Saving Ayden

by Muriel Garcia

  I park in the ER parking lot and get out of the truck. I open Ayden’s door and take her in my arms.

  “You know, even if I’m injured I can still walk.” She says wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “I know but I like you in my arms Sweet Cheeks.” I smile softly and kiss her cheek, carrying her inside and sit her down in a chair while I go to get her checked in.

  “Fill these in and bring them back.” The nurse behind the counter says as she eyes me suspiciously, she’s probably thinking I’m responsible for her looking like a total mess right now. She’s pretty bad, she has a cut on the back of her head with blood dried in her hair, a bruise on her cheek, her knee is fucked up and she has a couple of cuts all over.

  “No need.” I fill in all of the information and hand her back the clipboard with a couple of bills attached to it. I smile and wink at the nurse and then go to the vending machine, picking up a chocolate bar and a bottle of water. I join Ayden and hand them to her. “Here, you probably need some sugar and to stay hydrated.” I kiss her head and sit next to her, letting her rest her injured leg on my lap.

  “Thanks.” She whispers as she opens the bottle of water and downs half of it. I raise my eyebrow at her. “What? I was thirsty.” She narrows her eyes playfully.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you better.”

  “It’s not your fault, I wasn’t paying attention either. I hope Callum is okay.” She rests her head on my shoulder and opens the chocolate bar, eating most of it and shoves the last piece in my mouth as I was about to say something, making her giggle. “Oops sorry.” She grins innocently looking up at me.

  “Sorry? My ass—you didn’t do anything to be sorry for. I’m sure he will be okay. Aleck and Gabe went to look for him.” I chuckle and hold her close—I finally take a moment to relax.

  “What did you write down on the file?” She whispers.

  “That you got into a fight but you didn’t know who it was you fought. Not a total lie but we have to be careful with what we say okay?” I whisper and kiss her head again. She nods and tries to relax a bit but it’s not for long before her name is quickly called which is surprising considering how many people are in the waiting room.

  “How much did you pay the nurse to get me to go before everyone else?” She whispers raising her eyebrow.

  “That’s for me to know and for you to never find out.” I smirk softly and carry her to the exam room.

  “Now who’s the smartass?” She folds her arms over her chest.

  “Will you quit doing that?” My voice is strained.

  “Quit doing what?” She asks confused.

  “Crossing your arms over your boobs, it’s pushing them together and higher, it’s hot!” I whisper loudly making her laugh, she winces and holds her head in pain.

  “Not a good idea to laugh.” She sighs and rubs her eyes.

  “Sorry Sweet Cheeks.” I rub her hand and sit on a stool by the bed. We both hear a knock on the door and a nurse comes in.

  “Hi, I’m Nurse Lynn, on your file you say you were involved in a fight but didn’t see who was hitting you is that right?” She asks barely looking at Ayden, instead she is openly eyeing me. Not going to go down well with Ayden.

  “Yes, I was uh getting something from my car and someone jumped on me and kicked me in the back of my head and they kept throwing punches and kicking me with their feet.” She nibbles her lip, clearly nervous about the slight lie she just told.

  “That's horrible sweetheart. I’m going to do a quick check of your vitals, look at your injuries and get your some pain relievers. If the doctor orders it we’ll take you over to Radiology to get some x-rays of your head and knee. The doctor will see you after that.” She smiles while still looking at me before moving to carefully check Ayden over then leaves the room.

  “Well that went well.” She sighs. “Ugh I hate hospitals, why did you have to take me here?” She frowns.

  “Because you’re hurt and I’d rather have you kick my ass for keeping you here for hours than overlook something that may be very serious because we waited,” I say frustrated.

  “Alright, alright, calm your tits.” She grins innocently.

  “Brat!” I chuckle.

  “Ah you love me.” She shrugs.

  “You know I do,” I say sweetly, “I always have and always will;” I whisper kissing her hand.

  Too soon, the nurse comes to take her to Radiology to get her x-rays. I’m not allowed to go with her, which is pissing me off. After what she went through, I want to be with her and help her through this, not have her on the other side of the hospital for God knows how long.

