by Maggie Bandy
“You don’t have to do anything. He can’t just offer you a favor then try to weasel a date out of you,” he said annoyed. “It’s not a date. I made that clear to him when I said yes. It’s just dinner,” I said equally annoyed. Cole looked mad but kept his opinions to himself. He knew I didn’t like being told what to do. “Well, I would like to invite you on a real date with me to lunch. What do you say?” he said, a smile returning to his face. “I thought you were joking when you told my aunt we were going to lunch?” I say coyly.
“Nope, I was dead serious. And that is not an answer angel,” he smirked. “What do you say angel, go on a date with me?” I pretended to think about it to make him sweat a little. He started to look nervous when I hesitated. “Sure, I’d love to go on a date with you Cole,” I say finally. The look of relief on his face was comical.
“That wasn’t very nice angel,” he whispered in my ear before tickling me. I giggled, falling to the ground clutching my stomach with him straddling me. He tickled me relentlessly. “Truce! Truce!” I yell in between laughs and he stops.
Our faces are just inches apart and for a moment we just stared at each other caught up in the moment. He pushes a fallen piece of hair out of my face and says, “You know, from this angle you really do look like an angel.” I smile up at him and reach for his face bringing him closer. His lips brush against mine as light as a feather before he crushes his lips to mine passionately. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer, melding me to his body perfectly. It’s like my body was made to fit with his.
Pulling away I blush, embarrassed that I practically made out with a stranger. My body reacted to his every touch. Everywhere he touched lit my skin ablaze with raw need. I hadn’t wanted to stop but that’s why I had to pull away. It must be written all over my face because Cole laughs and says, “Nothing to be embarrassed of angel. It’s perfectly ok to get carried away sometimes.” He gave me a lop-sided smile and said, “Trust me, I didn’t mind at all.” I blush and playfully punch his arm.
“Of course, you don’t mind. I however don’t normally make out with strangers,” I teased. “Well, I’d hope not,” he chuckled. I nudge his shoulder with mine and grab his hand pulling myself and him up along with me. “Well, let’s go get lunch before I throw myself at you again,” I say sarcastically. Then add, “Apparently I just can’t help myself.” He grins mischievously and whispers in my ear, “I wouldn’t mind if you did.” Then he winks and laughs when my face turns cherry red.
We head back towards my aunt’s house hand in hand and I stop dead in my tracks when I see my car sitting in the garage and more importantly- the boy leaning against it. Shit. This is going to be fun. Carter’s stormy grey eyes zero in on Cole’s hand in mine and he narrows his eyes. Yeah, he’s mad… great. He storms over towards us and I let my hand slip out of Cole’s cowardly. “I was just dropping your car off and was going to check on you after what happened last night, but I see you’re doing just fine,” he said glaring at Cole.
That hit a nerve. I glared right back at him and said, “Well, you would know if I was okay if you actually stuck around to find out.” I poked my finger in his chest pushing him back. “Where were you last night when the wolf tried to attack me? If it hadn’t of been for the big white wolf, I would be dead right now,” I said acidly. Both boys flinched at my words. Carter seemed to be at a loss for words and his face fell a little. When he didn’t respond, I took that as my answer and said, “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” I snatched my keys out of his hands and said, “Thank you for bringing me my car. I really do appreciate it, but I’m done with this conversation.”
He stared at me like he wanted to say more then looked over at Cole, “Are we still on for our date tonight?” he asks, emphasis on the word date. I roll my eyes. “I guess… and it is not a date,” I repeat for what feels like the hundredth time. “Whatever you say princess,” he says leaning in and kissing me on the cheek. If he hadn’t of taken me by surprise I would have moved away. He is such an arrogant ass. I wipe the slobber off my face and Carter walks away laughing. Ugh, what did I get myself into?
Chapter Three
Dark Secrets & Good Intentions
Cole looked ready to punch Carter in the face but instead called after him and said, “A date is what we are about to go on now- which I didn’t have to con her into.” Boys. Shoot me now, I can’t deal with their egos. Carter came face to face with Cole and said, “Oh yeah? Well, I’m pretty sure she agreed to going out with me first.” Cole snorts. “Only because she felt bad for you and didn’t want to say no,” he says condescendingly. Carter throws a punch at Cole right as I’m stepping in between them to intervene. It’s just my luck that I decided to step in right as he was throwing a punch.
