It feels like the wait takes ages.
I just sit and chew on my lip while the clock keeps ticking and the doctors are busy trying to save both their lives. I pray they make it out alive.
A nurse here at the clinic kindly looked at my wounds from his father’s bullwhip and cleaned it up nicely, and she said I was lucky that I didn’t require stitches, only some medical glue.
Ares and Blaine aren’t as lucky.
The guys and girls from the Skull & Serpent Society and the Phantom Society have already gone back to their homes, patiently awaiting the news via text. I didn’t expect them to stay, of course, but it is rather silent with just the two of us in this waiting room and a clock slowly ticking away at time.
“Here.” Caleb pushes a can of Coke into my hands. “Drink.”
“I’m not thirsty.”
“Gotta keep your fluids up. It’s important,” he says, opening it for me. “Now drink.”
I do what he wants just so he’ll stop telling me, but he was right … my throat was dried out. “Thanks.” I take another sip. “How long do you think it’ll take?”
“I don’t know. Could be minutes. Hours. Days.”
I nearly choke on my Coke. “Days?”
He smirks. “Knowing both of them, probably hours before they start begging for you.”
A blush creeps onto my cheeks.
“How are you feeling?” he asks. “Your back must hurt.”
I gently smile. “It’s fine. I can take it. Besides, Ares and Blaine have got it way worse than I do.”
“True. But … I don’t want you to hurt, so take your medicine.” He places it in front of me.
Suddenly, the doc comes in, and I forgot all about what we were talking about and can only focus on him.
“Mr. Navarro has just come out of surgery.”
My eyes light up. “How is he?”
“Doing good under the circumstances,” the doctor replies, and I breathe a sigh of relief. “We’ve removed one bullet from his body, and cleaned out both wounds and sutured them. He will need plenty of rest and allow for healing, though.”
“Of course,” I say. “Can we see him?”
The doctor nods.
“What about Ares?” Caleb asks.
“He’s still in recovery. I will let the nurses know to call you when he’s awake.”
We nod and quickly walk into the corridor that leads to Blaine’s room. When I see him reading a book, I nearly burst out into both tears and laughter.
“Don’t they have anything better to read here? This is dreadful,” he says, flipping through the pages.
I run up to him and hug him tight, and he groans in pain. “Gently, darling, be gentle with me.”
“Sorry,” I mutter, quickly leaning away, but he cups my face and leans in to kiss me instead, and my heart nearly sings out of joy.
His kisses make me feel light as a feather, like I could float up into the sky, and they take all the destructive emotions swirling inside my mind away until all that’s left is his undying love for me.
He smiles against my lips and murmurs, “Now, this is what’s worth dying for.”
I smile back as he rubs his nose against mine. “I’m glad you’re still alive, though.”
He snorts. “You’re the only one in this room.”
“Ha ha,” Caleb responds. “Good one.”
“How are you feeling?” I ask.
“Like I got run over by a truck, but I’ll manage,” he says, tucking his own hair behind his ear. “I’m just glad they managed to take out the bullet. But my God, is it painful to take a breath.”
“Glad to see you’re back to your winging self,” Caleb muses, slapping him on the back.
Blaine coughs. “Should I put a bullet hole into your body, see how you take it?”
“Please don’t,” Caleb retorts, snorting.
“Thought so. Now get your hands off me, piglet.”
Caleb narrows his eyes at him. “You what?”
“Okay, enough, enough,” I say, laughing it off. “You guys can throw fits at each other when everyone’s healthy and back at Spine Ridge.”
Caleb rolls his eyes. “You sound just like Ares.”
“Maybe you just require a hard hand from time to time,” Blaine says, winking.
“Says the guy who enjoys getting choked out by small girls,” Caleb retorts.
I scoff. “Who are you calling small?”
Blaine laughs out loud, but it swiftly turns into a moan from the pain, and then a sigh. “I really should not be laughing. Stop making all of this so goddamn funny.”
“Whoops,” I say, hiding my snort.
