“Too true, but only Chase gets to stick anything up my butt,” I insisted.
“Deal,” she agreed quickly. “I hope you know we all almost got arrested demanding to see you.”
“Even, Iz?”
“Even, Iz,” she confirmed. “Quinn…”
Her lips quivered and she looked so lost. My poor baby sister. “It’s okay, Aud. I’m okay. I mean, wait…I’m okay, right?”
She wiped at her tears. “Yeah. Well, I mean, you look like you got your ass kicked, but you’ll live. Of course, you’ll be living with a bunch of scrapes and scratches that’ll sting like a mofo when you shower and then you have all the swelling that makes you look like that humpback guy on the movie 300. Not to mention, you have a broken right arm, wrist and a shattered ankle that the guys have already called in the best bone specialist in the country to look at. You hit your head and they were mostly concerned with that, but all the scans and x-rays showed up positive. You’ll probably have a lot of headaches in the coming weeks.”
“But…I can still sing karaoke, right?”
“You were never able to sing anything, Q,” she retorted. “But you can still hold a microphone with your left hand and eventually with your right once your arm and wrist heal.”
“Is that how Mom and Dad taught you to speak to the disabled?” How dare her bring up my lack of singing ability right now in my weakened condition?
“The only thing disabled on you is your mind,” she snorted.
We were silent a moment before I asked, “Are you okay, Aud?”
She gave me a watery smile. “I am now. Q…I love you, you know.”
I gave her what I thought was a smile, but I couldn’t know for sure. “I love you, too, Aud.”
“Quinn…” She stopped and let out a deep breath. I felt so horrible for her.
“How long have I been out?” I remember passing out in the cab and that’s it until now.
“Three days, Q,” she whispered.
Holy shit! “Three days?”
“Yeah. It’s Monday,” she clarified. “Everyone is in the waiting room.”
“Everyone?”
“Yeah, we’ve been rotating, you know, taking turns going home to shower and eat, stuff like that. Well, all of us, except for Chase. He hasn’t left since you were brought in.”
“Will they let them all in here?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. How about I call the doctor and after he checks you out we ask him?”
I closed my eyes. “Yeah, okay.”
I must have dozed off again because the next thing I knew, I was hearing a very chipper, very personable voice speaking to me. “Ms. Erickson?”
I opened my eyes to look into the face of a smiling, gray haired doctor. “That’s me.”
He chuckled. “Well,” he threw his head towards Audrey, “technically that’s her too.”
I smiled. “You’re right.”
“Glad to see you’re awake, young lady. You gave everyone in the hospital quite a scare.” He started shining his little laser beamed flashlight all over my this and that.
“Everyone in the hospital?” I croaked.
“Well, between your sister, here, threatening bodily harm on the staff and your boyfriend threatening to buy the hospital and then firing everyone…well, let’s just say you’re very loved young woman,” he chuckled.
“They’re all in group therapy, if that makes you feel better.”
“Much,” he laughed.
“When you’re done poking and prodding me, can they all come in and see me?” I couldn’t imagine making any of them wait outside to see me.
We were a team.
We were a family.
“I’m sure that will be fine.” He leaned into me conspiratorially. “At any rate, I don’t think anyone wants to be the one to have to tell the big fella ‘no’.”
“It’s not him you have to worry about upsetting. It’s the amber-eyed goddess with him you have to worry about. If you upset her, he’ll more than likely burn this city to the ground,” I teased him.
But I wasn’t really teasing.
His response shocked me, but then he was also from a different era. “As it should be, my dear.” He padded my good leg. “I’ll go so you can see your friends, but I’ll be back, so don’t overdo it.”
“Thank you.” I waited until he walked out and then asked Aud to go get everyone. I laid my head back down and closed my eyes…well, eye…and suddenly I was so exhausted. I just really wanted to go to sleep, but I wanted to see everyone first.
I wanted to see Chase.
