Reckless Retribution (West Warriors Book 1) (25 page)

When the nurse eventually left the room, I told Kal to leave again, and he reluctantly agreed, but not before he made sure the nurses knew to ring him if anything happened. He also told her on no uncertain terms was I to leave the hospital without him. His sentiment touched me.

“If you need me, ring me anytime, okay?” He clasped my shoulder gently, and he still looked unsure about leaving me.

“Thank you, Kal, for everything,” I said appreciatively. He’d shown me more love today than my father ever had in twenty years. He nodded then gently kissed my forehead and left, but not before asking me again if I was sure about him leaving. Once he did, I carefully got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. I wanted to see myself, even though I was scared at the same time.

Taking a deep breath, I faced the mirror. The bandage covered most of my head, so I couldn’t actually see the cut or where they’d shaved my hair. I was dreading that more than anything. My blonde hair was matted in blood, and I had a black eye forming under my left eye and red grazes down my cheek. I also needed a shower desperately, but I didn’t have the energy for one. I used the bathroom and climbed back into bed.

My cell buzzed with a text from Taylor again, and I spent the night texting her, reassuring her I was fine. She wanted me to take selfies so she could see how bad I looked. I told her she was sick. When her next text came through, my heart jumped up into my throat. It was Jamie.

Cam rang and told me. Don’t know what to say. How are you?

I’m okay.

No, no you’re not, far from it.

I’m fine. Kal just left.

It’s killing me not seeing you right now.

Don’t do anything stupid,
I warned him, worried he would go after Dad.

I won’t.

Promise?

I got no response for a few minutes, which alarmed me. I knew Jamie; this would be hard for him to leave alone. I didn’t need him causing trouble. He constantly made the threat that one day he would make Dad pay, and that didn’t sit easy with me at all.

Promise me, I said!
I hoped he realized how serious I was.

Yeah, I promise.
His text came back almost instantly.

Then my battery died. I didn’t even get a chance to ask him if he was okay and why he was at his parents’, or if he was coming back. Tiredness took over, so I buzzed for the nurse and asked her to turn my lights down so I could sleep. I then tried to find a comfy position for my head to lie in, which was difficult. I settled for lying on my back, and I lay there in silence for what seemed like forever. My childhood entered my thoughts, resurfacing old memories. Moving around a lot. Mom and Dad’s volatile relationship. Their drug and alcohol abuse. Them abandoning me.

At one point, I remembered being dumped with a neighbor, and I didn’t see or hear from them for weeks. Then Mom left not long after, and my relationship with Dad went downhill, turning unstable, and he began hitting
me
. I wasn’t in the mood for a trip down memory lane, although I was surprised I was still sane after all of it. I wasn’t one to dwell on my past; it happened, and I couldn’t change it. But I could change my future, and that’s what kept me going.

So much of my life had been centered on Dad, his needs, his wants. If I was to have any kind of future, I needed to do things for me. Now that this happened, I was feeling stronger and more determined. I’d always dreamed of becoming a teacher, and I wasn’t going to let him get in the way of that. I was almost there; graduation was only a month away. Then I was leaving for Texas.

The thought of leaving saddened me. I didn’t know how I was going to cope without Taylor. Her friendship had been my savior. I knew we’d never lose touch, but the thought of not seeing her every day depressed me. She’d always been there for me. Then, there was Jamie. Although I couldn’t put a term to our relationship, we had a connection on some level. We found it hard to stay away from each other. When I was with him, I felt whole; I felt safe, and I felt happy. I couldn’t imagine a life without him now, and I couldn’t stomach the thought of telling him I was leaving. Visions of his gorgeous grin and chocolate brown eyes melted into my mind until I felt too sleepy to keep my eyes open.

A clinking sound next to my head woke me up; a different nurse was detaching my drip. “Good morning, I’m Jean.” She smiled politely.

I rubbed my eyes and tried to keep them open. My night was disturbed by the nurses popping in every now and then, checking on me. “What time is it?”

“It’s seven o’clock.”

I groaned at being woken up so early. I was not a morning person.