“How’s Ares?” Blaine asks.
“Don’t know. He’s still in recovery,” Caleb answers.
“But he’s alive?” Blaine chucks the book aside and sits up straight even though it hurts to watch him struggle.
“Wait a second, what are you doing?” I ask.
“I want to go see him.”
“Fuck no, not in your condition,” Caleb growls.
Blaine pauses and looks up at him. “Since when do you care about my well-being?”
Caleb just stares him down for a moment, but slowly a clear blush begins to appear on his cheeks, and it makes me giggle. “I don’t.”
Blaine seems stupefied. “You care about me?”
“No!” Caleb frowns.
“You’re blushing,” I say.
“No, I’m not.” Caleb rubs his cheeks. “It’s just fucking hot in here.”
I laugh, and Blaine grabs Caleb’s cheek. “Cute.”
Caleb swats him away. “Stop. You’re embarrassing me.”
“Good,” Blaine retorts. “But now you look like a real piglet.”
Caleb’s face tightens, and his eyes begin to twitch. “I’m going to kill you after you’re out of this bed.”
I burst out into laughter, and so does Blaine, who immediately regrets it of course.
A knock on the door makes us all pause as a nurse clears her throat. “Mr. Torres is awake now. You can go visit him.”
“I’m coming too,” Blaine says.
“The fuck you are,” Caleb grits.
“Help me, darling.” Blaine beckons me and points at the wheelchair in the corner. “Just put me in there.”
Caleb folds his arms. “I’m not pushing you.”
Blaine scoots off the bed with difficulty. “I didn’t ask you to.”
“Are you sure about this?” I ask.
“Please …” he begs. “I want to see him too.”
It’s too hard to say no, so I grab the wheelchair in the corner of the room and bring it to his bed, then assist him in getting off. It’s like trying to lift some lumber, and I can barely take his weight.
“Jesus, a little help here,” I ask, and Caleb eventually reluctantly agrees.
“Thanks,” Blaine says when he’s finally seated. “Hope I didn’t rupture any sutures.”
“If they didn’t, I’ll rip them open when you get home just for trying this shit,” Caleb growls.
“Oh … kinky.” Blaine winks, getting Caleb all hot and bothered.
“Save the hot talk for later,” I say, pushing his wheelchair toward the door.
We head up via the elevator and go down another hallway until we find the room Ares is in. But I can barely push Blaine’s wheelchair forward as I see all the dressings around his body and the beeping of the machines monitoring him.
“Ares …” I murmur.
His eyes and mouth are closed, but the beeping puts me at ease as I approach. I sit on his bed and place my hand on his, softly caressing it. “I hope you can hear me. But I’m so glad you’re still alive.”
His lips slowly tip up into a smile, and his raspy voice makes my heart throb in my throat. “Are you now, little rose?”
Ares
My skin feels like it’s been set on fire, like I’ve walked through hell on bare feet, trying to find my way back to them … back to her.
She smiles as tears form in her eyes, and she leans in to wrap her arms around my neck, letting go of all the pent-up fear she was holding back. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”
The one girl who wanted me dead is happy I’m alive?
What a strange thing to hear, yet … it warms my heart.
My hand softly curls through her hair, petting her. “I’m sorry you had to witness me in that position.”
“No, don’t say sorry!” She lifts her pretty little face to look at me. “It’s not your fault, it’s—”
I place a finger on her lips, silencing her. “It was my choice. Mine. And even if I knew then what kind of pain I would have to go through, I would still make the same choice if it meant I could make you mine.”
My spine tingles from the way she looks at me, and I lean in to press a kiss to her lips. She doesn’t push me away, doesn’t fight me, doesn’t fear me anymore, and the smile that appears on her face only makes me greedy for more.
But the pain prevents me from claiming her.
I groan in frustration and lean against the pillow, my back feeling like it had aged twenty years.
When her head softly rests on my chest, I still smile through the pain, knowing she’s here with me, even after everything I did, and it eases the aching a little.
