see tears
streaming down her face. I wasn't sure what exactly was wrong with her, or what
her story was, but I really didn't want to get wrapped up in it either. She
wrapped her arm around my grandfather’s shoulders, and that's when I could
clearly tell she was limping.

Hmm,
weird.

For the
most part, I had kept my head down and looked at the situation from under my
lashes. When they approached me, I remembered my grandfather's warning to be
nice.

I
glanced up and stopped. I could tell that despite all the bruises, she was a
beautiful girl. Her electric blue eyes sought out mine and we were instantly
locked in place. Something inside of me came to life and it was scaring the
shit out of me. Her hair was a pretty chestnut brown and it grazed the top of
her waistband, even though it was all unruly and matted by...blood? What the
hell has this girl been going through? Before I could continue my survey of
her, my grandfather cleared his throat, and then I saw his death glare.

"Kayla
honey, this is my grandson Madison. Madison this is Kayla. Can you help her
into the cab of the truck, son?"

"Yes,
sir."

My eyes
never broke contact with hers until she closed them tight as we switched her
from my grandfather's shoulders to mine. I could hear her labored breathing and
could only assume she was in pain, so I made the decision to scoop her up in my
arms and place her in the truck. I heard her take a sharp intake of breath and
I silently cursed myself for even doing it. What a stupid idea.

"I'm
sorry, did I hurt you?" I knew she could see concern etched on my face,
because she closed her eyes and never responded. Maybe she was embarrassed, who
knows.

Once I
got her situated in the middle of the bench seat, I hopped up next to her. I
made sure not to touch her, but for whatever reason she seemed almost disgusted
with me. As the truck hit the main road and we were headed back to the farm, I
swear I heard her whisper something to me, but I couldn't make it out. I wasn't
going to ask her what she said, but then I heard it again.

"What's
that?" I whispered near her ear.

"I
said, thank you."

"You're
welcome." I grinned at her, but once again I got no reaction. Whatever,
two days, that's all.

The rest
of the ride home was mundane and I almost wanted to walk home due to the
uncomfortable nature of it. When we made it to the gates to the James' farm, I
was all but relieved I wasn't going to have to endure a minute more. When we
came up the drive, Mr. James was already waiting for us to arrive. I offered to
help Kayla out of the truck, but her grandfather said he had it.

His tone
of voice implied much more, but I just brushed it off. He slowly set her on her
feet and she stumbled back. I reached out and caught her just before she hit
the gravel, and for the first time since I saw her, she actually smiled. It was
genuine, but it didn't reach her eyes and I wondered where the light in them
had gone.

I set
her back on her feet and without another word, we all parted ways.

I wanted
to ask what had happened to her, but my grandfather had basically told me it
was none of my business. I may not remember Kayla from when we were little, but
if a man was behind this, I would kill him. She was too beautiful of a girl to
be treated so poorly.

"Sir,
wh-?"

"I
told you not to ask son. It ain't nobody's business what happened to that poor
girl, besides her family. Now don't go tryin' to get to know that girl, or even
tryin' to get into what happened to her. You're leavin' in two days and I'm
pretty sure she's gonna need someone who is gonna stick around, to be friends
with. Are you understandin' what I'm tellin' ya boy?"

I rolled
my eyes at the mere accusation that I would even try to get all up in her
business, when I didn't even know her. "Yes, sir. I understand
completely."

"Alright
then. Let's head in and eat some supper and then you can shower and hit the
hay. We have a busy day tomorrow."

"Yes,
sir." I mumbled as I made my way inside.

Grams'
homemade chicken potpies caught my immediate attention when I opened the front
door. I was famished and I could never say no to Gram's chicken potpies.
"Grams, I'm gonna head up and shower real quick, I'll be back down in time
to say grace."

"Ok
dear. No rush, I just barely took 'em out."

I took
the stairs two at time and showered in record time. I wanted to hurry up and
eat, so I could head out to the open plot of land that connected with the
James'. I wasn't expecting to see her. Hell, I'm sure she could barely walk by
herself, let alone make it up a small hill, but I was secretly hopin' to get a
small glimpse.

We all
sat down, Grandpa said grace and I ate like I had just been released from prison.
I would have gotten away with my odd behavior, but my grandfather had to chime
in on the Kayla situation.

"Looks
as if Kayla has been having a rough time, dear. If you could possibly bake up
some sort of pie, I'm sure Marie would love to see you."

"Oh
that's a perfect idea Harold. I'll bake something up tonight, so I can take it
over first thing in the morning. That poor girl, I do hope she will be
okay."

I was
just about to say something, when I caught the stern look my grandfather was
giving me out of the corner of his eye. Instead, I simply asked to be excused
and then threw my hat on as I made my way into the night.

As I got
closer to the open area, I could smell smoke and I ran the rest of the way to
make sure my dumb ass hadn't left a cigarette burning earlier. I almost tripped
over myself when I saw the dark figure crouched on the ground. She was here.
Wait, she was here? How was that even possible?

I slowly
closed the distance between us, when I saw the cherry on the cigarette turn an
even brighter red. "So, not so much a good girl, huh?"

I
must've startled her because she flinched and went to stand up.

"I'm
sorry, I didn't know anybody would be out here so late. I can leave."

Her
words were muffled, almost as if she was clenching her teeth, but I wasn't
close enough to tell. "It's okay, you can stay. I just have never seen you
out here before, and technically you are on
my
land."

"I'm
pretty sure it's your grandfather's land, but yes, yes I am. Although, if I
scoot back just two feet, I would technically be on
my
family's property."

I
thought I caught a glimpse of a smile, but my mind must've been playing tricks
on me, because that stoic look she had in the truck was back.

"I'll
just head back down. I only come up her to smoke so my grandparents don't get
pissed at me. They don't like it much." I toed the dirt with my work
boots, debating whether or not to turn around and leave her be.

"That's
why I'm up here, but you can stay. I was just heading back." I watched her
every move as she struggled to stand herself up. I wanted to help her, I really
did, but my grandfather's voice was nagging at the back of my mind. When she
was finally in a standing position, I took out my pack of smokes and lit one
up.

"Guess
I'll be seeing you around then?" I shouted as I blew out my smoke.

"Guess
so." And then she disappeared into the thick black night.

Kayla

I could
feel his emerald green eyes boring into the back of my head. I tried with all
my might to make it down that pesky little hill, but soon ran into trouble,
when my foot on my good leg caught the tip of a jagged rock. I stumbled for a
second, but easily gained my footing back. I didn't want him noticing my
distress or trying to help me. At this point, I didn't need anyone, and I
definitely didn't need a player like him trying to snake his way into my life
for the summer. The only bad habit I had kept up over the last little while
was
the smoking, and now even that was
proving to be a horrible idea. I wasn't looking forward to having to deal with
him when I needed to get away.

As I
stepped onto the back porch of my grandparent’s ranch house, I noticed my
grandfather sitting in the rocking chair at the opposite end. I was prepared
for the lashing I was sure I was about to get from him about my smoking, but I
wasn't coherent enough to deal with much more.