by KL Donn
“Not really,” she told him. There was too much weighing on her mind as they left the quiet neighborhood.
The drive to Lennox’s house was a short one. They were only two blocks away when an impact so jarring had every window in the car shattering. Her head bounced off the door frame, her ears were ringing and her head swimming as she tried to stop the spinning in her vision.
“Sophia!” She heard Braxton yelling her name but couldn’t answer. She could barely move. Pain vibrated through her entire body as her world turned black.
Arriving on the scene of the crash, Nox had never been so glad he and his brothers lived so close together. The screeching of his brakes was nearly deafening as he and Loch barreled from the barely parked vehicle.
The carnage, the glass, the natural smell of gas had his stomach rolling over. Searching the littered road for Sophia, he was freaking out when he couldn’t see her. He prayed it wasn’t as bad as it looked.
“Nox!” His head whipped around at the call of his name. Seeing Braxton near an ambulance, he rushed over to the other man. Blood ran down the side of his face, and his arm was in a sling.
“What the fuck happened?” he screamed, his temper getting the best of him. “Where the fuck is Soph?”
Remorse shot from the man’s eyes as he looked to the ambulance across from where they were standing. Rushing over, Loch hot on his heels, he looked inside the vehicle. What he saw had his knees so weak with fear, Loch had to grip his arm to keep him upright.
Laying on a stretcher was his Sophia.
Blood covering the entire upper half of her body.
Her chest red from the catch of her seatbelt.
Her arm in a sling, and her leg being stabilized by a board.
The worst part was all the glass protruding from her cheek, neck, and shoulder. The golf ball sized bump on the side of her head.
“Sir?” One of the paramedics called to him.
“Yeah?”
“You the boyfriend we were warned about.”
He looked sideways at Brax who shrugged before he answered, “Yeah.”
“Good. Let’s go,” he demanded.
“I got your car,” Loch told him.
Climbing into the back of the ambulance, he sat on the bench next to his broken love. Getting a closer look at her injuries, anger infused his blood.
“They know who did this?” he asked the medic.
“Car hit ‘em on her side and took off. Police are looking now,” he explained quietly.
He had to force the question out. “She gonna be okay?”
“As long as there’s no internal bleeding and no bruising on her brain, yeah, I think so.” Compassion colored the man’s words.
“What are her injuries right now? Is her leg broken?” Christ, he wasn’t gonna be able to handle seeing her in pain.
“For sure, concussion, broken wrist, whiplash, severe bruising to her shoulder and abdomen from the seat belt. Which is where internal injuries can occur. As for her leg, not broken, but a piece of plastic from the inside door dug into her calf pretty deeply, and I wanted her immobile, so it doesn’t keep bleeding.”
“Fuck.” He scrubbed his face with his hands. “What about the other guy? He gonna be okay?” As much as Brax got on his nerves, the man was protecting his girl so he couldn’t hate him too bad.
“Concussion, sprained arm, and whiplash. Miss Bennett took the brunt of the impact.” He didn’t feel better.
Gripping her limp hand in his own, he kissed her soft knuckles. Hating that she was so injured. Hating that he wasn’t there to protect her.
“Here we are,” the medic told him as the vehicle slowed and the back doors were opened. A team of doctors was waiting for her as the paramedic listed off her injuries in medical jargon he was having a hard time processing.
He followed along until a nurse held him back, telling him, “You’ll have to wait here, sir.”
“No, I need to be with her,” he insisted.
“The doctors need to look her over. We have a dozen tests to run, and you’ll only be in the way.” She pulled him away from the doors that his girl had disappeared behind, handing him a clipboard. “Fill these out. By the time you’re done, someone will come out with news on her condition.” She walked away before he could protest again.
Standing in the middle of the E.R., he was lost. For the first time in his life, he had something to lose that meant more to him than anything else in the world. Sophia was his entire existence. If he lost her, if she didn’t come back to him, he didn’t know what the hell he’d do.
“Nox?” A hand on his shoulder startled him. Seeing his brothers there with him, relief swamped in.
“How is she?” Levi asked, looking around as if she were there.
“I don’t know yet. She was taken back, and I was given these.” He clapped the board against his palm.
“I’ll fill that out,” Loch grabbed it from him. “Call her dad.”
“Braxton’s done that, I’m sure. Besides, with all this shit, I don’t think I can see him and not kick his ass. You call Ma?” he asked them.
“Yeah, said she was going to clean up your old room for Soph, so she had someone to take care of her when she gets out.” As much as he’d like to dispute her idea, he knew she needed something to do besides worry. Aside from that, he knew he was going to need help taking care of her after she left the hospital.
If she left the hospital.
“Don’t think like that, man.” Levi levelled him with a hard glare.
“Like what?” he retorted, on edge.
“Like she ain’t coming home. She’s tougher than you think, Nox.”
Yeah, she was. She was made of tougher stuff than anyone gave her credit for. She felt just as strongly.
“I can’t fucking lose her,” he mumbled as his brother led him to a row of empty chairs in the otherwise busy room.
“You won’t,” he insisted.
