Safe With You (16 page)

E
VERYTHING IS NOT OKAY!

“Olivia!” A big, rough hand circles around my upper arm, dragging me down a narrow alley. “Happy Birthday, baby.” His mouth is hot and sour against my ear, and I freeze for a split second before screaming as loud as I can.

“Shut your fucking mouth.” The blaring light from the streetlamp makes him look twenty times as shitty as he did the day before I left.

“Braden, please. What do you want?” All I wanted was to be normal and experience true New Orleans nightlife in the French Quarter. It’s now mocking me with a vengeance. I struggle against him and fail miserably.

“You should have been more careful.” He picks me up and flings me against the brick wall. The back of my head ricochets off the stone and I black out for a second before slumping to the ground.

“Help!” I kick him in the shins as hard as I can, hoping my heel goes straight through the skin. We wrestle for a few seconds, but I have nothing against his strength. Every play-fight I had with Cam a few weeks ago fills my head, but I don’t remember any of his flyby pointers. Except going for the balls and eyes.

“Looks like you were runnin’ again. Just like the ungrateful bitch you are. Always leaving after you’ve gotten your fill.” His dark auburn hair is matted against his forehead and the onslaught of whatever drugs he’s been taking shows all over his pale face, tinged with yellow.

“Help!” I scream again, so loud it hurts my ears.

Kyle. Please.

The hits come back. I deflect a few and he stumbles as I shove my knee into his groin. I finally push to stand, but his foot lands across my toes.

“Braden … ” I gasp, hysterical. “Please, stop. Please.”

I became too comfortable.

I don’t know if anyone heard me or saw me being dragged away. My feet fling around, trying to shuffle, but he pulls me back by my hair. The light sparks as a blow erupts against my cheek and warm liquid oozes down my neck. His pupils are nonexistent against his dark brown irises, surrounded by bloodshot and swollen lids.

I should have moved farther away.

I double over as a boot lands into my ribs.

I knew this life was too good.

Braden yells, spitting more things I can’t make out. I let the pain overcome me, almost hoping for death. My lip burns as it splits open and the metallic, salty taste of blood pours into my mouth. I scream again and again, but the volume of my voice won’t increase. My throat is on fire. Blood, bile, and alcohol mix like a lethal injection. The onslaught goes on forever. My consciousness wavers.

Then it stops.

Cool air rushes my face as Braden is tackled to the ground. As my vision becomes clearer, Cam picks him up and flings him over his shoulder, slamming him into the cement. I have no idea when he came to the bar, but I’ve never been more thankful. Three more bouncers restrain Braden as Cam rocks another punch.

“No! No, Olivia!” Kyle screams in hysterics. Strong arms tuck under my legs and back. I cry out as pain erupts from every limb.

“Was Braden,” I grit out, sputtering blood. “Sorry.”

“Just relax, darling.” Kyle kisses my forehead, cradling me close to his chest.

“Hold on, love. You’re gonna be okay.” Cam’s giant presence fills the air as he curses under his breath. Rough hands cradle the back of my head, holding it straight as I’m lowered to the concrete again. Cam sighs, muttering something in a different language.

Commotion pings from everywhere. I cough again, even more blood coating my mouth. I zone out, eyelids fluttering shut again. The pain is so intense, I can’t breathe through it. The longer I try to hold on, the harder it becomes. Natasha calls out to me, hysterically crying.

I don’t have anything to respond.

Chapter Fourteen

Concussed

Kyle

The smell of bleach and antiseptic makes me want to projectile vomit everywhere. I haven’t left Olivia’s side since the ambulance dropped her off two days ago. The tinge of blue and green coming from the bright florescent light turns her already pale skin a new shade of ghost. The beeping from her monitor is endless, the urge to punch things grows with each second.

Beep, beep, beep.

I squeeze her hand again, praying she’ll wake up soon. I should never have thought about confessing everything on her birthday. No matter how much it was eating away at me. This is my fault. It’s my fault she’s here.

“She’s been off the sedative for hours now.” I rub my eyes until speckled dots glow inside my lids. “Why won’t she wake up?” I choke up, staring at her bruised and swollen face.

The lights are on and she’s home, but she won’t answer the door.

