Bad Seed

by Rye Hart

  I felt tears rushing down my face with every word he spoke. Pain rushed in my chest, and it was getting hard to breathe. My grip on Grant released, and he stood from the bed, his fists clenched at his sides. He was standing toe-to-toe with my father and they were gearing up to face off. I could hear Grant breathing through his nose as he tried to keep his temper under control.

  And the anger in me boiled over.

  This wasn’t happening any longer. I was making my choice now, and if my father and Hollis didn’t understand it, then they didn’t have to be a part of my life any longer. I was a grown damn woman, and I was done letting anyone tell me what and who I was going to be – not even my father or brother.

  “I would never do anything to jeopardize Theresa’s future,” Grant said.

  “Then prove it. Walk out of here and leave her alone. She needs strength and stability, not a wandering playboy,” my father said.

  Grant laughed and took another step toward my father. “That goes to show that you don’t know shit about me, Glen. I may have been a rough and tumble kid, but I’ve worked my ass off to make something of myself, with no help from anyone, thanks to you,” Grant said, his voice rising in anger and tinged with hurt.

  I reached my arm out and knocked the table beside me over. The metallic plate on top of it crashed to the floor, reverberating around the entire room. I couldn't yell over them, and I was tired of dealing with the struggle. I was tired of the fighting and the bickering and the constant need for control. I was hurting, both inside and outside.

  I was ready to speak my mind. “Can both of you just please shut up?” I asked.

  My father turned his gaze to me as Grant sat back down on the edge of the bed.

  Hollis picked a crappy time to walk into the room.

  “Your anger isn’t with Grant, Dad. It’s with Ike. Ike’s the one that put me in this hospital.”

  “Theresa—” my father started before I held my hand up to stop him.

  “As for you sending Grant away back then? I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to forgive you for that. That day nearly ruined me, Dad. I walked around the entire block four times trying to find him so I could convince him to come back. You tossed him out the moment you thought he would ruin your plans for me. But it wasn’t your worry over me that prompted your actions. It was the possibility that you couldn’t control my future.”

  “That is nowhere near what I—”

  “Shut. Up,” I growled.

  My father was shocked into silence, and I saw Hollis’ eyebrows raise. I forced myself to continue.

  “I’m a damn adult. I have my own place, and I pay my own bills, and I make my own decisions. If you and Hollis don’t like the choices I make, then so be it. But you can’t control me. Ike couldn't control me, and neither can either of you.”

  “Don’t you dare compare us to that loser,” Hollis piped up.

  “Theresa, you have no idea what you are saying right now,” my father added.

  A small smile crested my lips as I leveled my eyes at the two of them.

  “Get out,” I said.

  “I’m not leaving you here by yourself.”

  “I won’t be here by myself. I’ll be here with Grant. But you and Hollis? You two are gone. Now.”

  And before my father could make a rebuttal, a nurse shoved past him and came into the room with more medication. She screwed the plunger into my IV tube and gave me something to help with my throat. Then she proceeded to pick up the table I’d knocked over to try and get their attention. I reached out for Grant and curled my fist into his shirt, trying to cling to him and the soothing warmth of his body.

  “Gentleman, my patient needs rest. I don’t think I need to remind you that she’s been through quite an ordeal and has a fairly significant concussion. She should be sleeping, not fighting with all of you. Now, one of you may stay the night with her, but the rest of you need to get going.”

  “I’ll be staying,” my father told her.

  “No, you won’t,” I said. “Grant will.”

  My father’s eyes grew hard on mine as my hand slipped into Grant’s. I felt him curl his fingers around me as he looked at me. I wasn’t backing down from this. I didn’t care how much it hurt them. My father and my brother couldn’t push me around any longer. I knew that they thought they were protecting me in their own misguided ways, but I was done letting them. I was living my life however I saw fit, starting now. Starting with taking a stand in this damn hospital room.

  We all stared at one another as the nurse drew in a deep breath.

  “All right. I’ll get him something to make him comfortable. In the meantime, the two of you? Out.”

  “I’m not leaving her here with him,” my father said.

  “And I’m staying in the waiting room,” Hollis said.

  “Unless the two of you want to be escorted out by hospital security, you will leave and not come back until visiting hours resume tomorrow at ten in the morning,” the nurse said.

  “The sign says eight,” my father said.

  “Well, I said ten. After all, my patient needs her rest.”

  My eyes connected with my brother, and I challenged him for the first time in my life. His eyes were boring into Grant’s, and I could feel the tension rising in the room.

  “This is insane. Grant, she’s my damn little sister,” Hollis said. “You’re my best fucking friend.”

  “Out,” the nurse said again.

  “This isn’t about you and me, Hollis. Our friendship has nothing to do with this. I care about your sister, I always have. And I care a hell of a lot about you too. I don’t want this to ruin our friendship, but I’m not leaving her. Not even for you,” Grant said.

  Hollis stood there looking dumbfounded as the nurse went to call Security.

  My father held up his hand and shoved Hollis out the door. “We’ll go. But this isn’t over,” he said, pointing at Grant.