  I’ve been sitting in the hallway waiting for Ayden to come back for about two hours, which is ridiculous! They should have let me go with her—at least she wouldn’t be on her own. This is getting long and boring and worrisome. No one is coming around to let me know what’s going on or telling me if she’s okay. For all I know she could need surgery and no one is letting me know! At least I know Callum is okay, just bruised, according to the text I just got from Aleck.

  I’m starting to lose my patience and walk around the ER, looking for someone to tell me what’s going on with my woman. But of course the doctors and nurses are not happy with this so they called the security and now I’m trying to explain to them what’s going on but they won’t fucking listen to me! I’m beyond pissed off and I can’t do anything or they will call the cops.

  They keep me in a corner so I won’t disturb anyone. Nearly three hours later, she is finally wheeled back to me.

  “Ayden!” I shout seeing her, pushing away from the security guards, going straight to her. “How do you feel? Seriously why the fuck did they think it would be a good idea to let you go on your own for the past three hours?”

  “Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay, they were busy, I guess. But I’m alright don’t worry.” She smiles at me and kisses my cheek. It reassures me a bit but I’m still worked up!

  “Thank fuck for that!” I kiss her cheek and help her back in bed. I glare at the security guards as they walk away, realizing I really was just worried about my woman. We wait another thirty minutes before the doctor decides to finally show up.

  “Hi I’m Doctor Brown. We looked at your x-rays and scans. You have a slight concussion caused by the hit on the back of your head but you should be okay in a couple of days. Your cheek is just bruised, so it will fade away pretty quickly. Your knee on the other hand is a different story. It’s not broken but it’s badly sprained so it might take some time to heal. We will give you a knee brace and crutches. Try to stay off of it as much as possible. When you’re lying down try to keep it elevated to keep the swelling down to a minimum and ice it three to four times a day.” He smiles after saying all of this, like it’s no big deal.

  “Uh, okay?” She looks confused and so am I. He just barges in tell us all that stuff and looks like he’s about to walk out.

  “The nurse will be back with your prescription for pain killers, the brace, and crutches. Have a lovely day.” He smiles, shakes our hand and leaves as fast as he came in.

  “Well that was fast.” She looks at me in disbelief.

  “At least we will be out of here quickly.” I smile softly and kiss her head.

  “True.” She smiles looking into my eyes, resting her forehead on mine. “Thank you.” She whispers kissing the corner of my mouth.

  “What for?” I whisper against her lips.

  “For saving me.” She whispers back. I squeeze the back of her neck gently before the nurse interrupts us, which causes me to groan and her to laugh.

  She shows Ayden how to put on the brace, gives her prescriptions for painkillers and gel to massage her knee with to help the healing process, and we walk out of the ER. Well, she hops out, not without my help. I have to catch her a couple of times on the way to the truck.

  Gabe and Aleck are on their bike by the truck.

  “How do you feel?” Gabe hugs her after getting off of his bik
e, looking her up and down to make sure she is okay.

  “I’m alright, probably going to get another injury with these bad boys.” She attempts to lift the crutches while keeping balance on one leg but she quickly loses balance. Good thing I’m standing behind her. “See my point?” She giggles and he nods.

  “I see that but not what I meant sweetheart.” He looks at her raising one eyebrow and she sighs.

  “I’ll get there eventually, messed up in the head with what happened today so only time will tell I guess.” She tells him honestly and shrugs.

  “Fair enough. I know Anthony’s there for you but if you need anything, you’ve got a whole family here for you and to have your back.” He smiles at her, I’m not liking this one bit I know they are friends but still. I glare at him

  “Thanks Gabe, I really appreciate it.” She smiles softly and hugs him again.

  “Anytime.” He hugs her back.

  “Alright you two, stop it!” I break their hug and hug her close to me, causing both of them to laugh.

  “Jealous?” He smirks playfully.

  “Very. Ayd get your ass into the truck—let’s get you settled at home.” I kiss the top of her head, while Gabe is openly laughing at us.

