by Ali Parker
I was already moving to the door. I would ask Jana to stay and watch the shop. If she couldn’t I’d close. Deanna needed me and so did Dalton.
“Not Dalton,” she squeaked.
I turned, relieved that he was okay. “Oh. Who was in an accident?”
She looked at me, the tears flowing again. “Mason.” She breathed out his name.
I stared at her, convincing myself I hadn’t heard her correctly. “Who?” I asked, scrunching up my nose.
“Mason. He was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle,” she whispered, wiping her eyes again.
“Mason?”
She nodded. “Yes, Mason.”
I shook my head, refusing to believe it. I had just seen him. We had just said some pretty horrible things to each other. I knew a collision between a motorcycle and a car was not going to be a good outcome for the motorcycle rider. I felt the world tilt a little and stumbled, trying to find my footing.
“Is he okay?” I asked, staring at her and knowing he wasn’t.
“We have to get to the hospital,” she said, grabbing my arm.
“I can’t,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t go. The things I said,” I told her, guilt and fear mingling together.
“Addy, we need to get there. Dalton was on his way,” she said firmly.
She practically dragged me up front. I heard her talking to Jana, but I was somewhere far away. I was replaying the last thing I had said to him. I was picturing him stomping out of the shop angry. Had he put on his helmet? I couldn’t remember. I had watched him outside for a few seconds before I stormed into the back. I remembered the look in his eyes as he stared at me. He’d been pissed, but I had also seen the frustration. I knew I had been difficult and unreasonable. It was like I knew I should be more understanding, but once I started down that path of being pissed, I couldn’t stop. I just grew angrier and angrier.
“Is he okay?” I asked her as we walked to her car.
“I don’t know. Dalton didn’t know,” she replied.
I realized I was barely holding it together. I couldn’t understand why I was so upset over the possible loss of a man I barely knew. I realized then I did care about him. I had been mad and hurt earlier, but part of me kind of thought we might be able to work out our differences. I hadn’t been ready to admit that five minutes ago, but I could now. Now that I faced the reality that I might not get the chance, I realized just how much I had fallen for him.
“I can’t believe what I said. I can’t believe that might be the very last memory I have of him. He was so pissed when he left. What if I caused the accident? What if he was so furious with me, he did something stupid?” I murmured as she pulled the car into traffic.
“Mason is a good rider. He would never let his emotional state affect how he rode. Don’t blame yourself. It was an accident. We’ll find out more when we get there. Hopefully it’s nothing more than a minor fender bender and he’ll be just fine,” she said.
I knew she was trying to assure herself as much as me. “I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t get the chance to apologize.”
“You’ll get the chance. You have to,” she whispered.
I saw her wipe her eyes again. “I’m sorry,” I said to her.
“Sorry? To me?”
“Yes. I know you love him. This can’t be easy for you. I should be the one driving you to the hospital.”
She giggled, wiping her eyes again. “You don’t have a car.”
I burst into giggles, tears leaking from my eyes with the emotional release. “I could have walked you to the subway or hailed a cab.”
“He’s going to be fine. Mason is too damn stubborn to get seriously injured. I wouldn’t put it past him to have done this on purpose, just to get you to run to his side,” she said.
I wished that were true, but there was no way Mason would purposely wreck his bike for me or anyone else. He was not the kind of man who thrived on drama. I wished it were true and I knew she needed to believe that. My heart was beating so hard in my chest I felt like I would throw up. I promised to apologize to him. I would never speak like that to him or any other person for the rest of my life. One never knew what the last words to someone would be. I vowed to never let my last words be so hateful to anyone I ever encountered.
Chapter 33
Mason
Something wasn’t right. I couldn’t quite place it. My brain was sluggish as I drifted to the surface of consciousness. I must have had a hell of a night. I didn’t remember going to the bar, but I must have, because I was dealing with one hell of a hangover. I tried to reach up to touch my head.
“Stay still.” I heard my mother’s gentle voice say.
Now I was really confused. What the hell was my mother doing in my bedroom? Did I end up back at the mansion? I tried to open my eyes. My lids were heavy, so heavy I could barely get my eyes open enough to see through small slits. The light was extremely bright. I closed my eyes again, my brow furrowing.
“Turn off the light,” I mumbled.
“Turn down the lights,” my mother ordered.
“Got it.” I heard what sounded like Jack’s voice.
Hearing him sent alarm racing through my body. “Jack?” I asked, wondering if I were dreaming.
“I’m here. Grayson’s here too,” Jack said in a soothing voice. “James just went out to get some coffee.”
“Am I dead?” I asked, knowing it must be bad if half my brothers were there.
My mother’s hand touched mine. “You’re not dead, but you certainly came damn close,” she scolded.
“I did?” I asked, feeling very confused.
“Yes, you did. The doctor said the helmet saved your life and all that fancy gear you wear wasn’t just about looking cool apparently,” Jack teased.
“Oh shit.” I groaned, flashes of the accident popping into my head. “My bike.” I sighed, grieving the loss of my bike.
“Yeah, oh shit. Our mother is too old for this shit.” Grayson growled.
