Toxic Bad Boy (18 page)

“
He’s in his happy place,”
Caleb said, forcing my attention to him. “Drugged.”

“
Medicated,” my dad
corrected.

Taking a deep breath, I
checked out the cast my brother wore on his right leg. “Cool. I’ll
sign it for you later.”

He giggled, appearing free
of pain. “Just not in pink or purple.”

“
Red,” I
countered.

“
Okay,” he replied,
yawning. “Where’s mom?”

I grabbed a chair, pulling
it closer to the bed before sitting down. “She’s where they put the
adults. They’re just making sure her head is okay.”

Chance shifted his upper
body slightly to face me and whispered, “She conked her head pretty
hard.”

“
Yeah, but she’ll be
fine,” my dad assured him, and maybe me too.

“
Can I talk to you?” I
asked my dad, motioning toward the hallway. He nodded and I got to
my feet to follow him out.

Before I could speak, he
pulled me into his arms. I exhaled, relaxing into the hug. His big
hand rubbing my back was no less soothing than when I’d been a
child. “What did you want to talk about, princess?”

I slowly backed up to turn
my face up to his. “Do you think you can go down to talk with mom’s
doctor? You’ll understand better than Scott or me what’s going on
with her.”

“
Of course I will. Now
that I’ve seen Chance and know he’s okay, the only worry is your
mom’s concussion.”

“
Do you already know
something?” I pressed, wondering if Scott had held back
information.

My dad’s head shook. “No,
the MRI is routine with that hard of an impact. There’s a strong
possibility they won’t find any swelling.”

“
Will you come back up and
let me know as soon as you find out?”

“
Sure, let me say
goodnight to Chance. He’ll be out for the night soon.”

“
They’re keeping him
overnight for a broken leg?”

“
When they moved him up
here it was because a family member wasn’t here to take him yet and
your mother was already admitted as a patient. His doctor has gone
home with instructions to the one on shift now to keep him
overnight for observation. It’s probably not necessary, but I’d
actually prefer it just in case.”

“
Why’d it take so long for
them to call us? The crash must have happened at least a couple
hours ago.”

“
The accident scene was a
mess and your mom was so out of it, it was awhile before she could
tell them who to notify.”

With a hand at my back, we
returned to the hospital room. “Hey, buddy,” my dad said, sitting
on the edge of Chance’s bed. “I’m going to swing down to make sure
your mom is doing well and I’ll be back soon. Your sister and Caleb
are going to hang out here with you while you go to
sleep.”

Chance didn’t appear
worried, yawning again. “Okay, are you still spending the night
with me?”

“
Yep,” my dad confirmed.
“And I’ll get you pancakes in the morning from the
cafeteria.”

“
Okay,” Chance said, his
eyelids drooping.

“
Be back in a bit,” my dad
said, exiting the room.

I plopped back down in the
chair, taking Chances hand in mine. The silence was more than
awkward, it was excruciating. Since Caleb seemed to be waiting for
me to say something, or at least I thought so, I finally said
softly, “Thank you for being here with Chance.”

When he didn’t say
anything, I lifted my head to look at him. He leaned back into the
chair with his arms crossed over his chest. “No
problem.”

Averting my eyes, I played
with Chance’s little fingers as he slept. If Caleb didn’t want to
converse, I was fine with that. When my dad returned, I’d duck out
to see my mom.

“
Is that all you have to
say to me?” Caleb snapped, taking me by surprise.

“
Shh! You’re going to wake
Chance.”

Caleb chuckled. “That kid
isn’t waking up until tomorrow morning.” He shifted to lean forward
and I was suddenly grateful for the barrier of the bed between us.
“You didn’t answer.”

“
What do you want me to
say?” I asked, annoyance building.

“
How about sorry for
fucking another dude behind my back?”

“
It’s not like you haven’t
already had sex with someone else, probably several someone elses,
knowing you.” I replied angrily.

“
An entire cheerleading
squad,” he drawled.

“
I’m not talking about
this in front of Chance, even if he is asleep.”

“
Let’s take this outside
then,” he suggested, already standing up and circling the bed. He
came to a stop next to my chair.

I stubbornly remained
seated. “Go home, Caleb.”

A hand under my arm yanked
me up. “We’re doing this now and afterward I hope to never see your
deceitful face again.”

That hurt, and so did his
unforgiving grip. I jerked my arm away, heading for the door to get
it over with, dismissing the pain in my heart and the hurt in his
eyes.

Searching the hallway, I
only saw a nurse walking in the opposite direction. Spinning
around, I was unprepared for the confrontation but starting to
brace myself in case it was bad.

Caleb stood with his feet
apart, his arms crossed again. “Did you ever love me?”

I looked at the floor in
contemplation. My head screamed at me to lie, but I’d already
betrayed my heart so many times. “What does it matter
now?”

“
It matters to me a hell
of a lot,” he said.

I looked at the wall to
the right of him. “I cared about you.”

He let out a scoffing
sound. “So you lied about loving me? Big fucking surprise. Like
mother, like daughter.”

“
What is that supposed to
mean?” I asked, meeting his scornful gaze.

His cruel smirk cut
through me. “She claimed to love my dad, too, but scraped him off
when things got hard.” He took a step forward to get in my space.
“Both of you are heartless.”

Nope, my heart was there,
beating but bleeding. His insult hit right in its
center.

“
Faithless,” Caleb added,
stepping back and suddenly appearing bored. “I’m done with this.
I’ll stay until your dad gets back then I’m out of here.” He went
back inside Chance’s room, leaving me in the hallway.