Please wake up.

Cam pulls his chair closer to mine, propping his bandaged hand on a pillow. He broke three fingers and strained two ligaments in his wrist from the carnage he inflicted on Braden. “You heard the doctor. Sometimes the sheer stress of something like this can cause someone to shut down for a few days. She’s going to be okay, man.”

“I love her.” I stare at the pink blanket on her hospital bed, replaying in my mind her sparkling green eyes and the way she smiles.

“I know you do.” Cam grips my shoulder.

“How’s Natasha?”

He sighs, shaking his head. “She’s still sleeping at your place. She refuses to go back to Baton Rouge and doesn’t care if she gets fired from her new job. I told her I’d go back to get her in a few hours after she recharges.”

“So much for a birthday surprise.” I shake my head, still not comprehending this.

“What about Olivia’s brother?” Cam slides down his chair.

“He hasn’t called back.” I tuck Olivia’s hair behind her ear again.

“Un-fucking-believable.”

If it’s not one thing, it’s another. I spent two years shutting everyone out of my life. Right when everything seemed perfect, something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy happens to the person I care about more than anything.

Aubrey walks into the room, crying like she has been since Olivia’s birthday. She saw Olivia go outside and went to see if she was okay. As she heard Olivia scream, she ran to get help, bumping into Cam before getting to me. Not shockingly, Cam was already on massacre detail before I could pick Olivia off the ground like a limp ragdoll. There was nothing I wanted more than to break Braden’s face off, but I couldn’t leave her alone.

“How is she?” Zach asks, holding Aubrey closer as she wails.

“Her vitals, everything, is perfect. She has full brain function and there’s no sign of damage, she’s … sleeping.” I sigh, glancing at them.

Aubrey’s legs shake and I help her sit in the chair next to Olivia’s bed. “I should have gone with her outside.”

Cam rubs her back and then stands. “Kyle, let’s give them a few minutes to talk to her. I’m starving and you look like refried elephant shit.”

“Thanks.” I side-eye him and bend down to kiss Olivia’s forehead. “I’ll be right back,” I whisper.

Cam nudges my shoulder as we walk down the hallway. “You know she’s going to be fine, right?”

“I know. I should have never told her I wanted to talk like that. What the fuck was I thinking?” My mouth goes dry and I crack my neck.

“You were drunk, man. It’s really not your fault.” Cam drags me into the elevator, shaking his head. “Come on, I’ll get you a huge steak.”

I nod, just to get him to shut up. I’m totally out of my mind trying to figure out how to tell her everything and it’s making me nauseous. The deep grumble in my stomach disagrees with my brain.

“Kyle,” my dad calls out as Cam and I get off on the first floor.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I stumble back a step as my dad gives me a hug and I choke out a few unmanly sobs. My handle on this situation is getting worse with each passing second. The fire of anxiety burning through my chest is like the surface of the sun. I have no idea if this is what Olivia feels like all the time. If it is, I’m sweeping her off to an island and shielding her from the world. No one deserves this.

Except for Braden. But times a million.

“I told him you could really use Big Papa.” Cam punches my arm.

“No, you said he looked like minced donkey balls and he needed to sleep and eat something other than Jell-O and Coke.” My dad hands me a giant greasy bag of food and a shopping bag. “I have a meeting downtown tomorrow anyway.”

“Ooh, whad’ya bring me?” Cam snatches the bag out of my hand, peeking inside.

I grab it back and point to the cafeteria. “I heard the Jell-O is good this time of day.”

“Traitor.” Cam walks away, shaking his head.

“Anything new?” my dad asks, pushing the button for the elevator. I just want to get back to her. Leaving for even five minutes is giving me heartburn.

I wish I had something to give him. This is too much. I didn’t even want to tell him about what happened to Olivia. But I had no choice; I’ll be damned if she lets this go and lets justice run its course with a slap on the wrist and bullshit probation.

“Nope.” I sulk inside and lean against the wall. “Thanks for the clothes and stuff.”

“No problem. My interns have everything drafted for when she wakes up.” He hands me a manila folder.

“What about Cam?” I’m still hoping he won’t be charged with attempted murder or something. He said he wouldn’t have stopped until Braden was dead, and I believe him. I’ve seen him go off the reservation a few times, but the other night was a new level of psychotic, even for him.

