My fleece jacket barely kept me warm, but it did the job well enough after I warmed up. After forty-five minutes I decided to turn around. I was tired. I bent over dry-heaving onto the ground. I was out of breath, and that never happened at this point. I was hoping my headache would have been gone by now. But it was blaring at full force, making my temples pulse, and my stomach wants to empty itself. And the soreness of my sex was throbbing. Forty-five minutes at least to get back home. I felt like I couldn’t do it. I straightened and reached for my phone, and that’s when everything turned upside down.
All I remember was seeing the sun, and then I woke inside an ambulance. That groggy feeling where your body was too heavy to move, but you can still feel your arms and legs being lifted hit me hard.
I faded in and out while I was transported to the hospital. All I know is that the EMT had asked me questions and I couldn’t answer them.
“Miss, you need to relax. You’re on the way to the hospital.” The man said.
“No. I need to go home.” My tongue was feeling thick, and the words coming out mumbled.
He opened my mouth, and I felt his gloved-fingers searching inside my mouth, moving my tongue around, and flashing a light at me. “Are you allergic to anything?”
I shook my head no. But then I felt a sting on my thigh, and I cried out. The ambulance came to a stop, and the back doors opened. The sunlight was blinding. I shut my eyes tight and wished I was at home. I didn’t even know what was going on and I was getting scared.
“Passerby saw her go down called it in. No ID. Semi-responsive. Blood pressure one-sixty-five over sixty. Having trouble breathing—injected point three mg epinephrine.” The man rattled off as if it were a grocery list.
“Got it.” The woman in scrubs said and rolled me through the hospital doors.
I kept my eyes closed and felt tears fall. I needed—I just needed someone that cared about me. I wanted my best friend. Would they call her? Would her parents come for me? Papa Drayden would be at work. Mama Drayden? Would mine? I let more tears fall.
“Can you tell me your name?” The nurse asked.
“Chloe.” I whimpered.
“All right, Chloe. What’s your last name?” She asked as she held onto my hand.
“Sum—Summers,” I said, through sobs.
“Is there someone we can call?”
“My phone.” I lifted my arm and touched my fleece jacket where my armband for my phone was under the material. “Dra… Drayden.”
My jacket was torn—no, cut. She saw where I was pointing and fished it out. “Carolina Drayden?” “This is Vivica Williams at Mercy Hospital. I have a Chloe Summers here.” “You are her…?” “Yes.” “Yes.” More tears from me. Vivica grabbed onto my hand and gave me a squeeze. “See Susan at the reception desk when you get here.” She started to tuck all of the things she was removing from me into a personal bag and scribbling my name on the side with a black marker. “They’re coming for you. Let’s get you fixed up so you can see them when they get here.” I shook my head to agree.
It felt like hours, but it had only been thirty minutes when I was rolled into a recovery room with a boy that looked around my age sleeping. “Don’t worry about Ryan. He’ll be asleep for a few more hours. So why don’t you take the opportunity to get some rest and we can talk about everything when your guardian gets here.”
“Okay,” I said in a quiet voice, and Vivica left me alone with a sleeping boy named Ryan—who I have yet to meet. I closed my eyes trying to relax, but I still had no idea what was going on. I figured the doctor will tell me what was going on when Mama Drayden got there.
“Is she gone?” I heard the boy named Ryan whisper.
I turned my head toward the boy opening my eyes. He was lying in the same position and his eyes closed. I honestly thought I was going crazy. It wasn’t until I let his words hang in the air that he opened one of his eyes to look at me. He smirked realizing that she was gone and made his bed elevate up, so he was sitting up.
“Whatcha in for?” He asked.
“Umm… I passed out when I was running.” I replied. “You?”
“Appendix ruptured during Science class. My teacher thought I was making a mockery of the class.” He put air quotes up as he spoke is a higher voice.
“I’m guessing that’s not your favorite class.” I chuckled.
“It would be if Mrs. Blanch didn’t actually make me want to blanch.”
