by A J Kent
“You knew where I was, get over it,” I tease.
“You also lied to me you little shit. Just a kiss in Vegas you say.”
My eyebrows fly up and my dick hardens at the thought of fucking Rory. I turn to face her and her face is bright red.
Shit.
We fucked, she said she wanted to be with me, she got kidnapped, I got shot and now we are here. How am I even going to broach the subject with her?
Henley looks over to Rory and then back to me, “I’m going to tell the doctor and everyone that you’re awake. I’m sure the doc will want to check that your head hasn’t doubled in size and grown too big for your fucking shoulders,” he laughs and waves goodbye to Rory before making a swift exit through the glass sliding doors.
Finally, a minute alone with the woman I’ve been longing for my whole life.
That reminds me, how long have I actually been here? I have lost a lot of time, I don’t even know what day it fucking is. I quickly shake the thought from my head and make a mental reminder to ask Rory for some more details later.
“So, do you come here often or hospitals kind of your thing?” I joke.
Rory shakes her head, her blonde hair falling loose from her hair tie. God, I can’t wait to get that hair in my hands.
“I’m hoping we don’t make it a regular occurrence. Especially considering I’m running low on kidneys to donate.”
What the fuck did she did say?
Did she really just say what I thought she said?
Rory had to donate a kidney.
Why the fuck did Rory have to donate a kid---
Oh shit. Rory donated a fucking organ to my sorry ass.
“Are you telling me that I have one of your kidneys inside of me right now?” I ask.
She nods, slowing pulling her top up so I can see the scar on her stomach, “Your one kidney was completely damaged when you were shot so that was not functional anymore and the other kidney was basically on its last legs. The doctor said you wouldn’t have been able to last long with the one you had left so they had no other choice. They needed to find you a kidney and as if by some stroke of luck, there happened to be a blonde who you grew up with that ended up being a perfect match.”
I cannot compute the words leaving her mouth right now.
Am I going deaf or am I hearing her perfectly clear? This woman gave me a fucking kidney. This woman saved my fucking life.
Wait, how is she out of bed if she gave me a kidney?
“You gave me a kidney Rory. How did you give me a fucking kidney and how aren’t you bed bound?”
“You needed one Theodore and I had one spare. I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for UNOS to find a match. You would have done the same for me. Also, the doctors let me go home early as I recovered quickly, and they said I was better suited to resting at home. That and I kept trying to escape from my bed to come and see you.”
Well I’m glad she cleared that up and she is damn right that I would have given her an organ if the roles were reversed. I would give Rory anything. Whatever she needed, I would provide her with it.
I hoist my body up slowly and lean my back against the bed frame and pillow so I can get a better look at the woman who saved my life.
My very own Queen in shining armour.
I scan my eyes up and down her body and my heart clenches, and not in the way I usually appreciate. Her arm is broken and is in a cast, her eyes are sporting some new fashion trend with the blue and purple bruising scattered under and around her eye sockets, she has stitches on her face, neck and arms and the way she is holding her body tells me that she has probably broken a rib or three.
How does she look worse than me when I’m the one who had to have an organ transplant and have wires supporting my body for several days?
“How hurt are you?” I ask, hoping that all her cuts and bruises are artificial.
She shrugs, “Physically I will get over it and heal. Mentally,” she pauses, “I am not quite put back together yet, but things are on the up.” She looks at me and smiles.
Man, that smile is enough to stop hearts.
The sliding of the glass door behind Rory pulls me out of my Rory induced haze and I move my eyes to the person coming through the door.
“Agent Riley,” the dark-haired man says as he carries a clip board in his hand, “I am Dr Vint. I’m the physician that has been overseeing your care since you were brought here six days ago.”
Well, I guess that answers one of my many questions.
“Nice to meet you Doc, thanks for taking care of me,” I say as he walks closer to the bed.
He smiles at Rory before removing the stethoscope from his neck and raises his one eyebrow at me.
“Go ahead,” I say as the doc pulls down my gown and places the cold medical instrument on my chest so he can hear my heartbeat and listen for any irregularities.
I look down and catch a glimpse of my abdomen, well that shit is going to take a lot of hard work to put back together.
“So how are you feeling Agent Riley,” I hold up my hand.
“Please, call me Theo. Any man that helps keep me alive and put me back together can definitely call me by my first name.”
He laughs and wraps the stethoscope back around his neck, “Okay, Theo. How are you? Are you experiencing any pain?” he pauses and looks at me, “Oh and by the way, I might have put you back together but that would not have been possible if it wasn’t for that special thing over there.”
He moves his eyes to Rory and gives her a big ass fucking smile before dropping his eyes to rake over her body.
It would almost make my heart swell with happiness someone saying such kind words about Rory if he wasn’t trying to get into her pants right now. Yes, I might be bed bound and out of the game for a while, but I can see when a man eye fucks a woman. It’s a look I frequent often whenever I lay my eyes on Rory.
Like I said, she’s the most beautiful woman in the world.