  “Fuck off Gabe! You asshole!” I kiss her softly and hug her to me before helping her into the truck.

  “Love you too, brother.” He chuckles and he waves at us as we drive past him. I check in the rearview mirror but he’s not leaving, he’s actually going into the ER. I’ll have to ask him later what that was about.

  I drive to Ayden’s home. I mean, our future home. I hope she won’t mind. We stay silent on the way there, it’s not a long drive but I’m giving her some time to relax. She seems to be holding up well after what happened. I don’t know how she does it—she was a mess when it was going down. She does seem closed off but I don’t want to bother her or piss her off. I think we both need a good night of sleep, to relax and be with each other for the night. The talking can wait tomorrow.

  I park next to her car and get out before going to her side and helping her get out of the truck and with her crutches. I swear she’s going to break something with these. As long as it’s not her I don’t care.

  I open the door for her and I’m about to follow her inside when she turns around and blocks the entrance. I look at her waiting for an explanation.

  “I need a night on my own. I want to spend some time by myself to clear my head—I need it. Please let me have one night. I’ve been stuck in this situation of living in fear for so long, now I’m finally free, let me enjoy one night.” She pleads with me, I sigh, frustrated with her.

  “Fine, one night, but tomorrow morning you better be here when I come over for breakfast, if not, I wouldn’t want to be that sweet ass of yours because I’ll be spanking you that’s for sure.” I glare at her.

  “Alright Big Man, geez don't get your panties in a bunch!” She rolls her eyes.

  “I’m not joking Sweet Cheeks. If you’re not here tomorrow morning you’re in serious trouble. We need to talk about what went down today. You might not want to have the talk so soon but it needs to happen. You can’t keep it bottled up and not talk about it with someone.” I warn her.

  “I’ll be here. Don’t worry. I don’t want to talk about it but I saw what not talking about it the first time did and I don’t want a repeat of that.” She promises me and kisses me softly.

  “Alright. If you hear a weird noise or anything, call me please. I’ll be here in minutes.” I squeeze her neck gently and kiss her softly but passionately.

  “I will Ant.” She kisses back.

  “Good night Sweet Cheeks.” I whisper against her lips.

  “Good night Big Man.” She whispers back, she’s driving me insane.

  “Not really making me want to leave.” I kiss her forehead and head to the truck, knowing I need to give her some space.

  She waves at me as I back out of her. She grins at me sheepishly as I shake my head at her. I wave back at her and drive home. I don’t want to leave her on her own but it’s not like I have much choice. I know she needs space at least for one night—I can give her that. I could try to stay in the truck in her street but she will probably spot me within minutes, she knows me.

  I park at home and get inside the house. It feels empty. A couple of hours ago she was here and it was full of life. Now it’s dull and cold.

  Fuck, I’m turning into a girl!

  I grab myself a beer and head upstairs to watch some TV to unwind. I probably won’t get any sleep tonight. I have that little voice in the back of my head telling me I should be with her…

  I was about to fall asleep when I hear my phone chirp.

  Ayden: Tucked in bed after eating a sandwich. It was hell to get up the stairs but I managed without breaking anything.

  Me: I already don’t like you being this far away from me now that I have you back!

  Ayden: I’ll be okay, it’s just for one night so I can clear my head. Stop nagging!

  Me: It’s not nagging, it’s called being concerned. Not the same.

  Ayden: Alright Big Man! I’m going to call my Mom. I’ll shoot you a text when I’m done.

  Me: All right, don’t forget.

  Ayden: I won’t.

  After forty-five minutes, she texts me back.

  Ayden: She was a crying mess. I had to reassure her at least ten times.

  Me: I understand why she was.

  Ayden: I know, I know. I’m off to get some sleep now.

  Me: Don’t do anything stupid or reckless.

  Ayden: Now where did that come from?

  Me: I know you, that’s all.

  Ayden: Sure, sure. I’ll behave I promise.

  Me: Not believing you!

  Ayden: Well you’ll have to. Good night Big Man. xx

  Me: Good night Sweet Cheeks. xx

  I put my phone on the nightstand, go to the bathroom to take a shower to clear my mind then get back to bed.