“Can I take the IV out of your hand?” I nodded and she took my hand, skillfully removing the tube. My stomach lurched as she did it; I hated needles. “Breakfast will be here shortly,” she said, before leaving the room. I was starving. Sitting up, the candy striper came in wheeling a cart and handed me some breakfast, and I wolfed it down in no time.

“Holy hell.” A gasp came from the door, and I turned to see Taylor there with a large duffel slung over her shoulder. She put her hands to her mouth in shock then rushed over and threw her arms around me. “How are you?” she asked, eyeing the bandage wrapped around my head.

“I’m okay. I’m glad you’re here.” I smiled. Her presence was a welcome comfort. She sat on the bed beside me and demanded a full recount of what happened to me, and I lied, telling her I was mugged. I was doubtful she believed me, but she never let on.

“We need to wash your hair.” She drew attention to my bloodied mane, grimacing as she felt the matted strands. She let them fall from her fingers then stood up and set the used breakfast dishes back onto the tray, which was soon removed by the candy striper. “I brought you some things you might need.” She placed the duffel she’d brought onto my lap.

“Thanks, Taylor,” I said appreciatively, and I began to look through the contents. She had literally thought of everything: clean clothes, shower stuff, makeup…. The nurse entered the room to hand me some more painkillers, and I took the opportunity to ask if I could shower. She wanted to look at the cut first, so she carefully unwrapped the large bandage from my head, leaving just a taped piece of gauze. Peeling it back, she inspected the cut, and I was happy when she told me it was starting to heal. I was allowed to shower from the neck down, and I could wash the ends of my hair. When the nurse left, I turned to Taylor. “How big is the part where they shaved?”

Immediately, she began inspecting it. “Not big, a few inches or so.” She indicated the length with her fingers. “I’ll help you cover it for school.” She gave me a sympathetic smile.

I couldn’t believe I’d actually had some of my hair shaved. I was contemplating not going back to college until it grew back, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen with finals. Sensing my mood, she nudged me. “It will be fine, I promise.”

I sighed and grabbed a hair tie, gently putting my hair up. After I showered, I changed into the fresh clothes she brought for me. I wiped my face with the wipes she’d packed, and I was feeling much better and cleaner by the minute. Washing my hair was a job in itself. I had to lie on the bathroom floor with a towel around my shoulders and just my hair in the shower. Taylor rolled up her jeans, standing in it holding the shower-head. We looked absolutely ridiculous, and we couldn’t stop laughing, which made light of the situation.

She managed to wash my hair and got most of the dried blood out, although my blonde hair now had a pink tinge to it, but it was miles better than it was. “You could start a new trend with this color,” she laughed, as I towel dried it.

I truly was grateful for having such a best friend like her in my life, someone I could rely on to be there for me, and I would do exactly the same for her. Once I was done, I almost felt like myself again. I walked to the nurses’ station and asked when I could be discharged. Again, they asked me if I wanted the police to be called, and I told them I didn’t. Thankfully, they listened to me and it went no further.

I signed all the necessary forms and gave them back. I asked if I could make a call since my cell was dead, and I rang Kal and told him Taylor was taking me home and for him not to worry. He had reservations about me going home and offered to pay for a hotel for a few nights, but I declined and promised I’d go see him later at the club.

I gathered what little things I had, including my bloodied purse from the little cabinet. Taylor froze and her jaw dropped at the sight of my bag. It looked like it had been part of a murder scene. She made me put it into a brown paper bag so I didn’t stain Betsy. I shook my head at the loyalty to her car. We thanked the nurses, and Taylor linked my arm and walked me to the car like I was an invalid.

The drive home was quiet, and I could sense that she wanted to say something, but she never did. She asked me if I wanted to stay with her, but I knew I needed to face Dad, and he needed to see what he did to me. When we pulled up outside, I felt nervous about seeing him. The car in the driveway was gone. I stared at the empty spot and wondered if he’d left too.

“You can come and stay at my place, you know?”

I turned to look at her and was met with her blue eyes pleading with me. “You’ve done more than enough. Thank you, you don’t know what it means to me.”