I laughed feeling a little better. “You’re serious though—your teacher’s name is Blanch?”
“Yeah, just one of the many quirky names I encounter on a daily basis.”
“Not possible.” I declared.
“You wanna bet?” He gave me a smug look.
“I’m going to need proof.”
“Fine.” He got his phone out, and within a minute he was reading names. “Let me start with the fact that my name is pretty normal right?”
“Yeah. Ryan is pretty normal.”
“Ryan is my middle name. Thank God for my non-hippy dad. My first name is Leaf.” I giggled. “My sister’s name is River.” I giggled more. “And here is your proof. My school’s list of unusual teacher names: Mrs. Blanch. Mr. Strange. Dr. Poindexter.”
“No!” I laughed so loud at that. “How do you even make it through the day?”
“It’s tough some days.” He said as if it was a real struggle.
I kept laughing. That was when Vivica opened the door, and I saw Mama Drayden behind her. Ryan darted back down and pretended he was asleep.
“Chloe? Someone was looking for you.” She said giving me the friendliest smile.
I held out my arms for her and tears fell as I said, “Mama D.”
She came running for me and wrapped me up in her arms. “Sweetheart! I was so worried when I got the phone call. What on earth happened?”
“I don’t know. I must have just passed out when I was on my run.” I said.
“Chloe, Mrs. Drayden, let me get the doctor for you to talk to. He can explain everything. And Mr. Pence don’t think I don’t know you’re wide awake.” Vivica said as she speed-walked out of the room.
“How in the hell did she know?” Ryan opened his eyes to say.
“Chloe!” Brooklyn came running through the door and flew onto the bed with me. Her arms were so tight around me that the machine I was hooked up to started beeping.
“Oh, Brooklyn get off her.” Mama Drayden scolded.
Brooklyn wiggled in beside me and loosened her grip but stayed by my side. I looked up when Nix walked through the door. His hair was crazy looking, and his eyes searched the room. I felt my cheeks heat with embarrassment. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled back and forth. I’ve realized this was a nervous habit of his.
“Mom, did they tell you what’s wrong?” Brooklyn asked still holding onto me like I was her favorite doll about to be taken away.
“The nurse is getting the doctor.” Mama Drayden said.
“Good luck with that. I’ve been here for two hours, and he still hasn’t seen me.” Ryan said, but then laughed.
“Stop Ryan. They think you’re serious.” I scolded.
“Fine.” He said like a little boy getting disciplined. “My parents have already talked to him, and they think I’m sleeping.” He said as we all looked at him. “What? I needed a break. You’ll get it when they come back.”
I laughed.
“See, she gets it, and she hasn’t met my parents yet.” Holding his hand out to present me as evidence.
Nix slowly walked over to my side of the bed and stood between Ryan and me. “How are you feeling now?” He asked.
“Better. I honestly don’t know what happened.” I said as Brooklyn nuzzled into me.
The door opened and a guy I vaguely remember stepped into the room. “Chloe?” I looked up and nodded. “And…” He searched the room. “Mrs. Drayden?” Mama Drayden stood anxiously.
“What happened?” Mama Drayden asked.
�
�Mrs. Drayden let me start by explaining how Chloe got here. While Chloe was out jogging without her ID…” He gave me a disappointed look. “You made it very hard for us to identify you.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“A good Samaritan saw her fall and called 9-1-1. She was unresponsive when the paramedics loaded her into the ambulance. From what we can tell she had an allergic reaction. Could have been from something she ate or came into contact with for a short period of time. Her blood pressure dropped, and she had a seizure.” He explained.
“Holy biscuits and gravy. Do you know what she could have been allergic to?” Mama Drayden asked. “You know, so we can make sure she keeps away from it.” I loved it when she used food items instead of other words.
“Based on my analysis I would assume it was latex related. She presented with a rash on her abdomen similar to a latex reaction.”
“Latex? Wouldn’t we have known by now if she was allergic to latex?” Mama Drayden asked with curiosity.