Lennox watched the clock as they waited, and every minute felt like an hour. An hour longer than he should be kept away from her. An hour longer that he had no information. Agonizing about whether something went wrong or not while he was left in the dark.
As he was about to demand answers, a nurse came from behind the doors Soph had been taken through. “Mr. Hogan?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“Come with me, please. You can see Miss Bennett now.”
Tossing his phone to Levi, he said, “Call Braxton, find out where the hell they are.”
Trepidation had his steps slowing as the nurse opened a door. Taking a fortifying breath, he entered the room. Beeping sounds and a hushed voice were the only audible noise. Walking closer to the bed in the middle of the room, he was shocked at how pale she looked, how many machines surrounded her.
“You’re the boyfriend?” he was asked for a second time that day.
“Yeah,” his voice cracked as he saw the bruising on her face.
“It looks much worse than it is, so take a deep breath and sit down.” The doctor laughed. Nox found nothing funny.
“What do the tests say?” he asked her, looking up. She was an older woman. Thin, graying hair, kind eyes. Reminded him a bit of his mom.
“Miss Bennett suffered some severe bruising along her chest and belly. Thankfully, there is no internal bleeding which is always the biggest worry. She’ll heal from that just fine, but it will take a while. Her wrist is broken, and she’ll be getting that set just as soon as she wakes up on her own, and then we can put her under again. We need to know her cognitive function before we can do that because of the concussion.”
His head was swimming with the information.
Clearing his throat, he asked, “The concussion, how bad is it?”
She hesitated for a second before answering. “The good news is there’s no bleeding so far.”
“And the bad news?”
“There’s some swelling.”
“What does that mean?”
&nb
sp; “If there’s too much cranial pressure, we may have to drill a hole in her skull to relieve it.”
“Christ, baby.” Tears. For the first time in his life, he was close to shedding a tear.
His girl was so fucking broken.
“Don’t worry just yet, Mr. Hogan. We’re not there at this time. We’ll continue to monitor her progress.” She placed a hand on his shoulder in a display of support before leaving him alone to contemplate what the fuck he was going to do.
“Come back to me, sweetheart.” He kissed the tip of each finger on her uninjured hand as a tear rolled silently down his cheek.
“You stupid bitch! You’ve ruined everything.” Rebecca snarled at the woman who was to blame for everything. She had been perfectly fine hating Sophia, tormenting her and her father for forcing the girl into her life. Now, this spoiled brat from Sophia’s biological mother showed up. She was ruining Rebecca’s plans to get her hands on all of Anthony’s money.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have killed our mother.” The bitch had the audacity to snarl back at her.
“Listen here, little girl, we didn’t even know you existed.”
“Because that gives you the right to kill another human being.” Her sarcasm wasn’t missed.
Rebecca eyed her up. She was a tiny thing, completely opposite of Sophia in looks with her amber hair, but the eyes…they were exact same shade as Sophia’s.
“What do you want?” she barked at the little blackmailer.
“My sister.” She crossed her arms with impatience.
“How much will it take to make you go away?” Rebecca had tried bargaining with the young woman months ago, but she just wouldn’t leave well enough alone. That’s when she had come up with the idea of making threats against Sophia, getting Anthony worried enough he had hired protection for the brat.
She had intended on framing the shit standing before her; unfortunately, nothing worked out as planned. Although, after the accident, she still might be able to. She only had to get Elianna’s fingerprints in her own car. Find a way to make it look like she was trying to set them all up. Hurt Anthony for not sticking around, and Sophia for taking the life she never had.
“I told you from the beginning, I don’t want anything from your vile ass.”
Rebecca sneered at the woman, already planning her demise. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d blackmailed someone. Or taken a life. She only had to plant the seed of doubt in Anthony’s mind so he would start looking anywhere but at Rebecca.
We fall in love by chance, we stay in love by choice.
The smell of antiseptic, a loud beeping, and pain radiating through her entire body had Sophia trying to open her eyes. Fighting with her mind over where she was and what had happened.
As soon as a bright light hit her pupils, she moaned, slamming her lids shut again. The pain was unlike anything she’d felt before. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried moving her hands to shield her eyes from the brightness, but a sharp tug on her wrist had her hissing through her teeth.
“Soph?”
Nox, she sighed.
“Don’t move, darlin’. I’ll get the nurse.” When she felt his hand on hers, she squeezed as tight as she could so he wouldn’t leave her. “Baby, I gotta get the nurse.” He sounded pained.
“Please stay,” she whispered, at least she thought she did. Her mouth moved, breath came out, but she didn’t hear the words.
“I got you, baby,” he whispered close to her ear. The heat from his body settled her panic. The hand holding hers played with her fingers, further calming her as a door opened and there was a loud rush of noise before quieting.
“Miss Bennett, glad to see you’re awake,” a woman said. “Can you open your eyes for me?”
She shook her head no, trying to say, “Too bright.” Nox must have heard her as he relayed the words.
“I’ll close these blinds,” was the reply.
The illumination shadowed by her lids was immediately quenched.
“Is that better?” she asked as Soph gingerly opened first one eyelid then the other.
