by Lisa Simmons
“Abigail?” she asked brightly. Her chipper tone confused me but I supposed in comparison to the things she had seen, a small piece of glass in my calf was a pretty minor injury.
“Yeah,” I answered, ripping my gaze from Reece’s.
“I’ve got a wheelchair for you so we can take you back to the exam room and the doctor can have a look at your leg,” she informed me, her smile never faltering.
“I’ll carry her,” Reece said firmly. The nurse shifted her smile from me to Reece, her eyes softening at his protective tone.
“If you’re alright with that,” she said to the both of us. I nodded. “Okay, follow me then!”
“I’ll wait out here,” Luke said, his lips pinching together sympathetically before plopping down in the chairs provided in the waiting area. “Good luck.”
“Thanks,” I muttered as Reece followed the nurse through a set of doors. She led us down a short hallway before opening a door to an exam room. Reece carried me through the door before gingerly setting me down on the movable bed in the room. I let out a deep breath, focusing on Reece’s hands on my body rather than the sharp pain in my calf as I settled into the plastic mattress. My hands splayed out behind me as I sat up, not trusting myself to lie down. Reece’s hand rubbed lightly up and down my back, his action soothing the anxiety that was flooding through me as the nurse pulled on a pair of gloves and crossed over to me. She bent over slightly, her eyes focusing on the cut through my leggings. “I’m going to cut these off around your knee, okay?” she informed me, indicating to my leggings. I nodded. She smiled and turned to grab a pair of scissors from a drawer. She carefully cut the fabric around my cut until it fell away, leaving my leggings uneven and jagged below the knee but at least clearing space to fully see my wound. A sharp knock sounded at the door before whoever it was let themselves in, not waiting for a response. A middle aged man walked in, his glasses low on his face as he studied the little paperwork they must have gathered on me.
“Abigail Campbell?” he asked, his voice surprisingly high.
“Yes,” I said. He looked up from his papers and smiled at me.
“I’m Dr. Whare,” he informed me. “I’m going have a look at your leg and see if you need stitches, okay?”
I nodded, noticing how the people here had a habit of telling me what they were going to do before adding ‘okay’ to make it sound like I had any say in the matter. It was the same thing Reece had done earlier. Dr. Whare joined the nurse near my leg, his watchful eyes taking in the wound as he gently prodded the skin around it. I winced. The nurse began taking things out of the cupboard I couldn’t see as he gave her instructions that I didn’t understand.
“You should only need a few stitches. Have you had them before?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. Reece’s hands never stopped their gentle actions across my back. “When I was really little.”
“Should be very similar,” he said. “Ready for the glass to come out?”
I nodded again, taking a deep breath as I steeled myself. Reece read my mind and grabbed my hand, letting me grip his tightly as I readied myself for the anticipated sting.
“One, two, three,” the doctor said, his hand doing something I couldn’t see but causing the sharpest pain yet to sear through my body. My face contorted in a grimace as I gripped Reece’s hand tightly. I could feel sweat forming on my forehead as Reece’s other hand gripped the far side of my neck and he kissed my temple.
“Good job, Abby,” he whispered. I clung to his words, focusing on him and trying to ignore the pain as the doctor cleaned the cut with some type of cleansing agent. I received no warning as he started to suture the cut, the sharp stabs from the fine needle making me wince every time. “Look at me, babe,” Reece instructed, gently turning my face toward his. My eyes locked desperately on his, my mind fighting off the pain as I stared intently at Reece. I followed his silent instructions and copied his breathing, blowing my breath out at the same rate he did. "You're doing so good, Abby."
I didn't respond, too busy copying his breathing and focusing on him. Soon, the doctor finished his stitches and stood up, grinning at me once more.
“Okay, you’re done! We have your parents insurance on file so you’re free to go,” he told me. He surprised me by reaching across my body to shake Reece’s hand. “Keep taking care of her, son.”“Thank you, I will,” Reece promise, nodding respectfully at the man before he and the nurse left the room, a final chipper smile from both of them plastered on their faces. I sighed heavily, collapsing into Reece’s body as he stood next to me. His arms wound around my shoulders, hugging me to him.
“Let’s go home, Reece,” I said weakly. I was exhausted from everything that had happened tonight and wanted nothing more than to curl up with him in his bed. He kissed the top of my head lightly. “You got it, Abby.”
"I was scared as fuck, and out of touch, and I was still testing my luck."
