Page 84 of Always Watching
My head jostles as he runs up the stairs and I fight to keep from vomiting. “I got you, kitty,” he says softly. “Hang on for me and I’ll get you some help.”
Wylder puts me in the car as gently as possible and slides on my seatbelt. I settle in, hoping we get to the hospital quickly.
He puts the car in drive and peels out of the driveway at a fast clip. I try to keep my eyes open to see where we are, but it hurts. So I close my eyes to keep the sun from stinging my retinas.
The next thing I know, we’re pulling up to the emergency room entrance and Wylder is cleaning my face of Olly’s blood.
“You okay, kitty?”
“Yes,” I lie. I don’t think I’ll be okay for a while. It seems like my head will never stop throbbing.
“You will be,” Wylder says, seeing through my lie. “They’ll help you here.”
We step into the emergency room, then everything happens in a blur. Faces drift through my field of vision and lights shine in my eyes. Conversations swirl around me, IVs are set up and a blood pressure cuff is slid onto my arm.
I look around for a familiar face and see Atlas standing near the end of my bed. When did he get here? Where’s Wylder? How much time has passed?
Atlas steps up beside me and grabs my hand. I squeeze his tight, wanting to ask questions, but everything is so confusing. I can’t hold on to anything—not time, not people, not what’s going on around me. Nothing makes sense.
I try to touch my head with my free hand, but Atlas stops me. “It’s okay. You took a nasty knock, but you’ll be fine. You have to stop messing around at the construction site without a hard hat.” He smiles at me, but his eyes implore me to go along with his lie.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t think I’d fall.”
He waves me away, pride shining in his eyes. “I’ll make sure you stay off the site until it’s done. You’re gonna be alright. They’re going to admit you tonight, though. Your concussion is severe and they want to keep an eye on you. I’m inclined to agree.” Atlas looks over his shoulder at the nurses milling about, his eyes bouncing around from face to face.
“How long have I been here?” I ask Atlas, getting his attention.
“About an hour. You were knocked out cold. Wylder left a bit ago to help North.”
It’ll be a while before North shows up. The state he left Olly in will have him cleaning up for a while.
My stomach tightens as I think about my best friend. For a while, Olly was all I had. After my grandfather died, he wasthe one I counted on to get me through the day. I never had romantic feelings for him, even though we worked together. I thought we were just friends. In all that time, I didn’t know he was deranged enough to beat me up to make it seem like he was saving me.
I trusted him with all my secrets. I thought our relationship was pure, but the entire time he’d been thinking of ways to hurt me. He betrayed my trust. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to let someone in like that again.
“Hey,” Atlas says, giving my hand a squeeze. “Don’t let your mind go there. Not yet. You need to heal. You can’t do that if you’re beating yourself up. Hmm?”
Reluctantly, I nod, my head not hurting as bad since the IV is pumping meds into my veins. “You’ll stay with me, right?” Atlas stayed with me the first time I was hurt and I felt safe enough to fall asleep. The only people I trust now are my new family. Wylder, Atlas, and of course North. I know they wouldn’t find underhanded ways to hurt me. If they wanted to, they would have already.
Smiling softly at me, Atlas nods. “I’ll stay until my knucklehead son comes and kicks me out. You’re safe, Ranen.”
A few minutes later, I’m admitted and taken up to a room. Atlas scans the hallways, keeping an eye out for potential danger.
When I’m settled into a bed and the IVs and blood pressure cuff are reattached, I lie back against the pillows with a sigh. Exhaustion is pulling at me, but I don’t know if I can sleep. I feel wired, like I need to be on high alert.
Atlas pulls a chair up beside the bed, laying a hand on my arm. “Sleep, Ranen. You need it.”
“Okay,” I whisper and close my eyes. Sleep pulls at me and I gladly surrender.
Chapter 28
North
It’s physicalagonyto let Wylder take Ranen to the hospital while I stay behind and take care of my mess. It’s not that I’m worried about someone finding the body—I have a feeling no one even knows this fucking cabin exists.
It’s more that I’m covered in blood and I need to make sure no one sees it. I do my best to clean myself up, and by the time Wylder is back, I feel like something caged.
“How is he?”