“Yes.” Her voice was getting stronger.
“Mr. Hogan, perhaps you could get Miss Bennett some ice chips from the machine by the nurse’s station?” He looked torn at the request. Sophia nodded her head, and he left.
Once Nox was gone from the room, she looked to the nurse, asking, “What happened?”
“You don’t remember?” Sophia really had to think about it, but nothing was forthcoming. “You were in a car accident.”
Stunned, she took a moment to catalog her pain, associate it with an accident, and it all became clear. Braxton had picked her up, they were going back to Lennox’s house. Then, out of nowhere, glass and pain assaulted her entire body. Everything after that was black, unfortunately.
“Braxton?” she croaked.
“Sprained arm, whiplash, bruising. He’ll be fine.”
Relief swamped her. “And me?”
The cast on her wrist unmistakably stated it was broken. The worst of the pain was in her head and chest, though.
“You have a concussion and stitches in your right leg. Severe whiplash, the broken wrist. Your face was glued back together instead of stitched.”
“What!” she cried out. Glued?
“Sorry, hon, we didn’t think you’d want stitches. It’s only a couple of nicks along your jaw and neck.” Sophia calmed down, glad her skin hadn’t come off or something equally horrifying.
“My chest? It really hurts.”
“Probably the seat belt.” The nurse leaned forward after checking her IV to show her the marks.
Red, blue, purple, black, she looked like a damn rainbow.
“How long have I been out?” she finally asked.
“You woke up about an hour after you were brought in, but you’ve been out for about two days. Mostly from the medication we’ve been giving you.”
Made sense.
“When can I leave?” She hated hospitals. There was no reason for her aversion other than they felt as sterile as her home did.
“In the next day or two. We want to keep monitoring your concussion because we haven’t been able to wake you as often as we’d have liked to.”
Taking it all in was difficult. She didn’t remember the crash or waking up before now. She didn’t get a chance to dwell on it for too long as Nox walked back in the room with the ice chips. Her mouth watered.
Sitting on the bed beside her, he looked her over as if he hadn’t seen her in years. Like something bad had happened in the few minutes he was gone. She had to admit, even if it was only to herself, that she loved the feeling as it washed over her. Having someone care about her well-being, what happened to her, it was a nice change of pace as he slowly fed her a small spoonful of ice. The coolness from the chips revitalized her senses. Her parched throat felt immense relief at being hydrated again. It did remind her of one glaring fact, though. “I’m kind of hungry,” she whispered just as her stomach growled with a roar. Embarrassment had her cheeks flaming red.
Nox chuckled, and the nurse smiled, telling them, “If you’d like to get her something, you can, but nothing too heavy. Take it easy for now.” She left after that.
Gliding a finger down her uninjured cheek, he asked, “How are you feeling?”
“All things considered, not horrible. I hurt, and I’m terrified, but I don’t want to run away.” She had a habit of doing that when things got to be too much.
“Do you need something for the pain?”
She gave him a funny look. “The nurse just gave it to me.”
He inspected the machines to her left. “Right.” He laughed at himself.
They both got quiet after that, lost in their own thoughts. The moment was broken once again by her rumbling stomach.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Ma and Loch are on their way, I’ll have them get you something.” She watched as he pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a quick text.
The minute Nox lo
oked into Soph’s gorgeous green eyes relief and love swamped him. It was in that very moment he realized how much he loved her. All consuming, devouring, obsessive love.
Till his dying day, he would do what it took to keep her happy and surrounded by his love. The attraction had been immediate and mutual, but now things were changing. His only worry that she didn’t feel the same way, or he was moving too fast.
For once in his life, he felt unsure. He knew he’d have to wait and tell her until she recuperated from her injuries, and if he had his guess right, it’d have to be after the danger passed. Because if there was one thing he knew about her, it was that she would question his motives in relation to him wanting to do the right thing.
She’d passed out again after asking him to get her something to eat. He watched her struggle to get comfortable even with the pain medication in her system. Running his fingers through her light curls that seemed to be unaffected by the accident, she calmed a bit, leaning into his touch. He was glad to bring her some comfort as she rested.
A light knock on her door had his head swiveling and body tensing until he saw his mother and brother, followed by Braxton.
“She’s asleep.” He warned.
“Oh, we won’t stay long.” His mother walked over to her bedside.
“Can we talk outside?” Braxton asked him, the look in his eyes spoke of his anger and the news he might have.
“Go, I’ll watch her,” his mother instructed.
“Thanks, Ma,” he said, following Braxton to the hallway, Loch along with them.
“You know who did it?” Loch asked before Nox could. His little brother was pissed.
“We do,” Braxton confirmed. “Rebecca was behind the wheel. I’ve also found some new information I have to look into, check the validity of.”
“Like what?” he snapped. Rebecca being behind everything wasn’t as shocking as it should have been, given her hatred of Soph, but he hadn’t expected there to be more.
“I can’t say just yet, but if what I’ve found is true, then everyone’s in for a real shocker.” Braxton left before he could comment on the vague revelation.
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Loch muttered as the other man disappeared.