I didn’t want the guy I
loved to think I was a cheat and a lying bitch, but how else was I
to keep him at a distance? He was
Caleb
. He’d pushed his way into my
life once before, forcing me to open my mind and heart. I was
afraid of him attempting the same thing again. Even if he’d never
left my heart, the dark parts of my mind couldn’t accept
him.

It was agony to picture
him with another girl, but I couldn’t give him what he needed. I
walked slowly into the room, where Caleb stared down at his
phone.

Sitting down, taking a
deep breath, I came to a decision. I couldn’t be with Caleb, I’d
make that clear, but it hurt too much for him to think badly of
me.

“
I lied.”

His eyes casually rolled
up to mine. “No shit.”

“
About Gage.”

That had him snapping to
attention, the phone in his hand forgotten.

“
About having sex with
him.”

“
What?” Hazel eyes
darkened with turbulent feeling.

“
About loving
him.”

“
You don’t?” His
previously indolent frame now thrummed with energy.

“
About not loving you.” My
voice trembled and I gripped the arms of my chair for
support.

“
Then why are you with
him?” he asked.

“
I’m not,” I
finished.

“
I don’t understand,” he
said, standing but not moving to me.

Good, he needed to stay
away.

“
Why then?” he
asked.

“
Because I don’t want to
be with you anymore.”

“
Don’t want to be with
me?” he asked, his face changing into something I couldn’t
decipher.

“
Can’t,” I amended,
getting ready to dodge him if he reached for me.

“
You love me?” he asked. I
should have known he’d zero in on that.

“
Won’t be with you,”
I
emphasized, ignoring his question. Thankfully, my dad returned,
halting the conversation I considered over.

“
The heart is forever
inexperienced.”

-Henry David
Thoreau

GIANNA

“
You’re mom is going to be
fine,” my dad said as he entered the room. Seeing Caleb standing
over where I sat, he stopped. “Everything all right?”

Caleb returned to his seat
by the window. “All good.”

Not until I added, “Fine,”
did my dad approach where Chance slept, placing a hand on his
little chest.

“
I’m going to spend the
night with him. Why don’t you go down to see your mom and head on
home, Gianna?”

“
I can stay the night in
mom’s room,” I told him, wanting to be near my family.

“
No, Scott is staying
overnight with her. I’d feel better if you went home, or better
yet, slept over at Cece’s house.”

“
I’ll call her. Can I take
your car?” I asked, figuring it was that or I’d have to call Cece
to pick me up at the hospital.

“
I can drop her off,”
Caleb offered casually. My eyes shot to him where he seemed
unaffected by our earlier discussion. Not that I was fooled. His
body thrummed with barely leashed energy.

“
That sounds good,” my dad
said, sounding distracted by what he was reading. He’d pulled
Chance’s chart and I figured, being a doctor, it was
habit.

I wasn’t about to start an
argument with Caleb in front of my dad. After I checked on my mom
I’d call Cece to come get me. I stood, giving my dad a hug goodbye.
We’d had a scare, but were lucky not to lose either my mom or
Chance in the crash.

“
Have you heard anything
about the other people involved in the accident?” I asked, the
images of other mothers and children popping into my
head.

My dad kissed my forehead.
“One person is in critical condition, but they think he’ll make it.
Everyone else will be fine.”

“
Good,” I told him,
glancing at where Caleb waited in the doorway.

“
I’ll be back tomorrow
morning.” They’d definitely discharge Chance sometime in the
morning and possibly my mom. I’d be sure to get here early enough
to help out.

“
Okay, sweetie,” my dad
said as his phone rang.

I left as he answered it,
pretending not to see Caleb’s outstretched hand when we were in the
hallway. “Cece or Jared can pick me up,” I told Caleb as we made
our way past the nurse’s triage. “Thank you,” I told the nurse
still sitting there.

“
You’re welcome. Have a
good night!” she chirped. The lady down in ER hadn’t been friendly,
but this cheery nurse was perfect for the children’s ward. The kids
probably loved her.

Caleb reached the elevator
first, pushing the down button and turning to face me. He looked
hot, of course, he always did. Even his youth corrections issued
clothing hadn’t detracted from his flaming hotness. Although I was
afraid of touching, there was no helping my looking.

His silence disturbed me.
The doors slid open and we stepped inside, with me deliberately
hugging the wall opposite him. Inside the elevator, he murmured,
“This reminds me of my favorite elevator ride.”

Well,
now
it reminded me also of a hot guy
saying filthy words and no objection from me at the time. “You
don’t have to go with me to see my mom. I’m sure you have somewhere
to be.”

“
I need to talk to my dad
anyway.”

I stared down at my flip
flops, thinking of Caleb’s clothing. He wasn’t really a flip flops
kind of guy. Even in June he wore jeans and boots with his t-shirt,
a thick leather watch on one wrist. I’d noticed him checking out my
legs, uncovered by the shorts I wore. It made me feel
hunted.

With a
ding
, the doors opened and I rushed
out. It was then I realized I didn’t know her assigned room
number.

“
214,” he said in my ear.
“My dad texted it to me earlier.” He grabbed my hand, guiding me in
the right direction.

The door stood open to 214
and Scott could be seen inside. “Hey,” I said to get his attention.
I wasn’t sure what was going on with my mom and Scott. There were
still feelings there, but they’d hurt each other. I winced inwardly
at the comparison of Caleb and myself.

“
Gianna,” Scott whispered,
coming closer. “She’s asleep.”

I wanted to talk with her,
let her know I was here. “Did they drug her?” My mom’s still form,
a blanket pulled up to her waist and machines monitoring her, made
me want to cry.