18
Mark was alone, waiting for us in the lobby at the front of the hospital. He stood as we rushed through the door. Nothing was asked, nothing needed to be asked. He gestured down the hallway. “I was waiting for you. They’re in a different waiting room. The doctor’s with her right now.”
Logan frowned. “What are you doing here?”
He gestured to the girl who had followed behind me. “She got my mom.”
Logan and I turned to regard her.
“Uh …” She wavered at our attention. “Um …” Clamping her mouth shut, her cheeks got red, and she began pulling at one hand with the other. “I just found the first adult who looked …” She shrugged. “I don’t know why I picked her. I didn’t know her.”
I didn’t care. I turned back to Mark. “Where’s Sam?”
She finished, “She looked capable. That’s why I picked her.”
Logan grunted. “No one cares anymore.”
“And she was standing next to the principal,” she added. “That was another reason why I picked her.”
“Mason.”
We whipped around. David Strattan was coming towards us. His hair was sticking up, there were bags under his eyes and his Fallen Crest Academy athletic jacket was wrinkled. Blood was smeared all over it.
I faltered. There was not much that scared me, but I was scared now. I couldn’t look away from the blood on Sam’s dad’s shirt. That was her blood. It had to be. I was gutted at what they had done to her.
“Where is she?” My voice came out hoarse. No way could I be weak. Not now, that’s for damn sure. “Where is she?”
“The doctor is with her, but I’ve been told that it’s not as bad as it looks.”
I growled. That didn’t make it better.
“They think,” David moved to stand between us and the hallway. His hand lifted in the air in a calming motion. “They think she’ll have a few fractured ribs, but most of the damage is superficial.”
“What’s that mean?” Logan demanded.
“It means she looks awful, but it’s mostly bruising. Her face is swollen. She couldn’t open one of her eyes when I was with her, but they’re sure it’ll heal on its own.”
“Where is she?” The need to see her was too powerful. I could barely hold it in, and I looked down the hallway. I’d go from one room to the next to find her. “Where is she?!”
“She’s with the doctor, Mason.” Mark moved forward.
I jerked my head to him. “Who’ve you told about this? If that f*ckhead Adam walks through here, I’m laying him out. I won’t tolerate him coming in here and acting all buddy-buddy with her. Not now.”
“Mason—”
“Not now, Mark,” I interrupted him.
Mark lifted both hands in the air and took a step back. “I didn’t call anyone. I swear. I wouldn’t do that to Sam.”
“F*ck this,” Logan bit out before he shoved past the older Strattan. He started down the hallway and I went right after him. We weren’t getting answers, not the ones we wanted. We’d find her ourselves.
“Boys,” David called after them. “Mason, I really need to discuss something with you before seeing Sam.”
I shoved open a door. “I really need to see Sam first.” She wasn’t in that one. I moved to the next.
“Mark, maybe you can take the girl to the waiting room?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’ll show them to her room and then I have some things to discuss with them after. Go. I’ll send your mother in a moment as well.” I heard the exhaustion in David’s voice.
Logan was further down the hallway. He’d open a door, poke his head in and leave. A few people came to the hallway and watched as he repeated the process, but I stopped. I twisted around and saw David at the end of the hallway. He was waiting for us and he was too patient about it. I sighed as I went back to him. “She’s not in this hallway, is she?”
Logan was at the end of the hallway now. He circled and started opening doors on the side I had stopped.
“As soon as the doctors will let us see her, you’ll be the first one in.” David frowned as he rubbed a hand over his face. His eyes opened and closed, as if trying to focus on me. Then he began rubbing them with the palm of his hand. “I never thought I’d be here again.”
“Again?” I went cold. “Again? You mean without Analise being in the equation.”
David hesitated before saying, “Mason, son—”
“I’m not your f*cking son. If you’re going to throw the father term around, start acting like it with the one person who’s still hurting because you left her.”