Chapter 56
The ride home was quiet, the atmosphere of the car thick and overwhelming. Now that the immediate danger was over, it seemed like the reality of what had happened was sinking in. Luke had sobered up enough to drive, which was good because Reece seemed unable to relinquish his touch on me. He had insisted on carrying me back to the car even though the doctor had said it was okay for me to walk on my leg. My back leaned against Reece’s chest as he held me to him in the backseat, his arms wrapped around my torso while his lips pressed into wherever he could reach. He mumbled quiet words into my ear between pecks of his lips to my cheek, jaw, ear, neck, and hair. His words were few and far between, though, and the overwhelming silence seemed to be drowning out his attempts to clear the tension. Jack and Samuel had taken things even farther by actually throwing a brick through Reece’s window. It was a barbaric move, something that seemed so wildly inappropriate and unreasonable that I couldn’t fathom how they’d come up with the idea in the first place. I hadn’t heard of someone doing in about forty years, but for some reason they had chosen to resurrect the action and use it against us. The sheer audacity alone was enough to unnerve me. Reece’s reaction to everything that had happened replayed over and over again in my mind. The way he had thrown his body over mine showed clearly that his first instinct had been to protect me. He had determinedly tried to keep me from harm, but despite his efforts I had been hurt anyway. It wasn’t a serious injury and I already was feeling better, but I knew he wouldn’t see it that way; he would dwell over this, hating himself for letting Jack hurt me physically even if it was indirectly. I hated the thought of him dragging himself down like I knew he would; I could feel it in the way he held me now- he blamed himself for letting this happen even though it was absolutely not his fault. I could feel it in his determination to carry me when it wasn’t necessary, in the way he had clung to me as he shifted me carefully into the back seat, and in the way his fingers never stopped their gentle movement across my skin as he tried to soothe me. Even though I was the one who had gotten hurt, I felt like it had done far more damage to him. I felt the same compulsion to comfort him while he tried to comfort me that I had felt before; I needed him to understand it wasn’t his fault and that I was fine. I needed to protect him from himself. No one said anything as Luke pulled into Reece’s driveway and parked. He sighed heavily as he looked at us through the rearview mirror. His expression was tired and he was clearly worn out from everything that happened. It occurred to me that I didn’t really know how much Luke knew about our situation; I had never asked Reece what he’d shared with him, or if he’d shared anything at all, but it seemed like he had at least a small clue about what was going on. “Thanks for driving, Luke,” I said quietly when it became clear Reece wasn’t going to say anything. His lips were currently pressed tightly against my shoulder and his grip on me was strong before he started to shift us forward to exit the vehicle. “No problem,” he said quietly, turning the car off after one last glance at us. He climbed out of the driver’s seat to open the door for
us. I crawled gingerly forward, careful not to bump my newly stitched skin on anything despite the bandage that covered it. Reece followed closely, scooting out of the car immediately after me. As soon as my feet hit the pavement, Reece tried to pick me up again.
“I’m fine, Reece,” I said gently. I could walk on my own and I didn’t want Reece to think he had to do everything for me. He watched me closely, looking for signs of deceit but finding none. He nodded slowly and pinched his lips together in agreement.
“You want help cleaning up?” Luke asked, interrupting our steady eye contact.
“No, I’ll do it,” Reece said, glancing at him quickly before returning his gaze to me.
“Okay, I’m gonna head home then,” he said quietly, backing away already as he moved toward his car. He tossed Reece the keys to his own car before nodding at both of us.
“See you guys later. Feel better Abigail.”
“Bye, thanks again,” I returned. Reece remained silent. The night was dark around us as Reece peered at me intently. “Come on, let’s go inside.”
He followed me closely, his hand hovering protectively on my lower back as he guided me toward the front door. Once inside, he flicked the light on and sighed heavily. Broken glass glittered against the wood floors, the shards scattered around reflecting the light he had turned on. The gaping hole in the window whistled lightly as a soft breeze blew past it, and the dark of the night seemed menacing through the jagged break. “I’ll do that later,” Reece mumbled. He kept his hand on my back as he steered me towards his room. I knew all he wanted to do was curl up to me and hold me, but we had to talk about this. I needed him to know it wasn’t his fault and how I was so thankful he hadn’t gotten hurt as well. As much as I wanted to curl into his chest and let his body warm mine, I knew we had to talk. He shifted us into his room, his hand never leaving my back as if afraid I would fall down without him. He watched me closely as I gave him a soft smile before tugging the now uneven leggings from my hips and grabbing the shorts I found on his floor to pull them on. He followed my lead, pulling off his jeans and shirt before grabbing one of his sweatshirts for me to pull over my head after removing my own shirt. Once we were dressed, or rather, undressed, he looped his arm around me and tugged me down to the bed with him.
We faced each other, one of his arms crooking beneath his head to support it while his other roped around my waist to pull me as close to him as possible. My hands folded between us and rested against his bare chest while his leg gently worked its way between my own. We were folded as close together as possible, yet I still felt the undying urge to have every inch of my skin against his. The comfort that it gave me was something I’d never felt before Reece. Our physical connection was so strong no matter if we were simply lying together or if we were in the middle of a heated embrace. I reached my fingers up to push the hair off his forehead, the soft strands sliding through my digits as I smoothed them back.
“Thank you for taking care of me,” I said quietly, not sure how to start the conversation.
