“Mia,” Doc murmured, touching me.
I swatted his hand away, covering my ears. “No! No! No! No!” I endlessly screamed. Tucking my head in my knees, curling up in a ball. Hands touched me everywhere and all at once, causing me to fight harder. Pain coursed through my entire body, my head throbbed, and my vision twisted.
“Mia! Fuckin’ stop!” Creed yelled from above me. “You’re only hurtin’ yourself!”
“She’s in shock!” I heard Doc say. “Her body’s in fight or flight mode! Her pain doesn’t even matter at this point. Her body’s just movin’ on autopilot mode!”
“Nooooo!” I cried out. “No... no... no... no... no...” I sobbed, my body shaking uncontrollably. Convulsing to the point of pain.
“Mia, sweetheart, you need to stay with me. You need to calm down,” Doc added as I shoved their hands away. Pushing at the grips they both had on me. Flailing my arms.
“Don’t touch me! Don’t fucking touch me!” I screamed, violently lashing out. Causing even more pain to wreak havoc on my entire body. The sounds of the machines beeping all around me were ear-piercing. “Don’t fucking touch me!” I repeated, yelling bloody murder.
“Grab her legs!” Doc demanded from beside me. “Help me grab her arms!”
“No! No! No! No!” I whipped around every which way, but they were too strong for me. “Please... please... please...” I bawled like a baby, my emotions overtaking me. Smothering me in nothing but a sea of loneliness and despair.
A sharp prick entered my bicep. My body fell slack, heavy, and foreign as soon as a familiar warm sensation began surging through me from my head down to my toes. Creed’s strong arms circled my body, engulfing me in his scent. Pulling me to lie on his chest.
“Shhh... go to sleep. Close your eyes and go to sleep, Pippin...” I heard him faintly say, his voice an echo in the distance.
I did as I was told, unable to fight even if I wanted to. Letting the darkness take over. I prayed I would never wake up.
Dying right along with Maddie.
My baby girl I never even got to meet.
I sat in the waiting room area, leaning back into the chair with my head against the wall. My legs spread out in front of me, and my arms crossed over my chest. Doing exactly that.
Fucking waiting.
The chain of events in the last few months led up to this place in time. And soon the moment of truth would be knocking at my door, ready to let itself right fucking in.
Doc, Diesel, and I brought Mia into the ER to be admitted. Along with Maddie’s body, Doc had wrapped up and placed in a wooden box to be taken to the hospital morgue. I let them handle the staff, answering the necessary questions. Following whatever fucking protocol was needed, including calling her parents and the cops. Reporting that the missing girl from Oak Island had finally been found alive.
Diesel and Doc stayed by my side in the waiting room, knowing I’d need some back-up from the impending shit storm that was about to erupt. I came to the decision that I wouldn’t lie to Mia’s family, at least not anymore. Extinguishing the fire that protected all my secrets. Airing them out if it meant saving her. The staff wouldn’t allow me into her room, informing me I wasn’t immediate family. Saying some shit about having to wait until her parents’ showed up to grant me permission, even though I was the one who brought her in.
The staff wouldn’t tell us one damn thing about her medical condition. In spite of the fact that all we had done since we stepped foot into the ER was cooperate with anything they needed or wanted. They wouldn’t even tell us if she had woken up, or if she was going to be all right. Looking at us the same way this entire fucking town always had.
Like we were nothing but pieces of shit, biker trash.
It never used to bother me until I met Mia. She was the only person who ever looked at me like I was someone special to be looked at. Like I mattered in this fucked up world and deserved to be respected.
I took a deep breath, watching as pictures of Mia took center stage on the flat screen TV hanging on the wall in front of me. Images of her pretty face scrolled across the screen with headlines that read, “After months, missing Oak Island native Mia Ryder found alive.” Showing live coverage just outside the hospital doors. Only a few yards away from where I sat. It wouldn’t take long for the press to find out about our involvement, and all hell would break fucking loose by morning. Our club spent decades trying to keep our names out of the papers, and in a few short hours we’d be front-page news.
Which was the least of my fucking worries.
Soon Mia’s family would make their grand entrance, cutting off any ties that their daughter and I had. I’d lose her for good. Completely conscious of the fact that I didn’t deserve to have her to begin with.
I’d be lucky if they didn’t throw my ass behind bars before the end of the day.
No good would come of this.
No good would have ever come from us, and I knew that since day one.
My entire life flashed before my eyes like a goddamn movie reel that I couldn’t pause or fucking stop. It felt like I’d been sitting there for days, but in reality, it was only a few hours. Thinking about what went down in the van, repeatedly playing it over in my mind. I would never be able to forget the words she spewed, the way she hit me, and especially the look on her face when I told her Maddie had died.
“You killed her! You killed my baby! I hate you! Do you hear me?! I fucking hate you!”
One word stuck out among the rest. “Murderer!”
I got out of my chair a few times, pacing the room. Shaking off my demons that plagued my mind. Randomly wandering over to the double doors to look out into the hallway where Mia was taken back.
My mind raced with thoughts, with guilt, with shame from all the shit I put the people that I love the most through. All the memories faded when I heard loud, rumbling footsteps coming down the hall. I didn’t have to wonder who they belonged to.
“You son of a bitch!” Mia’s old man called out, making me look up from my chair. Moving in an autopilot state of mind, I stood. Watching as he and McGraw came barreling through the same double doors where Mia was wheeled back.
They must have been in to see her already, giving me a sliver of hope that maybe she was awake again and well. As well as she could be at least. The nurses must have told them we were waiting around since we brought her in.