All I could think about was losing my virginity to Nix only a few hours ago. The thought of his taut muscles flexing while he penetrated me, and his black hair becoming more unruly as he focused on us made me want him more. The little I looked into his eyes; I realized his blue eyes were almost bright and shinning. The small amount of violet color mixed to an unheard of pleasing combination. He couldn’t take his eyes off of me. I realized it. What we had done. And that’s it—the condom.
“…I’m more concerned about the seizure. Has she had any previously?” I only got the tail-end of what the doctor was trying to say.
“No, not that we’ve been made aware of.” Mama Drayden looked over to me silently asking if I knew of any seizures.
“I had a few when I was little but never anything serious, and I never went to the ER or anything. I think I was three or four.” I looked between the doctor and Mama Drayden.
“You will need to keep an eye on her over the next few weeks and monitor her blood pressure.” He said. “But for now we are going to keep Chloe here overnight and monitor everything.”
“I’ve got to stay?” I asked.
“For tonight. We should have you back home by lunch tomorrow.” He said with a friendly smile before he left us.
I broke the silence when I spoke. “Brooklyn, will you get me some Skittles from the vending machine?”
Brooklyn looked up at me and said, “fine, but your boobs are comfortable. I want them when I get back.”
Nix cleared his throat and looked away.
“Brooklyn. Mind your mouth.” Mama Drayden scolded. “Come on. I’ll go with you. Nix you sit here.” They got up and left the room, and Nix sat in the chair next to me where Mama Drayden had been sitting.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered. “If I had known—”
“I’m fine. I didn’t know either.” Our eyes met.
Chapter 6
Pucking Sweetpea
Nix
My mom and Brooklyn left Chloe’s room, I walked over, and all but fell into the chair. I did this to her. That fucking condom. I took her virginity, caused her pain, and then put her in the fucking hospital.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “If I had known—”
“I’m fine. I didn’t know either.” Our eyes met. I loved the look she gave when she looked at me. Something was happening between us. We both wanted it.
“Whoa! It was you!” The weird kid said from the other bed.
“What?” Chloe snapped.
The kid laughed. “Latex allergy,” was all he said. The implication was obvious.
I stood and walked over to the curtain and pulled it closed with a growl.
“Don’t worry about it. I won’t say a word. Let me guess though—step sibling situation?” He said.
“Fuck off.” Nix snapped.
“Real sister?” The kid pushed.
“Kid, I’m seriously glad you’re already in the hospital because you’re going to need one.” I threatened.
He just laughed. I rubbed my hands over my face and looked at Chloe sitting in a hospital bed—because of me. I wanted to comfort her. I wanted to put my hands on her and tell her it would all be all right. But the truth was I didn’t know that. We had to be cautious. Everything had already changed, and I wanted to make sure she would still be here with me in the end. I looked toward the cracked door wondering how long I had until my mom and sister came back.
“Chloe—”
“No. Don’t.” She said. “Another time.” Her voice started to waver. “Please.” She sniffed.
I nodded when she looked up to me. I felt like the biggest asshole in the world. I just kept fucking up, and I couldn’t fix any of it.
“What can I do—”
“Nothing. Just go away.” She turned away from me and pulled the standard white cotton blanket up to her chin.
“Okay. Um… I’ll see you later.” I grazed her foot under the blanket, and she flinched away as if I burnt her. “Okay.” I cleared my throat, “bye, Chloe.”
I barely heard it, but I think she said bye too. I ran directly into my mom and sister when I walked out of the room. For the briefest of moments, I thought they could see everything on my face. I quickly changed my expression to force a smile.
“Everything okay?” Mom asked.
“Yeah,” I said running my hand through my hair. I’ve got to stop doing that. I knew my mom could tell I was hiding something. “I just don’t need to be here. Now that we know she’s okay I’ve got to meet up with John.”
“Oh. Okay, sweetie. Will you be home for dinner?” Mom asked.
“Not tonight,” I said solemnly.