“I’m so sorry, Abby,” he said back, ignoring my thanks. I could see in the way his brows were pulled low and the tightness to his lips that he was unhappy. Something else lingered there, too- fear.
“For what? None of this was your fault,” I told him firmly. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.”
“How?” he asked skeptically.
“Well it’s certainly more my fault than yours,” I said back. “I’m the one with the psycho ex-boyfriend.”
He peered at me through the dim lighting. The only light came from his alarm clock and the light that sifted under the crack of the door from the hallway light he’d forgotten to turn off.
“But I should have done something about it a long time ago,” he said slowly, arguing internally with himself. “I shouldn’t have let it go on this long.”
“Reece, there’s nothing you can do about it,” I said. My own internal debate was raging within my skull.
Too many things had happened now and it was almost difficult to keep them straight. I should have gone to the police when all this stalking and harassment had started, but it was too late now. If I were to go now, surely the first thing Jack and Samuel would say was that Reece was involved too. I didn’t want Reece to get in trouble, especially now that he’d physically harmed both of them. If I went to the police to bring Jack and Samuel down now, Reece would go down with them.
Besides, even if I were to risk Reece getting in trouble and go to the police, Samuel had made it perfectly clear that he had a large group of ‘loyal’ friends to take over. I didn’t know any of their names and even if I did, there would be nothing I could say to get them in trouble anyway. As far as I knew, they hadn’t done anything. Yet. It wasn’t even close to enough to solve my problem, and it became increasingly obvious that going to the police was a terrible option. And, deep down and perhaps most disturbingly, I knew Reece would never allow me to go to the cops. He wanted to handle it himself, which was what I’d been afraid of all along. It was like my penalty for inaction earlier was that this situation had come full circle. Here I was, stuck and unable to go to the police without putting Reece and myself in even more danger, both from the law and from the mysterious group of friends. This was my punishment for inaction- no matter what I did, the boy I loved so desperately was in danger. “I can figure something out, Abby. This can’t keep happening,” he said, responding to my statement.
“Reece, please,” I begged, my voice sounding suddenly weak and thin. “If you get hurt because of me I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Abigail I can’t keep letting them do this! You’ve already gotten hurt once and I refuse to let it happen again,” he said, his tone growing angry in his fierce protection of me.
“I won’t get hurt again,” I said blindly, grasping at straws to deter him from whatever he was planning to do.
“You can’t know that,” he said tightly. “And I refuse to sit by and wait for this to happen again. I can’t let you get hurt.”
“Reece,” I pleaded, my voice strained yet slightly exasperated. “I can’t let you get hurt, either.”
“I won’t,” he said stubbornly.
“You will! They outnumber you and you will get hurt if you try anything!” I could feel tears threatening now, my frustration with his insistence of his invincibility getting to me. Just as he wanted to protect me, I wanted to protect him and he didn’t seem to get that.
“Abigail-“
“No, Reece, listen to me,” I said sharply, biting back the tears in determination. “You say you don’t want me to get hurt but if you do something and get hurt, that will hurt me. That is what I’m most afraid of. Yeah, I’m not thrilled with the idea of them doing anything to me but I’m more afraid of something happening to you. Not me, you.”He looked at me closely, his expression intense and hard to read. He absorbed what I’d said with a frown on his face, clearly not liking what he was hearing.
“I can’t let them do anything to you or I’ll lose it, Abby,” he said slowly, his voice tense. “You don’t understand what it does to me to see you hurt in any way.”
I blew out a heavy sigh, my frustration growing more and more by the second. We seemed to be reaching an impasse, our determination to protect the other overriding our concern for ourselves. He wanted to keep me out of harm just as much as I did him, and it was causing an rift between us. He couldn’t protect me and keep himself safe while I couldn’t protect him and keep myself safe. There was no win-win solution here. “That’s how I feel when you’re hurt, too. You say it does things to you and that it hurts to see me that way so imagine it the other way around. Seeing you hurt is more painful than anything they could ever do to me,” I said earnestly. “I’d take a thousand cuts to the leg if it meant keeping you safe.”His face tightened as I mentioned the cuts to the leg, the stress of what had just happened still fresh in his mind. His arm unwound from my waist so his hand could reach up and
cup my face.
“Abigail, I love you but you’re insane,” he said quietly. “If you think I’m going to let anything else happen to you just to keep myself safe, you’re crazy. Besides, you don't know what will happen."
The tears I had been fighting to hold back burst forth, the salty liquid wetting my cheeks as they poured from my eyes. A flood of emotions rushed through me- frustration, stubbornness, love, gratitude, fear, everything. It was too much for me to process as I tried to focus on convincing Reece of my thought process. We were both so intent on protecting the other that we couldn’t come to an agreement. “Well I’m not going to let you get hurt, either,” I said stubbornly, sniffing once as his thumb swiped across my cheek to gather the tears.