I hear a loud crunch as sharp pain explodes across my face. I fall to the ground- hard, hitting my head again on the ground with a thud. Yeah, this was going to hurt like a bitch tomorrow, my head was already pounding, and my ears were ringing. Man, he could throw a punch. Carter was instantly at my side, eyes wide with panic. I could see pain in his eyes. I know he probably feels terrible. I would feel bad for him if not for the fact that I feel like I got hit by a damn Mack truck.
“Oh my God! Sophie, I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to…” he starts to say before Cole punches him in the face. “You asshole! Look what you did to her face!” Cole shouts getting up in Carter’s face.
The right side of my face is already an ugly shade of purple and swelled up the size of a balloon. “Can y’all two just stop fighting for five seconds?!” I scream at them livid, pushing myself into a sitting position. Regretting it as soon as I did because it made my head throb.
They both looked at me and hung their heads. “I’m so sorry Sophie,” they both say at the same time. “Save it,” I say storming back towards my aunt’s house past them. They both follow behind me trying to apologize again. I ignore them and go straight to the kitchen for an ice pack. My aunt’s eyes go wide when she takes in the state of my face. “What the hell happened to your face!” she said getting up to get a closer look. When I don’t answer she turns on the two boys behind me. “Explain, now,” says glaring at them with and icy stare. Oh, she’s pissed.
They both look contrite and start speaking at the same time, both blaming the other. “Enough,” I say quieting them. “It was an accident. These two over here were fighting and I decided to step in just as Carter threw a punch at Cole. It was my fault. He didn’t know I was going to get between them when he threw the punch.”
My aunt gives them a sour look and they both look away. Grabbing my ice pack, I head towards the stairs and motion for the boys to follow. My aunt stares them both down icily, then returns to reading her book at the table. I know she will be listening for any signs of fighting though if I know her. She isn’t going to forgive them any time soon.
The three of us head up the stairs and into my room. I motion for them to sit on the bed. They sit on opposite sides, so they don’t have to be near each other. I stare them both down with a no non-sense look. Carter is the first to break under my glare and speak up.
“I am so sorry Sophie. I had already thrown the punch before I saw you coming. I swear I would never hurt you on purpose- I was aiming at him,” Carter says side-eyeing Cole. “If you give me another chance, I swear I’ll make it up to you.” Cole scoffs and rolls his eyes. “You’re not going anywhere near her after what you did to her face! Not unless you want me to rearrange yours,” Cole threatens.
I sigh, tired of their fighting and wince at the movement- my face still really hurt. I started to sway on my feet a little. Both boys rushed to my side instantly, making sure I wasn’t going to fall. “I’m fine,” I say brushing them off. “Let me at least take you to the hospital,” Cole says lifting me off my feet into his arms. “I’m going with you,” Carter said not taking no for an answer. Cole glared at Carter, “Fine, bring your truck around and I’ll carry her out front.”
Carter heads down the stairs
to get his truck. I let out a frustrated groan. “I’m not going to the hospital and we are not done talking,” I say stubbornly. He continues to carry me towards the door ignoring my protests. “We can talk on the way to the hospital.” I give on up arguing about the hospital- I do feel a little dizzy, but I’ll be damned if I’m letting anyone carry me. I’m a grown woman, not a child. “I can walk, put me down. My legs are just fine,” I protest trying to wiggle out of his strong arms. He smiles down at me and says, “Sorry, no can-do angel. You have a pretty nasty bump on your head, so it’s best if you don’t walk down the stairs yourself.”
I try to wiggle free again to no avail and give up. I start feeling a little sleepy and close my eyes and lay my head against Cole’s chest. I am briefly aware of Cole laying me in Carter’s truck and laying my head in his lap. “I think she passed out,” I hear Cole say softly.