This was the first time I wanted to be at home instead of out trying to find my next bed-buddy. Was that because of Chloe? I wanted to be near her. That was a first for me. I didn’t just want to walk away and pretend it never happened. No matter how much she wanted me to. It was all because of the way I felt when I was with her. I could feel the heat in her skin, her racing pulse, and I felt a spark of electricity between us. There was something there, and it was something worth looking into.
I walked straight out through the front doors to the hospital with a strange pit in my stomach. The further away I got the worse I felt. “I totally fucked everything up,” I groaned to myself while driving home. I jogged up to my room and found my sheet on the floor in an imperfect circle as if she could still be standing in the middle of it waiting for me. I groaned again, rubbing my hands over my face and trying to ward off my own headache. I needed to get out of my house and out of my own head space. She was infiltrating every moment of my thoughts.
I pulled out my phone and dialed John while I moved around my room picking up some dirty clothes and a few pairs of shoes to throw into my closet.
“What’s up buddy?” John answered.
“I need a wingman. No shenanigans. No puck bunnies. No drinking. No jail time.”
“What happened?” My friend knew me so well. Probably too well. It was like having a brother around. John was married to one of the only WAGs (wives and girlfriends) of the league I could tolerate. Jane was sweet and could make a mean peach cobbler. A true southern girl. With the southern-belle accent. John said that it made him fall even faster. John met her when we went to Savannah, Georgia two years ago. She was running on the beach where some of us rented a house. John ran straight to her, and when he caught up to her, he tripped and crashed onto the sand in a hard hit. That’s when she stopped to make sure he was all right, and he asked her out. The rest is history.
“I fucked a girl. Put her in the hospital with an allergic reaction to the condom. And she never wants to see me again.” I didn’t realize just how pathetic I sounded until now. I’m such a schmuck.
He laughed, yes laughed, at me. “I’m guessing you can’t get her off your mind then?”
“Nope.”
“Well, Jane’s been feeling shitty lately. I was going to pick up some Thai food and snuggle.” It sounded like he had it all planned o
ut. “Jane would still be happy to see you. It’s been a while.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll text her and let her know you’re coming over. As long as you’re okay with a chick-flick, she’ll be good.”
“I have a sister. I’ve seen most of them already.”
“I’m sure you have. I’ll see you in about forty-five minutes.”
“See ya’ then,” I reply and ended the call.
I was back in my truck within ten minutes. I had to get out of my house. The quick drive over to John’s was silent and nerve-racking with my own company. I hated everything about today. That is except for my time with Chloe before Beth came in a wrecked all of it. John’s been in the business a few years longer than me and needed tighter security than I would. The long drive of his thirty-acre estate started with a solid rot-iron gate with a call box and cameras.
Before I was drafted, before he was with Jane, he had been stocked by a husband that wanted John to fuck his wife in front of him and let him film it. After a few restraining orders, the guy and his wife spent two nights in jail, and then John spent five months in and out of the courtroom to get them to stop harassing him. Luckily the judge was a fan and understood John just wanted to be left alone. When Jane came along, he almost passed up on one of the best things that he says ever happened to him. And I couldn’t agree more. Jane is amazing. Besides, you can’t get a better pair of names John and Jane. Come on. If John’s last name had been Smith, it would have been hilarious. But alas, it’s nothing that spectacular, it’s Rampage. Right? How boring.
“Hey man. It’s me.”
The speaker had a little static. “Me who?”
“The me that protects your balls on the ice.”
“Ha! Come on in man.” The box made a long beep and then the gate started to roll away, creating a perfect opening for me to drive through.
I still had to drive the long driveway to his house. I wasn’t joking when I had said he wanted his privacy. Jane doesn’t even roll her eyes at his crap anymore. He’s paranoid on a whole new level. I got out of my truck and went up to the door to ring the bell. I could hear some rustling around and then a thud into the door. Nails digging. What the hell was going on in there?
Rising Summers (Pucking Unbelievable Book 1) Page 4