My hand slides across her back, and I can feel the wounds through her shirt, making me stop.
I’d recognize this pattern anywhere.
The bullwhip’s lash.
And my heart skips a beat.
“You took a lashing for me,” I mutter.
“I couldn’t watch him hurt you any longer,” she replies. “You were bleeding all over. It looked so bad, I thought you were going to die. I’ve never felt so afraid,” she murmurs.
Smugness tugs at my lips. “Finally … I made the innocent girl fear me.”
She glances up at me with those doe-like eyes and snorts, amused by my victory, however small. But this victory pales in comparison to knowing I survived because someone cared enough to come and save me.
“We were all afraid you’d die on us,” Blaine says, and I look up to see him sitting in a wheelchair in the corner of the room. I swallow away my pride when the memory of him jumping in front of me to catch a bullet crosses my mind in a flash.
“You … took that bullet for me,” I mutter.
He nods. “I promised you I would guard you with my life, so I did.”
I’m moved by how far he’d go for me, all because of one good thing I did a long time ago. “And now you’re finally relinquished of your debt,” I muse.
“Don’t write me off yet, darling. I’m not going anywhere,” Blaine replies, winking.
“Thank you.” I look up at all of them. “All of you. For saving me.”
Caleb folds his arms. “You should’ve told me.” The anger practically flows off his body like lava. “You should’ve told me your dad summoned you. That he was the one who was hurting you all this time.”
I take in a deep breath. “I didn’t want you to get hu—”
“I would’ve taken all of those lashes for you!” Caleb yells.
My eyes widen.
He would’ve taken all of them … for me?
“You should’ve told me.” His voice is much more brittle than before.
“I couldn’t,” I say, my own voice cracking too. “He was my father.”
“So?” Caleb grits.
“What he means is … some part of him still craved his love.” Crystal interjects as she leans up to look at both of us while squeezing my hand. “Right?”
I don’t answer. It’s too fresh, too rough to deal with.
“You didn’t want us to kill him,” Blaine says.
I slowly shake my head, but Crystal releases my hand. “I … I …”
“Say it,” I tell her.
“I was the one who shot him,” she mutters, her gaze drifting away.
I cup her face and make her look at me. “Thank you. You did the one thing I never could,” I say. “I couldn’t ask anyone to do it for me because it wasn’t right. But you … you were the only one who really could. Who had the right.” I swipe away a single tear rolling down her cheek. “You want to know why I made you shoot Ferry? To make you feel what it was like to kill a human being so you’d be prepared when the time came to kill him. To take your revenge. And I’m proud of you.”
Now even more tears roll down her cheeks, and she falls into my chest, hugging me so tightly I can barely breathe, but it’s worth it.
“Caleb,” I growl. “Come here.”
He reluctantly agrees, grumbling all the way over to me before he too collapses in my arms, and we hug tight.
“I was worried he’d kill you,” Caleb mutters.
“I’m sorry I made you worry,” I respond.
He leans away and stares at me for a moment. “I don’t think you’ve ever said that word to me.”
“Haven’t I?” I swipe aside some of his hair. “I’ll say it a million times more if it means you’ll all stop being mad at me.”
He lets out a giant sigh. “You make it really damn hard to stay mad, goddammit.”
I chuckle, but immediately regret it because of the pain. “Then I guess you’ll just have to forgive me.”
“Fine,” he grumbles, but I know he means it.
“How did you guys even manage to get inside the casino with all those guards? I’m impressed.”
“We had help,” Blaine answers. “I know you don’t approve, but I asked them anyway.”
My eyes narrow. “You asked those Phantom bastards?”
“And the Skull & Serpent Society,” he adds, raising a brow. “Never come unprepared is what I always say. And they sure were ready for a good fight.”
“So he was there too?”
“If you mean Kai, yes,” Blaine answers.
I suck in a breath through my nose, annoyed they’d bring him.
“You never told him your father tortured you, did you?” Blaine asks.
I avert my gaze because I don’t want them to see the only weakness I have left guarded.