“Sophie, wake up princess. You can’t sleep right now,” Carter says nudging me gently. I’m too out of it to respond. “Get your hands off her!” Cole snaps at him. “Should she really be sleeping if she has a concussion?” Carter says with worry in his voice, ignoring Cole’s outburst. Cole sighs and says, “Probably not, but I don’t think shaking her is going to help either.” I must be dreaming because these two having a conversation without fighting isn’t possible.
Cole is quiet for a moment before he sighs and says, “Thank you for saving her from the wolf- I know it was you. She thinks you left her by herself you know.” Carter lets out a frustrated sound and smacks the steering wheel. “I know- I can’t exactly tell her it was me. What do I say? I never left you. You know that big white wolf you saw- yeah, that was me. I don’t think that would go over too well. She would never talk to me again. She would think I was crazy,” he says with a twinge of sadness in his voice.
What twilight zone did I step into? I know I did not just hear that. Cole laughs and says, “Well, you’re not the only one keeping a secret from her. I don’t think she would take mine too well either. Join the club.” I must have fallen back asleep because the next thing I remember is being lifted out of Carter’s truck. I open my eyes and look up to see Cole’s icy blue eyes staring back at me. “I was wondering when you were going to wake up, angel.” he said softly.
Everything I overheard comes back to me as I start to fully wake up- was I dreaming? Or was that real? “You let me sleep?” I said looking at him sharply. “I thought you weren't supposed to let someone with a concussion fall asleep,” I said accusingly. I hear Carter chuckle. “ I said the same thing and he nearly took my head off for trying to wake you,” he said looking over Cole’s shoulder at me. So, I wasn’t dreaming. Cole rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure it’s just a mild concussion.” I crossed my arms and glared at him. “Then why did you insist on dragging me to the hospital?” I say angrily.
“Because I care, so sue me,” he says smirking at me. The boys walk into the emergency room with me in Cole’s arms and a nurse rushes over to his side. “What happened to her face?” she says looking me over. The boys look a little embarrassed for a moment before answering. “We were sort of in a fight and she stepped in the middle and accidently got hit…” Carter says looking ashamed. The nurse gives him a hard look but says nothing. “Come on, bring her on back. I need to get her into triage and get her set up.”
The nurse was intent on seeing me alone and makes the boys wait in the waiting room. “So, tell me what really happened. Did one of those two beat you up? You can tell me, you’re safe here,” she says sincerely. Despite the seriousness of the situation I laugh at the absurdity that either of them would hurt me intentionally. I know it was an accident. “No, it really was an accident,” I say shaking my head. “Those two were arguing and it escalated and me being dumb got in the middle right as they began to actually fight. They both stopped when I got hurt and brought me here.”
She eyes me skeptically still not believing me but realized I wasn’t about to change my story. The nurse shook her head at me as if I had disappointed her somehow. She takes my vitals and tells me she will call me back when she has a room available.
I walk back out to the waiting room and take a seat. Cater on one side and Cole on the other. No one said anything until they called me back. Both boys jumped up at the same time wanting to come with me, but I motioned for them to sit down. “I don’t think I can handle the two of y’all in one room together right now,” I say not wanting to deal with their fighting.
Carter stands up and says, “I promise there won’t be any fighting. We talked and there’s one thing we agree on- protecting you. And we called a temporary truce. No more fighting- I swear.” Cole nods in agreement.
I deliberate a moment, then give in. “Fine, but no fighting or you will find yourselves out the door.” They both nod and follow behind me to the room. The doctor asked the same questions as the nurse. The boys refused to leave my side though when the doctor ordered them to leave so he could talk to me.
It was even more awkward having to answer in front of the boys. I told the doctor the same thing I told the nurse. Neither seemed to believe me but they can take their suspicion and shove it. I get that they are looking out for me, but this line of questioning is starting to piss me off. The nurse insisted on leaving a domestic violence hotline packet with me. I took it but threw it in the trash as soon as she left and rolled my eyes annoyed. Why does no on believe me?
Finally, after doing some tests and x-rays the doctor came back in and told me that I have a concussion and a fractured cheek bone. “We think it’s best if you stay for observation for 48 hours,” he said looking between me and the boys. “I don’t really think that’s necces-” I start to say but the boys cut me off. “I think you should listen to the good doctor and stay, princess,” Carter says right before Cole butts in. “Yeah, he’s right angel. You hit your head pretty hard. I’d feel better if you stayed as well.”
