An Exceptional Twist (23 page)

The room spun and he felt life draining out
of him.

Oh shit, am I gonna die?

Darkness found him as he inevitably passed
out.

After tossing and turning all night, there
was only one place Leah wanted to go this morning. But it was still
difficult for her to even pull into the driveway. Although it was
now her best-friend’s home, there were still so many memories tied
to Stefen, no matter how brief his stay was.

Before she made it to the front door, Abby
came out to greet her. “Everything all right? You sounded upset
when you called.” She wiped her hands on her apron as she
approached.

“I just need a friend right now. I have to
make a decision, and I’m at a loss.”

Abby loped her arm through Leah’s, pulling
her inside of the house. Abby had settled well into her new role as
wife and mother and was absolutely glowing.

What am I going to say? This was exactly
what I didn’t want to do.

She’d wanted to keep Abby out of this whole
mess but didn’t have anyone else to turn to. She could call Dani,
but this wasn’t the kind of thing she wanted to discuss over the
phone. Especially since Dani didn’t know what she’d done with
him.

I’m not looking forward to that
conversation.

“Have a seat.” Abby took off the apron and
tossed it on the kitchen table, joining Leah on the couch that
separated the informal dining and living room. “What’s up?”

That familiar aroma hit Leah’s nose once
again. She’d left several flower bouquets around the house the
beginning of the week, but this smell was unique, different.

Roses.
Damn him
.

Stefen made it seem as though he was
bringing flowers to other women he’d met in Santa Barbara, when in
reality, he bought them for Abby and to butter up Celeste.

Jackass!

Reigning in her temper,
she gathered her thoughts. Leah bit the inside of her cheek,
mulling over what to say. “Well, Stefen is trying to use his money
to make up for being a jackass—
again
.”

Surprised, Abby jerked her head back, “Wait,
have you talked to him today? Caleb is worried sick. He kinda
harassed Stefen about growing up and that moving closer to us could
help out. I guess Stefen flipped out, saying he didn’t want to hear
any more. Now Caleb can’t get a hold of him.” Abby fiddled with her
fingers, clearly torn between her best friend and her husband’s
feelings.

“Maybe he’s just pouting
and ignoring Caleb’s calls.”
Because he
has no regard for anyone else’s feelings.

Patting Leah’s hand, Abby agreed, “Maybe
you’re right. Okay, go on. What did he do?” Her friend was
listening, but Leah could tell her mind was elsewhere.

Figuring she may as well just get it all
out, she relayed everything that had happened at the studio the day
before.

Frowning, Abby seemed confused. “But why is
he so concerned if things didn’t work out between you? Maybe he
actually feels guilty.”

Leah snorted. “I doubt
Stefen has ever felt guilty about anything.”
Asshole
.

Then she remembered Toby. Leah sighed,
“There might be another reason. He went to high school with a boy
that had Down Syndrome who somehow got to his calloused heart and
apparently there’s a small part of him,” she pinched her fingers to
show just how small, “that can actually show compassion for
others.”

Abby’s eyes were wide, and Leah wondered if
maybe she was sounding more hateful than she wanted.

A deep voice rumbled from behind them
causing Leah to jump in her seat. “Stefen told you about Toby? He
doesn’t tell anyone that story.”

Both ladies looked up. Behind the couch
stood a suspicious Caleb. His lips were tight, eyes narrowed, and
jaw set.

Oh crap, how much did her hear?

With a slightly shaky voice, Leah answered,
“Yeah, he went to one of my classes and told me about Toby on the
way home.”

Caleb bent over the back of the sofa to kiss
his wife, then rested his elbows on the edge. He looked pointedly
at Leah. “Are you going to tell me why Stefen should feel
guilty?”

Saved by the ringing of his cell, Leah
breathed a sigh of relief. Caleb squinted at the caller ID, then
left the room as he answered.

Throwing herself back on
the couch, Leah groaned, “What am I supposed to tell him,
Abby?”
Now Caleb knows. What a
mess.

Abby softly rubbed Leah’s arms. “The truth.
Now that he knows something, I can’t lie to him. You didn’t do
anything wrong. Don’t worry about it.”

Caleb came flying back into the room with
absolute terror on his face. “Babe, I’ve gotta go to Chicago.
Stefen’s in the hospital, and they don’t know if he’s going to make
it.”

Stefen woke up in a haze.
He grimaced at the taste of blood in his dry mouth.
Why is it so bright in here?

It took a moment to be
able to lift his heavy throbbing head.
What the hell is that beeping sound?
Only able to see out of one eye, he scanned the sterile
room.
Am I in a…hospital?

That’s right. He’d almost
been beaten to death.
Shit, what did they
do to me?
He tried to move, but was only
able to grunt in pain

The noise woke Caleb, who’d been sleeping
next to Abby by the bed. He rushed to Stefen’s side. “How do you
feel?” His question also woke Abby, who rose and stood alongside
her husband with glossed over, weary eyes.

His voice was hoarse. “Like a couple of
thugs broke into my house and beat the shit out of me.” Stefen
tried to laugh, but everything hurt so he stopped mid-chuckle. “How
long have I been here?”