“You thought you couldn’t trust him,” Blaine adds.
Always prying into my mind like it comes easy to him.
“My father chose him as a successor when I failed to kill the target because Kai had no qualms about killing whoever came in his way. He and I have never seen eye to eye.”
“When I tried to stop your father from killing you, Kai snatched the whip and started lashing him with it instead,” Caleb says.
My jaw drops because I can’t believe what he just said. “Kai did what?”
“He seemed incensed, kept lashing him with zero restraint,” Blaine says. “I quite enjoyed the spectacle, to be fair.”
Crystal rubs her lips together. “There wasn’t much left of your father’s body … or face.”
Fuck.
I always thought Kai would be on my father’s side regardless, but I never imagined he’d actually go against him and … fight for me.
“Am I interrupting something?”
Kai’s voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I’m shocked to see him standing in the doorway.
“Doctor said you were out of surgery, so I came to check on you,” he says.
“We’ll be outside,” Crystal murmurs, and she drags Caleb away from me and swiftly carts Blaine out the door, leaving me with my brother.
Fucking awkward.
I clear my throat. “I’m fine.” I swallow away my pride. “Thanks.”
He approaches, frowning. “I’m glad to see you’re on the mend.”
I don’t know what to say.
“Look, I …” He sighs. “I wanted to apologize to you. For not realizing sooner what Dad—Father—was doing to you.”
“He picked you,” I say through gritted teeth. “He didn’t want you to see.”
“But the signs were there,” he responds. “And I missed them. And I am sorry. I’m sorry I failed you as a brother.”
I push the blanket off and take my feet off the bed, steadying myself on the floor.
Kai takes a step forward. “What are you doing?”
I stand, grabbing the IV pole for balance as I take my first step toward him.
“I want to—” My knees cave in on me, and Kai swiftly runs up to me and supports my shoulder to keep me standing, and at the moment, he gazes right at me. “Look my brother in the eye.”
His eyes flow with tears that he blinks away as if they never even existed.
“I’m sorry. I should’ve been there, but I wasn’t. And I will take this regret with me for the rest of my life as punishment.”
And even though I want nothing more than to push him away so I don’t have to feel my own heart trying to suture itself back together, I still place my hand on his back and allow him to hug me.
“Don’t shut me out. Let me be a part of your life again,” he says.
“I asked you for help so many times,” I growl.
“I know, and I’m sorry. Father made me believe all he did was talk with you and reprimand you for rebelling against him.” He leans away to look at me. “But I envied you. I envied your ability to refuse him and deny him his own goddamn son’s love.”
“He took that away from me,” I reply. “How could I love the man who beat me when I disobeyed?”
“I understand it now,” he says. “Does Mom know?”
I shake my head. “I didn’t ever have the heart to tell her, and of course he didn’t tell her either.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you fucking enjoyed being his chosen heir,” I growl back.
Kai shakes his head. “No. I never fucking wanted it to begin with. I wished you’d just told me the truth, but he’s the one who put us up against each other. And I hate that he did this to you. I hate it so much I couldn’t stop myself from giving him all the lashes he gave to you with that same goddamn whip.”
His forehead leans against mine as he holds me steady to keep me from falling. “I wanted to kill him for hurting you.”
“He’s dead now,” I reply. “Thanks to my friends who were there for me.”
“I know,” he says. “And I will forever be grateful they cared enough to tell me the truth so I could help them save you and that Crystal ended Father’s miserable life.”
I lick my lips. “You’re not upset that he’s gone?”
“No. I’m upset I almost lost my goddamn brother.”
I close my eyes for a moment to let the feelings settle in my bones.
“I love you, goddammit,” he says. “You’re my big brother, and I don’t want to fucking lose you. Ever.”
I take in a deep breath as a slow but steady smile begins to form on my face. “I missed you, little brother.”
He throws his arms around me and holds me tight, and in the end, I cave and wrap my arms around him too.
“How are we going to tell Mother what happened?”
I smile. “One word at a time.”