“I didn’t …” His face paled.
I watched as the blood drained from Sam’s father’s face. I didn’t care. I was being kept from seeing her. It was driving me nuts. David knew it. Noticing a sign for the emergency room further down an adjourning hallway, I knew where she’d be. “Screw it. She came in on an ambulance. She’d go there first.”
“Mason.”
I hauled ass down the hallway.
David jogged to keep up. “Mason, I really do need to talk to you before you go in there.”
He could talk all he wanted. I wasn’t slowing down.
“Because you need to be on board before you go in there.”
“Be on board with what?” I got into the emergency room section. This floor was different from the one we were just in. The walls were painted an off-white color. I headed towards the main desk, but began glancing into each room I passed.
“That’s what I’m trying to talk to you about.” He stopped then, but his voice lifted, “I’ve already talked to Samantha about it and she agreed. It would be best if you heard about it from me first and not her. She’s already worried about how you’ll react and this is the best decision for her well-being. You cannot go in there and make her feel guilty about this decision. I won’t allow it, not after what she’s been through tonight.”
I had no choice. The urge to do physical damage had been with me since the Broudous showed up. It had increased since then, and David Strattan wasn’t helping. “If you don’t start talking, I’m going to start not giving a shit whose father you are. The two things I know right now is that Sam is hurt, and I have to get to her. Logan’s still over there. He hasn’t figured out that she’s not in that part of the hospital. You’re doing a lot of talking, but you aren’t saying shit. Start talking or I’ll let him loose on this department.”
David didn’t wait another second. “Sam’s coming home with me.”
“Like hell she is.”
“She is, Mason.”
“No.”
The older man sighed. “It’s really not your call. I’m trying to do my ‘fatherly’ duties as you enjoy throwing in my face. I’m standing here and blocking you because this is the best thing for her.”
“F*ck that and f*ck you.”
“Mason.”
“No, she’s living with us. We’ll take care of her.”
“You haven’t—”
“Better than you,” I threw back. My hands jerked up, but I stopped and stepped back. “I’ve taken care of her when you let her go with that crazy psycho. We protected her from Analise. Me and Logan. What’d you do? You stood back and let her go with her. You’re stepping up now? The crazy bitch isn’t here anymore. You’re protecting her from me?”
David’s jaw tightened. His shoulders lifted as his chest rose. He drew in a deep breath before he bit out, “You are getting on my last nerve, boy.”
“Boy?” I chuckled, but I wasn’t amused. “Don’t stand and puff up your chest to me. We both know where this is going. I should respect you? Because you’re Sam’s dad? Because you’re older than me?” My eyes narrowed to slits. The same lethal intent was there that’d been since I saw Budd Broudou. It was pumping through me and it was growing the longer he kept me from her. “I’ve been around enough screwed-up adults to know that they don’t deserve any respect unless it’s earned. I’ve not seen a damn thing from you except now. I’m the wrong person you need to be protecting from her.”
“Right now, you’re exactly the person I need to protect her from. She’s hurt, Mason.” David’s jaw was still clamped tight, but he gentled his tone. “She’s going to need help all day. Are you going to be there for her? You’re going to skip school? Quit the basketball team? Not graduate? I know you have a full scholarship already, but it’s contingent on graduating first. You can’t be there for her, neither can Logan.”
“And you can?”
“Better than you. Malinda doesn’t work—”
“You’re going to have your girlfriend take care of her?”
“No. I’m going to be there, but I have to work during the day. During that time, Malinda will come to the house and be there. She doesn’t work, Mason. Would you rather have someone else?”
“Me.”
“You can’t,” David snapped at me. “Get that through your head. Do you have a better choice? Your mother? I’m not putting Samantha through that. I’m aware of the disdain Helen has for Sam. Analise? Is that a better choice?”