“Kyle, Olivia could have been
killed
.” As the EMTs strapped Braden into the stretcher so he would stop trying to escape, Olivia was incessantly questioned by some dickbag officer. She was barely conscious enough to give a flyby of what happened.

It took even more for me to remain calm hearing about it.

I swallow, feeling like my tongue is going to go down with it as the elevator pings on the fifth floor. As we walk out, Zach and Aubrey are waiting outside her door. I drop the bags into my dad’s hands and sprint down the hallway, in case something’s happened. The eight rooms separating us feel like an ultra-marathon.

“What’s wrong?” I shove past Zach, but he grabs my shirt.

“Nothing, she woke up. She’s super out of it, man. You need to give her a minute with the doctor.” Zach pushes me back as my dad jogs up.

I feel even worse not being there for her when she woke up. I know how she gets. If I startled out of a dead sleep in the hospital and in a ton of pain, I’d freak out too. My anxiety explodes and my legs give out. My dad steadies me as I slide down the wall, propping my arms up on my knees and resting my head against them.

I lied to her.

Everyone lied to her.

I should have told her the truth.

She’s going to hate me when she finds out.

Losing her is going to be worse than losing baseball.

“Which one of you is the boyfriend? Kyle?” the doctor asks, walking into the hall. His face is eighty times more light-hearted than I feel. He squats to the floor and rests his hand on my shoulder, giving me a smile. “I’m guessing that’s you.”

“How is she?” I nod, propping myself up. At this point, I’m not going to argue with him, even if our relationship was never official and probably won’t be once she figures out what we kept from her. I can’t keep the shake from my voice and I grip the wooden bar running along the wall for support.

“Asking for you and doing phenomenal, actually. As long as she keeps improving, she’ll be discharged soon.” He opens the door for me. “However, it might be best to keep it to a few people.”

“We’ll go.” Aubrey pipes up, still clinging to Zach. “I don’t want to overwhelm her. Tell her we’ll come over tomorrow.”

“I’ll be in the waiting room.” My dad nods down the hall. “I think it might be too soon for you to start introducing family.”

I walk in, blaring the biggest smile I can. Olivia is propped up on the bed. Her one eye is still pretty swollen, but the other one shines brightly. The endless weave of greens and golds calms my nerves in an instant. She smiles, although weakly, and reaches out to me.

“Ky,” she rasps, her voice hoarse and dry. As she smiles, she winces, holding the side of her face.

“Hey, darlin’.” I sit on the edge of her bed, taking her hand. When she squeezes mine back, another sense of relief watches over me. I run my hand through her hair, loving that she’s finally awake. Tears fall down her cheeks as I lean forward, placing kisses on her forehead.

“So many lilies. Thanks.” She shifts in the bed, wincing through every movement. I hate I didn’t piece together lilies were her favorite after I bought her those sunflowers. But Natasha gave me a ton of insight on what to do when she woke up. I wish she were here now.

“You’re welcome.” I glance around the room, patting myself on the back for the eight different kinds of lilies my mom ordered for me and overnighted. It cost me a small fortune, but the half-smile on her face is worth every penny.

She zones in and out for a second. I kick off my shoes and lie in her bed. The pain is evident as she shifts and curls into my side. I’d stay here for weeks if she needed me to.

“You guys decent?” Cam knocks on the door, poking his head in a few moments later.

“Cam … ” Olivia smiles.

“Hey, munchkin.” Cam walks in, holding a giant stuffed gorilla the size of his torso.

Modesty isn’t his thing.

“So cute.” She winces through a small laugh, sitting up straighter. “Thank you.”

“I kind of felt like it was us, you know? Big, badass primate with my little sidekick.” He sits on the other side of the bed, placing it in her lap. Sitting on the gorilla’s shoulder is a mouse with a bandage around its head.

Olivia glances at his bandaged hand and immediately tears up, shaking her head. “Cam … what … ”

“I’ll be fine, love.” He smiles, giving her hand a squeeze.

She sniffs and looks at me, a thousand emotions I can’t place written on her face. “I’ll never be able to thank you both enough.”