Stefen could hear the hesitance in Caleb's
voice. “A couple days.” Caleb looked away and said, “Let me go tell
the nurse you’re awake.”

He left while Abby stared at Stefen in a
daze.

“Damn, every inch of my body hurts. Was it
that bad?” He looked down, only able to see the blanket that
covered his body. Scooting his numb ass to the side a bit, he felt
a tube brush against his leg.

What the fuck?

Discretely, he reached under the covers and
gave it a light tug, instantly realizing what it was.

Son of a bitch. A catheter?

Abby gulped down her tears. “It was
horrible, Stefen. I was so mad at you…then I was afraid we were
going to lose you.” The waterworks finally escaped her eyes.

Mad at me? Does she know about Leah?

Not wanting to explore that idea, he focused
on the here and now. “Tell me what the damage is before they come
back.” He struggled to get comfortable without moving the covers.
He had no intention of flashing Abby his new attachment.

Swiping under her eyes, Abby sniffed. “Well,
in a nutshell, you have a concussion. Your left eye socket was
fractured. Your left arm, collar bone, a rib, and nose are all
broken, and you have a punctured lung. The doctor can give you more
details, though.”

Stefen blinked at her,
dumbfounded.
Oh, is that all?
“Damn, they really did a number on me...ouch.” He
winced, trying to switch positions, but changed his mind when the
entire left side of his body started burning.

Caleb returned with a doctor in tow. “Good
to have you with us again, Mr. Hunter. I’m Dr. Fernandez, how are
you feeling?”

Stefen looked down at his
broken body.
How the hell do you think I
feel, dumbass?
“Not so good.”

The doctor started checking his vitals. “I
assume you know the extent of your injuries, but I'll give you a
run down on what we've done so far. We repaired your orbital
fracture. We normally wait until the swelling goes down to operate,
but a muscle was stuck between the broken bones so we had to make
an incision on your eyelid. It should heal well and the scarring
will be minimal.”

Stefen reached up, tentatively touching the
edge of the patch over his left eye.

“You may have problems with your vision for
a while, but we'll have to take that one step at a time. That
patch,” he pointed with his pen, “will have to remain on for the
next couple of days.”

Stefen dropped his hand back to the sheet,
resigned. Sighing, he wondered how much worse it could get. The eye
injury was a serious enough problem all on its own.

Speaking in a clinical fashion, Dr.
Fernandez lifted his chin and looked down. “You have a minor
concussion, and although headaches are common, you should be fine
as long as you continue to rest. We reset your nose. That should
also heal nicely. As far as the clavicle fracture goes, you’re
lucky there was no nerve or blood vessel damage. The bone was
displaced. We had to reposition it using screws. You’ll need to use
a sling until you’re fully recovered, but that will probably help
with your broken forearm that we cast.”

Stefen’s head throbbed, taking in the
overload of information. It was a lot.

The Doctor peered down at the chart in his
hands. “You’ll also need physical therapy once you’ve fully
recovered. The puncture in your lung is very small, and we believe
it will heal on its own, but it will have to be monitored to make
sure. Unfortunately, we can't do anything about your fractured rib.
That just has to heal on its own. We have you on antibiotics and
pain medication intravenously. Our only concern at this point is
the swelling around your eye. We’ll keep that patch on it for now.
I know it’s a lot to take in, but do you have any questions?”

Clearly overwhelmed,
Stefen shook his head.
What the hell else
could be wrong with me? I’m already Frankenstein.

Dr. Fernandez lowered his
glasses to the bridge of his nose and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, one
last thing. I noticed that you had some bruising on your other
shoulder. It appeared to be a small bite mark, a few days older
than the other injuries. I
assume
it has nothing to do with the attack?”

Oh, shit.

“Nope,” Stefen said
hastily. Abby and Caleb looked at him funny as he chuckled somewhat
nervously. “Different incident.” Laying back, he wondered what that
warm feeling was on his face. Then he realized. He’d never blushed
a day in his life.
Awkward.

Stefen caught Caleb’s glare and Abby’s mouth
hanging open. Obviously they knew exactly where that ‘injury’ had
come from.

Pushing his glasses back in place, Dr.
Fernandez wrapped it up. “Okay, then,” he said pleasantly. “I’ll be
back to check on you later. And now that you’re awake, a police
officer will be in at some point to take your statement. The one
stationed at the door is only here for security measures while
you’re healing. Better to be safe.”

As a lawyer, Stefen knew this translated
into ‘We don’t want you to sue us. Better to cover our asses’. The
doctor left the room after scribbling a few more notes in his
chart.

Stefen looked up at the ceiling, realizing
how serious this was. “My dad have anything to do with the cop at
the door?”

Caleb nodded. “Yeah. You were brutally
attacked. He’s paranoid. I’ve never seen him like this before.”

“Where are my parents?”

“Oh honey, we were supposed to call them as
soon as he woke up. I'll take care of that.” Abby whispered
something to Caleb, then leaned over and gently kissed Stefen on
the forehead before leaving to make the call.

Stefen peered up at Caleb with his one
functioning eye. “Man, how are you so damn lucky to get two
extraordinary women in one lifetime? You really are one fortunate
bastard, aren't you?”