There was so much I needed to apologize for. There was so much I needed to make right.
All this time I was pushing him away because I foolishly thought I could control fate. I thought I could control the limits of my love for someone. But I knew now that that’s impossible.
Had the worst happened, I would have spent the last days of my life being lonely, depressed, confused and hurt. I would have been so caught up in my thoughts; I would have denied myself the joy of being loved by someone like Chase.
Actually, just being loved by Chase.
It wasn’t long before I heard the door open. I opened my eye and watched as the people I loved most walked through, being led by Aunt Shellie and Mrs. Alexander. I didn’t know why, but seeing those two brought tears to my eyes…well, eye.
“Oh, Quinn, sweetheart,” Aunt Shellie exclaimed, as she rushed over to the left side of the bed and rained kisses all over my forehead. “I’m just…oh, sweet baby girl…”
“I’m going to be fine, Aunt Shellie.”
Mrs. Alexander came around to the right side of my bed while the others fanned out around the foot of the bed. She caressed my cheek. “Quinn, honey, I’m so glad to see you’re okay.” She leaned down and whispered in my ear, “My son’s life depended on it, my dear.”
I smiled up at her…or, I think I smiled at her, I wasn’t sure. My face was so battered and numb who knows what kind of facial expressions I was showing to the world.
“Oh, God, Q,” came Iz.
“You asshole,” came Ace, to which all the guys laughed, except Chase.
“It was all part of my wicked plant to ruin your Friday night sexual marathons,” I laughed out.
“Well, it worked. But maybe next time you try something less extreme, how about that?” Nick wrapped his arms around her as she started to tear up.
As a matter of fact, I noticed that Julian was holding Iz, and Michael was holding Aud. Everything looked as it should, except for Chase. He was standing off to the corner just watching me. He looked horrible and that’s saying something, because it would take a lot to make a man who looked like Chase look horrible.
“We’re so glad you’re going to be okay, Quinn,” Julian’s perfect voice soothed.
“So am I. I hear you guys are bullying surgeons all around the country,” I quipped.
Nick chuckled. “We have, we did and we’d do it again, Q.”
“Well, thank you. I’m not sure my SMA health insurance would have covered stubbornness.” It was the closest I came to admitting my stupidity.
Julian flashed his dimples at me. “We’ll have HR look into adding that to the policy later this week. Anything else that needs to be added?” he asked jokingly.
“Stupidity?”
“Can’t help you on that one, Q,” Nick stated. “There are too many stupid people in the world. We’d go under.”
“Good point.”
He winked at me. “But Chase has deep pockets. I’m sure he can pay for your stupidity out of pocket whenever need be.”
I laughed and my entire body protested. “Don’t make me laugh you fool!”
He didn’t look the least bit contrite. “Sorry, Q.”
I spent the next few minutes telling them everything the doctor had said and giving them each a recap of my injuries. They all asked questions and voiced their concerns. Well, all except Chase. He was still silently brooding in the cor
ner.
“I don’t know how long it’ll be before I can go back to work, but-”
“Don’t even finish that sentence, Q,” Ace interrupted. “You’ll go back when the doctor says you can and not a second sooner.”
“Okay Mom.”
“I’ll ‘okay mom’ you! You think you’re safe from us just because you’re momentarily handicapped? Puhlease…” she threatened as she rolled her eyes at me.
God, I loved these people.
“Well, as much as I live for your special kind of abuse, do you think you guys could get to going somewhere so I can have some alone time with Chase?”
Isabella gasped. “Quinn Tamara Erickson! Are you kicking us out for some sexy time with Chase?!”
“Yep,” I had no shame. Of course, it wasn’t true. I just wanted to be alone with him.
“Well, okay. If anyone deserves some penile attention, I suppose it’s you,” she acquiesced.
“Good Heavens,” Mrs. Alexander exclaimed at the same time Aunt Shellie uttered, “Sweet Jesus.”