I opened my eyes, blinking several times while my eyes adjusted. I could feel the nagging pain in the back of my head. I vaguely remembered my head hitting the pavement. I held up my left arm, squinting to focus on the white bandage stretching from my wrist to above my elbow.
“What’s the damage?” I asked, wanting to know how badly I was injured.
My eyes went to my other arm where a needle was stuck in my arm. I could feel the slightly drunk feeling and knew I was probably on painkillers. I could feel some minor aches all over my body, but nothing felt too bad.
“You don’t have any broken bones, but you’ve got some bruised ribs, a concussion, and your left arm got chewed up pretty good,” Jack explained.
“What happened?” I asked, reaching my right hand up to my forehead.
“A car blew through a red light. It clipped your front tire and sent you flying. It was nothing short of a miracle it didn’t hit you or slam you into one of the other cars in the intersection. Your helmet was still on when first responders got there. They said that was a good thing. Unfortunately, your sleeve was cut on a piece of glass on the road when you slid across it. Your arm was exposed,” Jack said, giving me the details of what had happened.
“Damn,” I muttered, remembering the flash of red I had seen a second before my bike went down, sending me sliding through the intersection.
“I guess you probably figured out your bike is totaled,” Grayson offered a little too gleefully for my liking.
“I’ll buy another one,” I shot back.
“Oh, Mason. Those things are death machines. You could have been killed,” my mother said, fretting.
I turned my head to look at her. “I’m okay, Mom. I could have been killed if I were in a car or one of those little tiny things James drives around in.”
“Hey, don’t drag me into this. My Porsche has airbags,” he argued.
“I’m going to need a ride home,” I mumbled, feeling the effects of the pain meds pump through my veins
.
“You’re not going anywhere tonight,” my mother said firmly.
“What?”
“The doctor says you have to stay overnight. You were just creamed by a two-ton car, Mason. You need a minute to rest,” she reprimanded.
“I feel fine,” I argued.
“You feel fine because they’ve got you on about a dozen narcotics,” Grayson interjected.
“I’m going to need some of this stuff for home,” I joked.
“You’ll be going back to the mansion with me,” my mother chimed in.
“No, I won’t,” I said, putting my foot down with that one.
“Mason, you’re in no shape to be alone. You have to be watched to make sure your head doesn’t explode or something,” Jack joked.
“My head would have exploded already if it were going to. It’s fine. You know I have a hard head,” I asserted.
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Your body took a beating. You need to rest,” my mother said, and the tone of voice left no room for argument.
“How about the other guy, the driver?” I asked.
“Drunk. The son of a bitch was drunk at eleven o’clock in the morning.” Jack hissed.
“Did he get hurt? Did anyone else get hurt?” I asked.
Grayson and Jack exchanged a look. “He kept going after he hit you. He hit another car, injured a young woman before finally slamming into the side of a building.”
“How’s the woman?”
“She’s fine. Her airbags saved her,” my mother snapped.
I grinned. “Good. What about him?”
“He’s going to be fine. He’s in jail, for now.” Grayson growled.
“Asshole,” I muttered, not worried about my mother’s reaction to my cursing.
“I agree,” my mother replied.
“What’s my arm look like?” I asked, holding it up to inspect the bandages.
“We didn’t get to see. They had it wrapped before they let us see you. The doctor said it wasn’t too bad and that he’d seen a lot worse,” Jack said.
“What about my hip. My hip is killing me,” I said, my injuries seeming to rise to the surface the longer I was awake.
“Bruised. Mason, you’re probably bruised all down your left side. Witnesses said the bike went down, and you skidded one way, the bike the other. The bike was hit by a car going through the green light right behind you,” James said.
“Holy shit. I don’t remember any of that,” I said with shock.
“You were likely knocked out the second your head hit the ground. There’s a pretty good crack on your helmet,” Grayson added.
I closed my eyes, trying to remember anything from the accident. There were brief snippets. “There was an old guy,” I said, trying to remember his face.
“An old guy?” my mom asked.
“Yes. I think I remember him telling me it was okay and not to move. He said he was a combat medic, I think. Was there someone there?” I asked.
“We don’t know. Mom and James got here first. You had already been at the hospital for about twenty minutes. The EMS was already gone,” Jack said softly.
“Find him. I want to thank him,” I said, looking directly into Jack’s eyes.
Jack nodded. “I’ll get on it. We’ll find him.”
“I need to call Dalton,” I said.
“I already did,” Jack replied.
My mother’s hand tightened over mine. “Ow,” I said, tugging it away.
I knew she wasn’t overly fond of Dalton. She saw him as the bad influence. It was the way all moms thought. They wanted to believe their child was the good one. Dalton’s mom was the only one who could make that claim. I had been the bad influence back then and could still be considered a bit of a troublemaker now.
“Sorry,” she muttered pulling her hand away from the bed.
The doctor came in, saw me, and smiled. “Ah, you’re awake.”
“I am. They said I have to stay overnight, is that true?” I asked.
The doctor smiled. “Yes. We did some tests and I don’t see any swelling on the brain, but you suffered a serious trauma. I want to make sure nothing shows up later. It can take a good twelve hours before a bleed makes itself known.”
