It takes me forever just to make it down the hall to the door. When we step outside the building, a guy yells, “It’s him!”
Suddenly we’re blinded by flashes of light as guys holding cameras race up to Garret.
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
The flashing lightsare so blinding I can’t see. Someone shoves me aside as another person knocks one of my crutches out from under my arm. I lose my balance and come crashing down on the hard concrete. Sharp, prickly pain erupts from my stitched-up knee and radiates down my leg.
“Jade!” I hear Garret calling me, but all I can see are specs of black dots as the flashing lights go off. “Jade! Where are you?”
“On the ground!” I find my crutches and try to get up, but one of the photographers bumps into me, knocking me down again. Then someone’s foot hits my head and I feel dizzy and disoriented. Seconds later, I feel Garret’s arms pulling me up from behind.
“Go back inside,” he says. “We’ll get the crutches later.”
I hold onto Garret and hop on one leg back to the door until we’re safely inside the building again.
“What the hell was that?” I ask, trying to catch my breath.
“It’s Ava’s fucking reality show and the photographers trying to make money off it. Are you all right?”
“I don’t know. I need to get my pants off and see if I tore the stitches open.”
“That guy hit you that hard? I’m gonna fucking kill him!” Garret turns to go outside again.
“Wait! I need help getting back to my room.”
“Yeah, of course.” He picks me up and carries me there, setting me on the bed and carefully sliding my jeans off. I peel the bandage back. There’s blood oozing out around the stitches but they’re still intact.
“You’re bleeding!” Garret whips out his phone. “I’m calling the doctor.”
“No, I don’t want to go back there for this. It’s just a little blood.”
He hesitates, the phone still in his hand, staring at me with this worried look on his face. “How’s your head? Did you hit it when you fell?”
“No, but when I was on the ground some guy kicked it when he walked past.”
“Shit!” Now Garret’s panicked. He calls the doctor and explains what happened. A few minutes later he hangs up. “The doctor wants to see you tomorrow morning at 8. We’ll meet him at a clinic here in town. If you have any symptoms at all you have to tell me and he’ll find someone locally to take a look at you tonight.”
“Garret, calm down. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You’re hurt and it’s all my fault. First you get hurt finding Lilly. And now you’re hurt because of the paparazzi.”
“So that’s the paparazzi out there? I thought they all worked in LA.”
“They go wherever they need to go to make money and they don’t care what they have to do to get it. I can’t believe those assholes knocked you down like that. Which guy hit your head? I need to go out there and kick his fucking ass.” He starts to get up but I grab his shirt.
“Garret, don’t. That will just make things worse.”
He sighs, looking down at my knee. “What can I do? Should I go get something, like some more bandages? I could run to the drugstore.”
“The bleeding’s already stopped. And the doctor gave me extra bandages. They’re in the top drawer.” Garret goes over to my dresser. “Could you get me some sweatpants, too? I probably shouldn’t put tight jeans on again.”
He comes back over and sits next to me on the bed. He unwraps the bandage and carefully places it over my knee.
I smile as I watch him secure the edges. “I could’ve done that myself, you know.”
He looks up, annoyed. “Would you just let me take care of you?”
I lean down to kiss him. “Sorry. Go ahead.”