Rory’s cheeks flush and she looks at the floor, “I didn’t do anything special. I just did what any good person would have done.”
My Rory, so selfless. Always putting herself down instead of drinking up the accolades she deserves.
I scoff, “Please. You saved me so stop denying it and own it,” I say as I give her a wink. Her rosy lips part and I see her body tremble from my words.
The doc clears his throat, “Well?”
Oh fuck, he asked me a question, “Well my head feels like I’ve been hit a hundred times over with a sledgehammer, my body aches like hell and my insides feel like there’s a knife constantly stabbing them. Other than that, I am fine and dandy and ready to go home.”
The doc laughs and shakes his head, “One, you won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. You were shot and had an organ transplant. Two, I can prescribe medication for the headache and body pain and three, I would be surprised if your body felt any different. You endured a huge amount of trauma, more than the human body can withstand. To put things bluntly, if you got here any later you wouldn’t be lying in this bed right now. Instead you would be lying in a morgue.”
I would be lying in a morgue right now.
Fuck. Those words cut me deeper than the seething pain I am currently experiencing.
I better get myself acquainted with this bed then as it doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere, anytime soon.
At least it gives me enough time to think.
Enough time to think about how I am going to tell Rory that I am head over heels in love with her. Enough time to tell Rory I heard everything she said when she thought I was unconscious.
26
Rory
Four weeks.
Four agonising weeks.
It has been four weeks since my father was killed.
Four weeks since Theodore was shot and left to bleed out.
Four weeks since I nearly lost the man I’ve ever loved.
Four weeks since Theodore and I fucked in a stairwell in Vegas.
>
The man who nearly lost his life because he was trying to save me.
I would like to say that everyday has gotten better, I would like to say everyday has been easier to cope but that would be a big fat lie.
I’m struggling.
It is hard to admit that to myself but that is my reality.
I’m struggling to forget that I was kidnapped.
To forget that Theodore nearly died.
To forget that I told Theodore that I was madly in love with him.
To forget that we fucked.
Sure, I’ve kind of implied that I’m in love with him before but I’ve never uttered the words love and you in the same sentences. I’ve never said point blank that I love him.
At least that was the case until he was in a hospital bed fighting for his life.
I am trying to muster up the courage to tell him how I feel but I don’t think I can. I’m afraid. I’m afraid that he resents me. I’m afraid that he will never be able to forgive the fact that I put him in a situation where he was left fighting for his life.
I know that he said he would do anything to keep me safe. I know he said he would do anything to protect me, but I don’t think that included giving up his life for mine.
At least I hope that’s the case.
I know we were friends for a long time, and I know that he cared about me just as much as I cared about him, but I ran, I left him. I left him with no answers. I left him in the dark. I left him point blank and never looked back. He might not have known the real reason, but I still left him, and he still put his life on the line for mine. I know I would have done the same for him, but I can’t understand why he did it for me. I pushed him out, I pushed him away. He should hate me, loathe me, resent me.
He should not care about me.
To him I should have been the girl that ran away from him at the Lincoln Memorial on graduation night, not his best friend who he grew up with. I should have been dead to him.
I quickly pull my grey FBI sweatshirt over my head and walk across the hall to the bathroom I share with Lottie.
“Hey you. You ready to get back into the game?” Lottie asks as she teases the ends of her red hair with her hairbrush.
I turn the faucet on and splash some water onto my face, “I am so ready. Four weeks away has been far too long. I’ve been going stir crazy,” I admit as I pull my long blonde hair into a messy top knot.
Stir crazy is an understatement. I had a psych evaluation two weeks ago that cleared me for work, but my injuries kept me from being able to go back into the field.
Lottie laughs and turns to face me, “Are you looking forward to seeing him?’
I suck in a breath, ‘I didn’t know Theodore was coming back today? He didn’t tell me this.”
Why am I only finding this out now? I’ve not seen him for over a week and half because he’s been at home recovering and I didn’t want to get in the way despite his many attempts to get me over there, but we have been texting and talking on the phone every available moment. This is something I should know. Bloody Theodore.
She shrugs, “Henley said his doctor cleared him. He’s not allowed to be in the field, but he can consult and use that pretty head of his to help. Besides, we still have surveillance and intelligence to complete for our training, so he won’t be putting himself under too much stress. I thought you would already know this?” she questions.
I agree. I should already know this. Why did he not tell me?
“I’ve spoken to him every single day, I don’t know why he hasn’t told me this.”
So, Theodore has been hiding information from me for the past few days. Wonderful. Absolutely fucking wonderful. I’ve told him everything since I was discharged from hospital. I’ve told him all about my nightmares when I’ve woken up screaming and crying, I’ve told him about the dark thoughts I’ve been having, and I’ve told him that I see my father everywhere I go. He knows everything. If I was able to tell him all about my struggles, my worries, my anxieties, why didn’t he disclose that simple piece of information to me.
I admitted that I feel weak, vulnerable and powerless.