They all said their goodbyes and showed me love before filing out the door like good little ducklings and eventually it was just me and Chase in the room. “We need to talk.”
Chase~
Fuck yeah we needed to talk.
I hadn’t said a word while everyone was here because I hadn’t trusted myself to speak. Granted I wasn’t shy around Julez and Nick and my mother and brother were no strangers to my issues, but Quinn’s sister and aunt had been in the room, and I didn’t know how much of our business Quinn would be comfortable with them knowing.
I walked towards the bed and stood over her right side. She looked so fucking broken it was tearing at my soul. Pissed off at me or not, she’s mine to take care of and I failed. I never should have let her take a cab. Fuck, there are just too many things I should have done differently.
“I don’t care how pissed off you are at me or how out of control the circus in your mind is, from now on, I will always make sure you get home safe.” It took everything I had to keep looking at her. Every bruise, scrape…every fucking mark on her body kept reminding me of how close I came to losing her.
“Chase…”
“No, Quinn. I’m done with the jumping to conclusions and going off half-cocked. And I’m sure in the fuck done with you pushing me away. You were so wrapped up in protecting yourself from losing me that you never once thought about what it would do to me if I lost you. Hell, what it would do to any one of us.”
Her good eye started to gloss over. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I envy Nick, you want to know why?” I ran my thumb back and forth over her forehead. “I envy him because while he has to live with what happened to Ace, he doesn’t have to live with the images of watching it happen.” I closed my eyes and took a second to compose myself before continuing. “Watching your cab get hit by a bus and then running helplessly as it rolled over and over is something that will forever be etched into my brain.” I searched her face for any sign that she understood just what I was feeling. “I already have the image of Eric beating Avery stuck in my head, now I have this one. But, God, Quinn, this one is so much worse for me because it’s you. I love Avery, but I’m in love with you. Her existence doesn’t dictate mine like yours does.”
She started to cry and I felt like such an ass for being the cause. The tremors from her cries had to hurt like a bitch. “I’m so sorry, Chase. I’m so sorry…for everything.”
I reached back and pulled a chair up to the bed and sat as I tried to sooth her. “Shhh, please don’t cry, babe. I didn’t say all that to make you cry. I just want you to really understand what you mean to me. I fucking love you, Quinn. I know you have doubts, but I really don’t care anymore. I know what I feel for you and you no longer have a say in where we go from here, baby.”
She let out a hard puff of a laugh, as I wiped away her tears. “No say, huh?”
I shook my head. “Absolutely no say whatsoever, Q.”
I watched as she took a tortured breath. “Surprisingly, I okay with that. Now, granted it could be the drugs being pumped into my veins talking, but that’s where I’m at right now.”
Only this woman would make a joke out of nearly dying on me. “Okay, but if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this the right way.” She curled her lips in and I had no doubt she was trying to keep herself from cussing me out. Quinn may be on board with us being a real couple now, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to fight me every step of the way for dominance. “It’s important to me that you believe everything I’m about to tell you, because it just is.” I didn’t give her a chance to respond. “I know I’ve said this before, but I’m going to say it again because I feel like it needs to be said. I have never cheated on you or even thought about cheating on you. You’ve had me stuck on stupid since the first night I met you. I contemplated kidnapping you for Christ’s sake, and if you don’t believe me, you can ask Nick and Julez. I’ve never wanted any woman the way I wanted you that night, the way that I still want you. That thing with Lydia was childish and just all around fucked up, but I swear to you, I will never play games with you like that ever again, Q.”
She didn’t say anything for a long time and it made me wonder if bringing up other women was a good idea, but then she spoke, “With the exception of the Lydia thing, you don’ t have anything to apologize for, Chase. I’m the one who kept assuming the worst when you never gave me a reason to. Maybe if I had been fair to you, the Lydia thing wouldn’t have ever happened.” She closed her eye and just let out the most tiresome sigh. “Maybe if I hadn’t been so hell bent on keeping you at arm’s length, I wouldn’t be in this goddamn hospital bed.”