I closed my eyes for a second, pressing my hands against them. A headache was raging in me. F*ck. I was always the cold one. I remained calm when everyone else panicked, but not now. I couldn’t get a grasp on that old Mason, but David was right and it was killing me. I relented, I had no choice. “I get to see her at night.”
“No deal.”
“That’s the only deal. I sleep over.”
“She’s my daughter.”
“She’s the love of my life.” My heart was pumping so damn fast. I needed to see her.
David was searching my eyes.
I let him see the truth. I needed her. That was the only way.
“Fine, but only you. Logan can’t start sleeping over, too.”
“He’ll try.”
David groaned. “You two, you just storm your way in—”
“We’re family to her. We took her in when you let her go. We protected her from that woman.” I was relentless. I knew it was hurting him, but I kept throwing it in his face because it was true. I forced myself to think rationally and I knew what David Strattan was saying was the best thing for Sam. Logan and I couldn’t skip school to take care of her, and I didn’t want her close to either mothers. I didn’t know Mark’s mom, but Mark was an okay guy. If Sam wasn’t okay around that woman, I would stop everything. I’d hire someone, or hell, I’d take her to Nate’s house. She could heal next to Nate. His mom would love Samantha.
David looked away.
I saw it was hard for him to accept. Then he nodded. “Fine. You and Logan can both stay the night—”
“Where is she?”
He lifted his defeated eyes to mine. “Follow me.”
After being admitted to the hospital, they gave me pain medication that put me to sleep. It was later that night when I woke. No one was there except Mason, who was sleeping in the lounge chair beside my bed. An opened pizza box was on my tray table along with a plastic water pitcher and a bunch of plastic cups. It hurt to talk, but after reaching for his hand, I didn’t need to. He woke up and offered me a smile. The worry and love in his gaze made my stomach jump into my chest. I’d never get used to it. Never. When he realized I couldn’t talk, he did most of it for me.
Logan had been there earlier and refused to leave, but Mason made him go. He wanted alone time with me when I woke. He said he pulled Boyfriend Rank. It would’ve been nice to see Logan, but I understood. The pain medication was wonderful, but there was an ache inside of me. I felt hollow, and it had nothing to do with my physical pain. Mason was the only one that could fill that emotional void, and I needed him. I needed him badly. When I patted my bed, he hesitated. I patted it again and scooted as far to the side as possible to make room for him.
“You have two fractured ribs, a dislocated jaw, and you look like a truck ran over you. I can’t, Sam.” His was gruff and his throat closed off on the last word. After he took a moment, he continued, “I just can’t, Sam. I’m so scared I’ll hurt you.”
I narrowed my eyes and tried to show him my determination. I couldn’t do much else, so I patted the bed again with a hard slap.
He still hesitated.
Then I hit his arm before moving onto my back again. I had to go slow, but I couldn’t stop the tear that formed and trickled down my cheek. When I lifted my hand to brush it away, my skin felt like it wasn’t mine. It was an uncomfortable feeling, an unwanted one, and I needed his support even more to push it away.
The bed dipped under his weight. He paused with one foot before shaking his head and mumbling, “I’m not going to be able to sleep. I’m going to be so damn scared that I’ll hurt you.”
It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. When he shifted to his side and then reached for my hand, I closed my eyes. I could sleep now. Everything would work out. Our hands were tucked between us on the bed. I clung to his, while he seemed scared to hold mine back. That didn’t matter either. I just needed to be held, a mere touch from him. It anchored me, and as that feeling of being centered came back, the heaviness of exhaustion folded back over me. It wasn’t long until I fell asleep.
The nurse checked on us, but she didn’t ask him to leave. When he started to get up, I gripped his hand harder. She caught the movement and only waved for him to stay. “Looks like you don’t have a choice.” As she headed back out, we heard her mutter to another nurse in the hallway, “They grow them like that nowadays? Sign me up to be a cougar. Holy crapola.”