“A brain bleed?” My mother gasped.
“I don’t suspect that here at all, but I don’t want to take any chances. Besides, I think you’re going to want the IV drugs we’ve got you on. I doubt you’re feeling a lot of pain right now, but the moment we shut off those IVs, you’re going to feel every tiny little pebble your body scraped across. Sit back, relax, get comfortable, and enjoy the stay. I know it’s not exactly luxury digs, but we’ll take good care of you. I’ll be back in tomorrow morning to see how things are going. If things look good, we’ll set you free. If things aren’t quite what I’d like to see, we’ll need to keep you here another day or two. Head injuries are not something to mess around with,” he ordered.
“He’ll be happy to stay as long as you want him to,” my mother answered for me.
“Good to hear. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said and exited the room.
“Now you heard it from him,” Jack said.
“Can one of you bring me some clothes, shorts? I’m not going to lie around in this ugly ass gown,” I grumbled.
“I can stop by your place,” Jack offered.
“Thanks.”
The aches and pains were starting to make themselves known. It wasn’t even my head that hurt the worse. My left side felt like it was on fire. I didn’t know what the bandages were hiding, but I could feel the torn skin underneath. I was pissed I hadn’t zipped the jacket all the way up. I couldn’t say for sure if that would have made a difference, but it could have.
I held up my hands, looking at my knuckles before turning them to look at the palms. They were a little red, but nothing too terrible.
“What are you looking at? How many fingers do you see?” Jack teased.
“My gloves saved my hands,” I said with a grin.
“Yes, they did.” Jack laughed. “Like I said, I thought you wore all that stuff because it was part of the look. I guess it really did serve a purpose.”
“Yes, it did. I guess I better start shopping for a new helmet,” I said with a sigh.
“No!” my mother exclaimed.
I turned to look at her. “Mom, I’m not going to quit riding.”
“Mason.” She whined.
“This wasn’t my fault. I didn’t cause the accident,” I pointed out.
“No, but now that you see how dangerous it is out there. There are so many things that could have gone wrong. You are lucky to be alive. We’re lucky you’re alive. Mason, I will not bury one of my children. I refuse to do it. I will be the first to die,” she demanded.
I chuckled and immediately regretted it. “Ow.” I winced.
“I’m serious. This is not over. I want to have a discussion about this,” she asserted.
“Mom, I’m an adult. I can choose my own mode of transportation. I will tell you I won’t be riding the Harley for a few days, maybe a week or two,” I said, offering her a small reprieve.
“We’ll see about that.”
I didn’t answer her. I appreciated them all being there for me, but things hadn’t changed. I was still me. I was still the guy who loved to ride my bike. An accident was not going to change who I was. I knew that was what they expected, but it wasn’t going to happen.
Chapter 34
Adelaide
I was a nervous wreck by the time we got to the hospital. I imagined all the worst possible scenarios. I kept telling myself I had to be strong for him, before I remembered if he was alive and speaking, I was probably the last person he wanted to see or talk to. He would want me to be strong from very far away.
“I shouldn’t be here.” I hissed as we walked down the hallway toward the emergency department.
Deanna had been so flustered she’d been unable to find parking near the ER. Instead of driving around, we parke
d in the parking garage and we opted to walk. We could walk faster than traffic was moving. My stomach was a jumble of nerves and I found myself wringing my hands.
“You should be here. I need you if nothing else,” she replied.
We walked into the large waiting room. “I don’t see Dalton.”
“He was trying to get here, but he was stuck on the freeway.”
Deanna walked up to the nurses’ station and gave Mason’s name.
“Are you family?” the nurse asked.
“Yes. We’re his sisters,” she replied easily.
The nurse believed her and pushed the button, allowing us to go back. We were led down another long hallway. “He’s in there with your brothers.”
I looked at Deanna, waiting until the nurse was out of earshot. “I can’t go in there,” I whispered.
“Yes, you can. He’ll want to see you.”
“Deanna, I don’t think you fully understand how we left things.” I hissed.
“We’re going in,” she said, knocking once on the door before pushing it open.
I was right on her heels, staring at the three tall men, all very handsome and various versions of Mason with short hair. They turned to look at us. The older one, Grayson I believe his name was, looked very unhappy to see us.
I suddenly felt completely out of place. They were all wearing clothes that cost more than I made in a month. His mother, I assumed it was his mother, was wearing a simple pantsuit and small diamond earrings that I knew had to be the real thing. She didn’t look pretentious, but she exuded wealth and class without trying.
“Hi,” Deanna said to the room in general.
“Hi, Deanna,” the one brother on the left said.
“Hi, Jack,” she said, her voice timid.
Jack was looking at me. I knew he recognized me from the other night. I felt ridiculous. I felt small, silly, and completely out of place in the room. I wanted to flee. It was when my eyes finally moved to the bed where Mason was lying that I ignored all the stares. My heart lurched when I saw him. I blinked, fighting back the damn tears that were threatening to fall. He looked fine, minus the bandaged arm. He was alive.