What if he doesn’t see me as the same person anymore? What if he is trying to avoid me?
I definitely won’t be telling him how I feel now.
He’s clearly hiding something.
I shake the thoughts from my head and splash some more water in my face before heading to Lottie’s car. No more than thirty minutes later we are pulling into the parking lot of Quantico. I jump out of the car and pull my backpack out from the footwell before heading towards the staff and new recruits’ entrance.
You can do this.
You are strong, you are safe.
He’s dead. He’s not going to hurt you anymore.
I briefly close my eyes and take a deep breath.
You can do this.
I repeat the words over and over in my head until we reach the elevator. Lottie reaches out and presses the button and the doors ping open not even a second later. As the doors open, I nearly fall to my knees.
This man has me on my knees in ways I don’t want to be.
Lottie clears her throat and my favourite pair of emerald green eyes looks up from his phone and looks directly at Lottie and me.
That’s a lie, he looks directly at me and my heart skips a beat.
“I just remembered I left something in the car,” Lottie says before quickly turning on her heels, heading for the door we just entered through.
Traitor.
I’m not nervous but I don’t trust my mouth not to run away with word vomit and tell Theodore how much I love him and want to be with him for the rest of my life.
I sigh before stepping into the elevator. I lean forward and press the number for my floor before I notice that it is already lit up. Crap, he literally got in as we got here. He’s not getting out, he’s going up.
Fuck my life.
The doors slowly close and the elevator starts to move slowly.
“Rory,” Theodore says as he leans against the metal bar to his left.
“Theodore,” I reply quickly.
I never thought I was claustrophobic, but the way the walls of this elevator are closing in on me right now, I think I may be.
He shakes his head and slips his cell into his pocket, “Are you done avoiding me or is that little game of yours still in full swing?” he asks.
What the fuck.
This man had the audacity to work out my plan and call me out on it. Sure, it wasn’t a well thought through plan, but I didn’t think he would be so quick to work me out.
Who am I kidding? I knew he would work out my plan as soon as I refused to go and see him the last week.
“I’m not avoiding you,” I lie, “I wanted you to recover without people being around you constantly.”
He laughs before leaning across me to pull the emergency stop button on the elevator.
What the fuck is this man playing at? Who’s playing the games now.
“What are you doing?” I ask as I turn my body to face him.
“We are not leaving here until you admit why you’ve been avoiding me. You can either tell me Rory or I’ll get it out of you,” he warns.
Gulp.
I’m curious, how does he intend on getting it out of me?
He could fuck me again. I would definitely be game for that.
Okay Rory, think. Think how you can outsmart the smartest person you’ve ever met.
How can you outsmart the genius?
“Theodore, are you sure you should be back here so soon?” I question.
Not my best work at changing the subject but as long as it gets the spotlights off me, I do not care how this pans out.
He laughs, “Rory, you can try to dodge the question as many times as you like. We will not be stepping off of this elevator until you tell me what your problem is. You were there when I woke up, you stuck around to make sure I was okay, you were around for a little bit and then you v
anished. Why?”
Oh, I don’t know, because I nearly got you killed, and I love you so much that it hurts.
“I didn’t vanish,” I protest.
I was just doing what was best for him. I’ve always done what’s best for him. Anything I’ve ever done has been for him. I left D.C. after senior graduation for him, I didn’t make contact for years for him, I stayed away for him.
It has always been for him, my Theodore.
“Rory,” he whispers as he picks up my hand and holds it in his, “I know what you’re doing. You think you’re protecting me by staying away, you think I’ll be safe and better off if you stay away, but you’ve never been more wrong.”
I’ve never been more wrong.
“What do you mean I’ve never been more wrong?” I ask.
He circles his thumb on my hand before looking at me directly in the eye, “Now that you’re back in my life, I’m never letting you go. I’m not losing you again. You can try to push me away as much as you want but I’ll keep coming back. I’ll keep coming back for you.”
He’ll keep coming back.
He does care about me. Does that mean he might want more? Is he trying to tell me something? Is he trying to tell me that he feels the same way about me as that would make things a lot easier.
Does this mean that he wants me?
“I wasn’t trying to vanish. I just thought you’d be safer without me. I didn’t want you to get hurt again. I wanted you to recover and heal. I wanted you to be better and I thought I would stop that from happening,” I admit.
He closes his eyes briefly, “Rory, you weren’t the one that hurt me. You weren’t the one that put me in that hospital bed. You didn’t tell me to walk into a building without backup. I made my own decisions. I made my own choices. I took my own path. The only thing that connects you to all this is that my path was leading to you. I was going to save you. I was always going to protect you. When will your pretty little head realise that?”
His decisions.
His choices.
His path.
He was always going to save me. He was always going to protect me.
“I was just afraid. I thought it would be better if I kept my distance. I thought you didn’t want me around. I thought you might have hated me, resented me. I thought you might have blamed me for what happened. I know that was silly of me, but I thought it was the right thing to do.”