I sigh frustrated. “Fine,” I say plopping my head back down on the pillow. Stupid, stupid move because it only made my head hurt ten times worse. I pull my hands up to my face wincing in pain. Carter comes over to my side. “Can she get something for her head?” he asks the nurse as she’s slipping out the door with the doctor. She gives him an annoyed look. “Sure, I’ll get right on that,” she said closing the door a little harder than necessary.
“What is her problem?” Carter says turning to me. I give him an amused smile. “She thinks you and Cole are abusing me. She cornered me earlier and tried to get me to admit it- so did the doctor. They didn’t believe me when I told them it was an accident,” I said looking between him and Cole. Carter snorts. “Great, the whole staff thinks we beat you up.” I grab his hand and hold my other out for Cole. “It only matters what I know. They can think what they want. Their opinion doesn’t matter,” I say pulling them both to me.
Carter laid on one side of me and Cole on the other. “Well, it does matter a little when they can kick us out,” Cole says snuggling up to me. Carter snuggles closer and says, “I’d like to see them try.” I laugh, picturing the nurse trying to kick these two hulk of boys out of my room. Yeah that would not go over well. I try to detangle myself from the boys and sit up.
“I guess I better call aunt Linda,” I say dreading the call. She was going to flip when I told her I had to stay at the hospital for two days. As if Cole could sense my anxiety, he grabs my phone. “I can call her for you if you’d like?” he offers. “No, it’s ok. She will probably take it worse if I’m not the one to tell her. But I appreciate the offer, it means a lot,” I say kissing him on the cheek. He hands my phone back to me and says, “Ok, I just figured I’d offer angel.”
Cole looks over at Carter and says, “Why don’t we go get Sophie something to eat while she calls her aunt.” Carter looks over at me questionly before looking back at Cole. “Sure. What do you want to eat, Soph?” I’m so grateful that Cole was thoughtful enough to think to give me privacy that I’m not listening when Carter asks me what I want. “Sophie? Are you ok?
” Carter says sounding concerned. “Are you sure we should leave her alone, she’s spacing out again,” he says looking me over.
“Huh? What? No, I’m fine. Sorry, I’m just a little distracted,” I say turning to the boys. Carter comes up to me placing his hand on my forehead. “Are you sure? I can stay,” he suggests. “No, I’m fine. Y’all go ahead. I need to talk to her alone anyways- she’s not going to be happy,” I say hoping he understands. I don’t want them around when she starts yelling. Aunt Linda could be very unpleasant when she’s angry.
“Ok, you make your call and we will go get some burgers,” Cole says eyeing Carter pointedly. Cole kisses me on the cheek and drags Carter towards the door with him. “Ok, but you have our number if you need us,” Carter says dragging his feet to the door. I shake my head, trying not to laugh. As soon as they are out the door, I grab my phone to call aunt Linda.
“Hey sweetheart, are you ok?” she says answering the phone. “Yeah, I’m fine… but the hospital wants me to stay for observation,” I say cautiously. “What?! For what? What did they say was wrong?” she says freaking out already. “Calm down, I’m ok. They just want to make sure,” I say not answering her question. I don’t want her to be mad at the boys. “For how long?” she says insistent. I’m quiet for a moment then say, “Two days…”
“Two days? I’m coming down there, I want to know what’s going on,” she says upset. “Aunt Linda, I’m fine. The guys are here, they left to get us dinner. I’ll be ok, just stay home and get some rest,” I say hoping to calm her down. “What boys? The ones who put you there to begin with? No. I want them gone, now,” she says yelling. I blow out a breath annoyed.
“I told you it was an accident. It’s not the guys’ fault,” I say annoyed that she’s blaming them. I’ve had this conversation enough with the nurse tonight. “Fine, but I’m calling tomorrow to check in with the nurse. I love you Soph, I’ll see you tomorrow,” She says before hanging up. “Love you too,” I say back but she’s already hung up the phone. She wasn’t too happy about the boys being here.