Mason chuckled next to me. He had moved so his mouth rested against my shoulder and his breath teased me. It warmed me even more when he yawned. “They’ve been coming in every hour to check on you. You wouldn’t let me go the first time either.”
I couldn’t talk, but I tried to smile. I couldn’t even do that so I rested my head against his. Sleep overcame me again. The rest of the night was spent like that. I was in and out of it. Mason was always there. I think one of my nurses took pity on Mason. She snuck another hospital bed into my private room and lowered a rail on one side of it and one side of mine, then pushed them together to make almost a full size bed. Mason gifted her with a smile and I thought she was going to pass out in my room. When the other nurses came in, their gazes went immediately to him; it didn’t take a genius to figure out that the word had spread. We even heard one comment as she checked my vitals, “They weren’t kidding about the hottie.”
When she noticed that we had heard, she shrugged. “Nights can be the best shift or the dullest. The girls are in a tizzy about another guy. He likes to streak naked down the halls at night. If he looked like you, I don’t think the other girls would mind.”
“Can you tell us that?”
As she typed something into a computer, she shrugged again. “He’s due for another run soon so you’re going to see it with your own eyes if your door is open. Take it as more of a warning. Don’t get scared if you see a flash sprinting past your door. He doesn’t go into other patients’ rooms.” Then she patted my other leg as she moved around the bed. “You’re looking better, girly. You should get discharged in the morning.”
Two minutes after she left, we heard her yell, “Stop right there, four-thirty-two! Do not go into the nursing ward. Four-thirty-two!”
A streak of bare flesh darted past our door.
Mason grinned at me. “It’s like we didn’t even miss Fischer’s party tonight.”
My nurse sprinted past our door, followed by another two.
Except there are no nurses at those parties. I tried to say that, but I couldn’t. My mouth must’ve twitched because Mason turned sharply to me. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, sighing at the same time, except I couldn’t do that either. Breathing was difficult so I took a small breath, followed by another one. I was closing my eyelids again when he said my name.
“Sam.”
My heart began racing as I heard how serious he was. I frowned.
He took a deep breath. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here. I don’t know if I’m supposed to distract you. If I’m supposed to make you laugh, or if I’m supposed to be reassuring you. I have no idea what to do, so all I’m doing is just being here.”
Oh goodness. My heart raced faster.
His voice grew rough again, and he added, “You can’t talk back to me, and I need to hear your voice. I need to know you’re okay.”
I tried to squeeze his hand.
He laughed to himself, lifting them, kissing the back of mine. Then he pressed it against his cheek and took another deep breath. “I’m so f*cked up right now. We were going to fight the Broudou brothers when that chick showed up. I don’t even know who she is. She took off when we finally got to your room, and I haven’t let anyone else in here. Logan was supposed to tell people you’re fine.” He broke off and cursed under his breath. “I’m so goddamn sorry.” He frowned before he shook his head again. “What I’m trying to say is that everything will be okay. Kate won’t hurt you again. I’ll take care of her, and I’ll end this thing with the Broudous. I know it’s been bothering you, too. I’ll take care of everything. I know you’re going to stay at your dad’s. That’s fine. I want you to know that I’m fine with that. I made him agree to let us stay there, too, so we’ll all still be together. What the hell am I saying here?”
I wanted to smile at him. I wanted to pull him into me and have him wrap his arms around me, but I couldn’t do either. I couldn’t even tell him to shut up because I loved him, too. That’s what he was trying to say, but he was never this awkward about it. I lifted my hand to his cheek. I cupped the side of his face the same way he always cups mine, and I pulled him to me.
“Sam?” His eyes grew wide and he hesitated.
I pulled again, this time firmer.
He relented until I had moved his face right to mine. I couldn’t feel it, but I pressed his lips to mine. When he pulled away, I saw him brush at something on his face before he settled back into place beside me again.
We remained like that for the rest of the night, but right before I fell back asleep, I felt him kiss my hand.
I was smiling on the inside.