  I toss and turn for what seems like hours. Replaying what happened today in my mind over and over again. But slowly, I give in to sleep. The image of Michael naked over Ayden’s naked body tortures me all night.

  Chapter 31

  Ayden

  I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock. I know I’m the one who set it up so early, but still, it’s not making it any easier! “Shut up!” I yell at it, which of course does nothing to stop it. I reach for my phone on the nightstand, and turn it off. I know I should get up right now because if I get comfortable again I will never get out of the door, at least not in time before Anthony’s visit. I hate that I lied to him about me being home when he would show up this morning, but let's face it, he never would have let me go on my own.

  I sit up and rub the sleep from my eyes and wait for them to focus a bit more before I make my way to the bathroom. Can’t say I got much rest last night, between what happened replaying in my mind and the usual nightmare, I got an hour of sleep if that.

  Last night when I called my mom, I asked her if I could come to their cabin by the lake in Grand Isle for a couple of days, needing to be on my own to clear my head. She was okay with it, which was good. I really needed to be on my own and process what just happened.

  I get up and go to the bathroom, do my business, wash my hands, brush my teeth and try to manage my hair. I get dressed only falling on my ass once. I still haven’t mastered the fact that I can’t put much pressure on my leg yet and it’s getting tricky to do the simplest things.

  I hop out of my room and down the stairs with a backpack. I pack some food and necessities for a couple of days. I hop my way out of the house and lock up. I get my crutches in the back of the car and back out of the driveway.

  I put on some music and start the long journey to Grand Isle. I loved going there when I was younger. My parents have a cabin there—it’s beautiful. I remember going there every summer for two months with my parents along with Anthony and his parents. It was always so much fun. I miss t
hose days. I sigh to myself and wonder how it will feel to be there again. The last time we were there, Anthony and I nearly kissed but of course our parents had to come back from their little boat trip early. I was fuming that day! I didn’t even bother coming out of my room to eat and waited till everyone was asleep to sneak downstairs and eat something. Looking back on it it’s pretty funny how things played out.

  “Come on Ant, it’s going to be fun!” I tug on his arms trying to get him to get off the couch and stop playing video games. Our parents will be home soon and I still want to enjoy some time on the beach.

  “Alright, alright Sweet Cheeks.” He chuckles and comes with me. We head outside and go for a walk on the beach. It’s beautiful and very hot today. I’m wearing a racer back tank top and shorts with my black bikini underneath. I don’t know if or how Anthony’s going to react but I hope it will be good. We run to our usual spot after locking up the cabin.

  “Why are you so hyper today?” He chuckles and takes off his shirt, leaving him in just his swimming shorts.

  “Well our parents are out on the boat so we can actually misbehave.” I grin innocently and take off my shirt and shorts.

  “You do know you are evil right.” He groans and hides his face.

  “Now why would you say that?” I pout.

  “Because you’re wearing a tiny bikini. Why else Ayd?” He glares at me.

  “You don’t like it?” I turn around to show him and he growls.

  “I like it a bit too much.” He tugs on my hand making me fall in his lap and he wraps his arms around me. “Way too much.” He looks into my eyes and leans in to kiss me. I close my eyes smiling and wetting my lips, getting ready for my first kiss. We both snap out of it when we hear the engine of the boat… The parents are back early! I half scream and put my clothes back on and rush to the cabin, locking myself in my room. Mad as hell that they came back when he was just about to kiss me.

  I’ve always wondered how things would have turned out if Anthony and I had gotten together and started dating. If I hadn’t been kidnapped, abused, and threatened that it would happen again if I stayed in contact with the MC members. Would I be with him? Would we still be together? Married? With kids? I often ask myself these questions and I still don’t have answers. I don’t know if I ever will but I do need to start living my life, live in the present and not let the past lead me and let it ruin my life. I’ve been surviving for the last six years, now I need to start to live, have fun and make great memories with my parents, Anthony, and our friends. I don’t know what will happen but I surely hope that the future holds good things for all of us.