  Finally, the two of them left and Grant let out a deep breath.

  I lay back down in my bed and slid my hand away from Grant’s. I turned over on my side and pulled the blanket up to my chin. I was horrified, and in pain, and angry. I knew it was going to be a fight for Grant and me to be together and I hoped in the end that Grant would find me worth it. He shifted on the bed, and his hand came down onto my hip, and he slowly began to stroke my leg.

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “For what?”

  “For them. For all the horrible shit my father said to you. Again.”

  I felt him stand from the bed and walk over to the chair in the corner. I closed my eyes and willed all of it to go away. Every single part of it. The hospital. Ike. My family. I wanted to wake up in my own apartment in my own bed waiting for Grant to come see me.

  I was ready for this nightmare to end.

  “You don’t have to apologize for them. Look, I know they are driving you crazy, but they do love you. Very much. They just don’t know how else to show it. I’m a big boy, I can handle anything they throw at me if it means I get to be with you.”

  I turned over in my bed and took stock of Grant. He sat with his knees spread wide as he slouched in the chair. His elbow was resting on the arm of it, and his fingers were stroking the stubble on his face. He looked incredible, equal parts rebellion and sex.

  I bit down on my bottom lip as a chuckle fell from his.

  “When you’re better,” he said, reading my thoughts with a grin. “Right now, you need to rest.”

  I had no problems taking my cue from him. Because I knew all he wanted was the best for me.

  CHAPTER 22

  GRANT

  The chair was fucking murder on my back, but I didn’t care. She chose me. Theresa chose me over everyone else. She stood up to her father and her brother, and I was damn proud of her. I knew she was in pain, and I knew she wasn’t feeling well, and she still chose to stand her ground instead of rolling over and taking it. Theresa was a marvelous woman, and she never ceased to amaze me.
r />   And I wasn’t going to let some dumbass thing like a chair stand in my way of abiding by her decision.

  I watched her fall asleep before my eyes fell to her neck. The bruises were turning all sorts of awful colors, and it made me want to kill someone. My vision dripped with red as I clenched my fists. Ike was a fucking dead man if he ever got out of jail. I’d be waiting for him, and I’d take pleasure in beating his face in until he was no longer breathing.

  Men who laid hands on women like that were nothing but fucking cowards. Scum of the earth. Bullshit excuses for men.

  With each bruise that appeared on her body over the course of her hospital stay, I grew more irate. The insides of her thighs had massive black circles, and I almost blew through the fucking roof. Not even jail could’ve kept him safe had he taken advantage of her like that.

  I wasn’t in the mood to sleep. I watched her all through the night, my ears on alert for any sound that was off. If her father or Hollis came back, I was stopping them at the fucking door. She needed to rest uninterrupted, and I was going to make sure that happened.

  No matter the cost to myself.

  I dozed off a few times but woke up each time a nurse came in to check her vitals. Her heart rate was holding well, and her blood pressure was normal, but there were a couple of moments when she began to thrash. They ended as quickly as she started, and it only served to make me angrier. On top of the pain and the bruising and the concussion, she was suffering from nightmares.

  I wanted to get in bed and hold her, but I wasn’t sure if that would make things any better.

  The morning sunlight streamed through the one window of the hospital room, illuminating her face. She began to stir, and a smile trickled across her cheeks when she saw me sitting in the corner. My heart expanded at the look in her eyes and her unadulterated elation at the sight of me. I thought my chest was going to crack open with the light that filled its cavity. I was irrevocably dedicated to Theresa, hooked on her and addicted to her in ways no other woman had ever pulled me in.

  I loved her.

  At that very moment, I knew I was in love with her.

  I always had been but from afar. In my dreams. In the memories of her. Her giggle and her glasses and her wild, beautiful hair. But I didn’t have anything to offer her then. I was struggling through college and living off debt trying to get my business off the ground. I had nothing to take back to her to prove myself worthy of her time or her affections. But as I sat in that chair and watched her eyes lock with mine, I knew I could give her what she deserved now.

  With my business in a good place and her choice verbally made, I knew I could provide the life she deserved.

  I would work my hands to the bloody bone to give this woman any damn thing she wanted for as long as she would have me. And I hoped against hope that would be a long fucking time.

  I got up from my chair and walked over to her side. I could tell it was still hard for her to swallow. I took her hand and bent down, then brushed a kiss across her forehead. Her fingers curled around my hand as she stroked my skin with her thumb, sending electricity flooding through my veins.

  “You need anything?” I asked.

  “I want to go home,” Theresa said.

  “You can’t. It’s still a crime scene.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Hollis sent me a text.”

  She furrowed her brow, and I kissed the wrinkles on her forehead.

  “It was information he wanted me to relay to you,” I said.

  “I don’t want to be here anymore,” she said breathlessly.

  “I know you don’t. But we have to make sure you’re all right. We can’t get you discharged until this swelling is under control.”

  “And what if my apartment still isn’t ready to go back to?” she asked.

  “I have an answer to that.”

  “I’m not staying with Hollis,” she said flatly.