I didn’t say anything, because there wasn’t really anything to say. We were both taking responsibility for the parts we played in this fucked up mess we made, and neither of us deserved any coddling over it. Quinn’s the best thing that ever happened to me and I almost blew it because I didn’t have confidence in how she said she felt about me and she didn’t have confidence in anything about me. “I’m waiting, Q.”
She opened her eye. “For?”
“For you to profess your undying love for me, what else?” I clarified.
“Seriously? Because I’m not in enough pain and anguish?” she retorted.
“I’ll show you pain and anguish,” I threatened.
“Ooohh, I didn’t know you were into that kind of sex play…”
“Quinn!!”
She laughed, and even though it was at my expense, the sound was so damn soothing to hear. “Okay, okay, you big baby.” She turned her head slightly so she was looking directly at me. “I’m saying this, not because you’re a bully and I no longer have a say in what we’re doing, but because it’s true. I love you, Chase. Well, I more than love you. I’m in love with you and being knocked around in that damn doomed cab made me realized how tragic my ending would have been if I had never been giving a second chance to tell you that. I would have met my maker letting you believe that you hadn’t been everything to me. And you are everything to me. You’re my family, my friend, my lover and my pain in the fucking ass…but you’re mine. I want you to be mine, just like I want so badly to be yours.”
I couldn’t stop my eyes from watering over even if I tried. I didn’t full on cry like a baby, but I wanted to.
She could have died.
“Well, shit’s going to change around here, woman.” She opened her mouth to argue, I’m sure, but I didn’t give her the chance. “Now, I might not be ready to put a ring on your finger, but I’m not going to abide by your let’s-keep-it-professional bullshit, either. That means that while I promise to try and not fuck you in the lobby or the breakrooms, if I see you on the elevator or pass you in the hallway, if I want to kiss your or touch you or just tell you I love you, then I will and you’re going to just have to deal.”
“Chase, we’ve talked about this before-”
“Yeah, and we both have fu
cked up since then. I just want there to be absolutely no confusion about where we’re going with this and what we mean to each other, Q.”
“Okay…well, from what I gather, you’re my boyfriend first and my boss second. We’re not ready to get engaged, but we will eventually be married sometime down the line and I’ll even pop out a kid or two for you. In the meantime, our relationship will consist of no more bullshit but a lot of nonsense, because we’re going to trust each other not to bolt no matter how ridiculous you get.”
“How ridiculous I get?”
“Oh, and sex. Lots and lots of animalistic sex,” she smirked.
I completely forgot about her ridiculous comment. “I’m so on board with the sex part.”
She yawned and my heart swelled with regret and remorse.” I’m going to get some rest, Chase. Why don’t you go home and get some too?”
“Because-”
“I’m going to manipulate you right now in saying that if you want me to rest, then I need you to go home and get some too or else I’ll worry, and then I won’t recover as quickly, and then that will lead me into a deep depression to which the girls will blame you, and then they’ll be sad, and then you’ll have to explain to Julian why you’re making Iz miserable. Is that really how you want to play this?”
“I’m not afraid of Julian,” I mumbled unconvincingly.
She snorted. “Quit your lying. We’re all scared of Julian.”
“Fine, but I’ll be back soon, okay?”
She nodded. “You better be.”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I love you, babe.”
She smiled…or at least, I think it was a smile. It was kind of hard to tell. “I love you, too, Chase.”
I walked out and made my way through the hospital to the front entrance to call a cab. Nick had driven my car home from Xavier’s, but because I hadn’t been home, I was carless. It bothered me to leave her, but it’s been three days. I knew the guys were handling my shit at the office, but I really did need to go home and eat and shower and just get some decent sleep. I wasn’t going to be any use to her when she came home if I was run ragged myself.
Chasing Quinn Page 28