She smiled in response, but it didn’t reach her eyes. I knew she was worried about me. She walked me to the door and hugged me. “Love ya, girl.”

I promised to call her later and watched as she drove off. Dread filled my stomach as I unlocked the front door. The first thing I noticed when I walked inside was the blood marks across the wall. The kitchen was a mess; everything turned upside down. He’d completely trashed it. I walked quietly to the front room and could hear him snoring from his chair. Peering inside the room, I saw empty bottles lying on the floor next to him. I closed the door and went up to my room.

Pushing the dresser across caused pain to sear through my head. I had to stop and breathe through it. Once I’d done it, I put my phone on the charger and crawled into bed. All I wanted to do was sleep.

My cell ringing woke me up, and momentarily, I forgot where I was. Sitting upright in bed, I forgot about my head, which throbbed at the quick movement. Glancing around the room, the familiar pink walls of my surroundings confirmed I was at home and in my own bed. I reached for my cell that was still ringing and swiped my finger across the glass, holding it to my ear. Before I could say hello, Kal’s anxious voice came through. “Lauren, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am,” I croaked, looking toward the rays of sun shining through my windows. It was early morning; I must have slept right through.

I heard him let out a long sigh. “Thank God for that. You said you would call me again yesterday, and when you didn’t, I panicked. I’ve been trying to reach you.”

“Sorry, Kal. I was so exhausted I just wanted to sleep,” I said as I yawned.

“I was ready to send the boys there.”

“Don’t do that. I’m fine.”

“As long as you’re okay. Will you come in today? I can come pick you up or get one of the guys to get you?” I heard a voice talking to him in the background before he came back to me. “Jamie said he’ll come and get you in an hour.”

Butterflies fluttered in my belly at the thought of seeing him. I’d missed him. I wanted to ask him why he was gone. “Okay, thanks.” I tried to hide my anticipation.

“No worries, kiddo.”

I ended the call then made a quick one to school to tell them I’d been in the hospital, and I’d call in for my class notes this afternoon. I got in the shower, making sure not to get the top of my head wet. I had to keep the gauze pad on my head for a few more days. I felt a bit embarrassed letting Jamie see me like this. The bruise under my eye was now purple and blue, but the graze on my face was starting to heal. I put makeup on in the hope it would make me look better, and pulled on my work shirt and jeans.

Digging out an old purse from the bottom of my closet now that my favorite one was ruined, I transferred my belongings into it. Then I painfully moved my dresser back and went down the stairs, where I met Dad in the hall. He jerked as he saw me, and his eyes went straight to the gauze pad taped to my head. I walked past him and he said nothing. No apology, nothing. I was angry that he really didn’t care enough to apologize to me, and I briefly had second thoughts about my decision not to call the police. He quickly made himself scarce, and I fixed myself some toast in the kitchen, which was still a mess, ate my snack, and went outside to meet Jamie.

My heart leaped when his truck roared up, and I had to stop myself from practically running to see him. Opening the door, I climbed in and sat down next to him. Lord, I’d missed his handsome face. “Hey.” I smiled at him, and he gave me the tiniest effort of a smile, but he didn’t say anything; his eyes just darted around my face and head.

My smile soon turned to a frown at his silence. What was wrong with him? He began to drive, and I wondered why he was giving me the silent treatment. Fear set in that it was something to do with why he went back home. After a few yards, he came to a stop on the side of the road, shut his engine off, and turned in his seat to face me. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking because his face was emotionless. I felt sick to my stomach and readied myself for his confession.

“He really laid one on you, didn’t he?” he finally spoke, the anger in his voice palpable. I should have guessed this would be related to Dad.

I sighed as he started his speech. “Jamie, it’s okay.” I didn’t want him being angry about the situation; it wasn’t going to help.

“No, it’s fucking not,” he shouted, slamming his hand against the steering wheel. I winced at his loudness, and he quickly apologized. “Look at you.” He gestured to my face with his hand. His jaw tensed and his eyes flashed every time he spoke. “I have a good mind to drive back there and beat the living shit out of him, teach him a lesson.”