  “And you think I am? I’m putting myself up in a hotel room for a while. Figured I would take you with me if you wanted.”

  The smile that crossed her face slammed my heart against my chest. I brushed some hair away from her face as her eyes connected with mine. She gripped my hand and brought it to her lips, then kissed my knuckles one by one.

  “I’d like that,” Theresa said.

  “Then I’ll get it set up. As soon as the doctors spring you, I’ll take you away,” I said.

  As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door. “Knock-knock. Time for your morning checkup,” the doctor said.

  I released Theresa’s hand and went to sit back in my chair. While the doctor ordered tests, had the nurse draw blood, and scheduled a scan of her head, I took out my phone and booked a hotel for us. A nice hotel suite with a massive bed, a flat screen television, and a small kitchen to stock with food. I wanted her to feel comfortable and safe. But most of all, I wanted her to stay with me. I wanted her to never want to leave my side. I wanted to show her what I could provide for her without a second thought.

  Then I called my second-in-command.

  “How’s the weekend going?” Matt asked.

  “I’m gonna be here a little longer than I thought,” I said.

  “With the way you lit out of here needing to see your girl, I figured you wouldn’t come back too soon. Need anything?”

  “I need you to keep things running smoothly. We’ve approved six new projects that all start this month.”

  “You won’t be back before the month is out?”

  I looked over at Theresa as she followed the doctor’s finger. I watched her head move side to side, and the doctor seemed pleased with the outcome. I didn’t know what the two of them were talking about, but whatever it was it made Theresa happy. Her eyes filled with glee, and she looked like she was about to bounce right out of the damn bed.

  “I might not be, so I want to prepare for all outcomes,” I said.

  “Is everything alright?” Matt asked.

  “It will be.”

  “Okay. You sure you don’t need anything?” Matt had gotten very good at reading my tone of voice over the years.

  “I need you to make sure these projects get off the ground. The schematics are very detailed, and the outlines are in my desk. Just pull out that flat drawer underneath the main part of it and pull out the six folders. That’ll get you started.”

  “Sure thing. Let me know if you need anything else, though. I’ll call you if we need you,” he said.

  “I’m sure you will. I’ll check in with my laptop as much as I can. I’ve got it synced to my main desktop, so make sure to keep everything updated.”

  “Then I’ll leave the paperwork to you.”

  “Sounds good. Keep in touch and try not to fuck things up too much,” I laughed.

  “How about this? Don’t relegate yourself to a time frame. I’ll deal with on-site shit and the foremen, and you take care of the paperwork and the emails. If any meetings come up, I’ll be prepared to deal with them because I’m in the trenches, and you can video in if necessary. That way, you’re still the go-to guy, but you can stay wherever you are and ride out whatever’s going on”

  “I knew I hired you for a reason,” I said.

  I hung up the phone and watched as the nurse came back in with discharge papers. I furrowed my brow as Theresa took them from her, a massive smile on her face. I stood up from the chair and walked to her side, then placed my hand on her shin.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “Her blood work is great, and she’s passed all of her tests with flying colors. She has full mobility in her head, no nausea, and the fluid buildup at the base of her skull is gone,” the nurse said.

  “If the scan I have in a few minutes comes back clear, these are my discharge papers.”

  Theresa handed them to me, and I looked down at them.

  “When’s the scan?” I asked.

  “Now,” a tech said as he walked in. “We’ll wheel her out, it’ll be a quick test, and I’ve got a ru
sh on the results. We should know within the hour whether she can leave or not.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said. “I got a place reserved for us when she gets the all-clear.”

  I handed the discharge papers back to the nurse before I looked over at Theresa.

  “Don’t give the technicians a hard time,” I said.

  “No way, I want out of here as soon as possible,” she said.

  I smiled at her and leaned over to give her a quick peck on the cheek, then I stood there as they wheeled her out. In an hour, she’d be in my care. In an hour, I’d be able to show her what I could provide for her.

  In an hour, I’d have her in a place where her father and brother couldn’t find her.

  And that was the best way for her to finish her recuperation.

  CHAPTER 23

  THERESA

  My scans came back clean, and I was discharged to go with Grant. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. He wheeled me out to his car and helped me in, but my headache was slowly returning. The doctor said headaches on and off would be normal for the next week, but if they made me nauseous or persisted longer than a few days, I needed to come back in so they could have a look. After Grant buckled me in, I leaned back, ready and excited about going with him to the hotel he’d booked for us.

  But when we drove to the hotel and he helped me up to the room, things got awkward.

  He didn’t do anything, but I figured I would feel more comfortable than I did. The hotel door opened into a beautiful suite, but once he guided me through the door, my heart started thumping against my chest. I took a step away from Grant and turned around to see where he was, and for some reason I had this sense of fear fill my lungs.

  I didn’t like it.

  Without a word uttered between the two of us, he helped me into the bed. It was king-size and comfortable, and the sheets were silky smooth against my skin. The pillows were fluffy, and I groaned, lying into them. I looked over on the bedside table and saw a menu, so I picked it up and began looking at it.