by Lisa Suzanne
My parents sat with Grant while I continued pacing. I heard Grant say, “They’re dating.”
I whirled around at that. “We’re more than ‘dating,’ Grant. I love him.”
Three pairs of stunned eyes turned to me.
“You love him?” Grant asked.
“Yes.” My voice was firm and adamant.
Because the moment I saw him loaded onto a gurney and then taken away in an ambulance, I knew for sure that I was in love with him.
That tingly feeling I always had in my chest died when I saw him lying there on the sidewalk. Hell, it died anytime he wasn’t around.
That was love.
He made me feel like I’d never felt – every range of emotion from lust to annoyance to obsession to peace and everything in between.
That was love.
The way his blue eyes calmed me when he wasn’t even around.
That was love.
And the way he made love to me… that was most definitely love.
The doctor finally came out to talk to us. “Reed Porter’s family?”
I stood, and then the rest of my family did.
“I’m his girlfriend,” I said. Grant nudged me, clearly noticing the first time I’d referred to myself as his girlfriend. But I was too scared to realize what I’d even said. I just needed answers.
“Does he have any family here?”
“We’re his family,” Grant said. “Is he going to be okay?”
The doctor smiled, and I let out a whoosh of breath.
“He has sustained multiple injuries including broken ribs, a broken nose, and a mild concussion. He’s pretty banged up, but with plenty of rest, he’s going to be fine. He was awake and lucid, but we gave him painkillers that should knock him out for the rest of the night. We’re keeping him just the night for observations because of the concussion, but I anticipate that we will release him early tomorrow.”
“Thank God,” I said, tears once again falling involuntarily from my eyes.
Seriously. I was the girl who never cried. I was tough as nails. I was the one who made other people cry.
What the fuck had Reed – love – done to me?
“Can I see him?” I sobbed to the doctor.
“Of course. Right this way,” he said, and he led me back while the rest of my family stood in the waiting room.
The doctor led me down a hallway to a private room. He pointed out the room to me, and he let me go in by myself.
I was nervous to see him in a hospital bed. He’d always been so… preppy and strong.
I walked quietly into the room and saw him lying there. He looked weak, but considerably cleaned up. Blood wasn’t dripping from anywhere anymore. He had a white bandage around his head and stitches in the cut above his eye. Both of his eyes were shadowed with bruises, and I could see a fresh bruise on his jaw, too.
I didn’t want to hurt him or disturb him, but I wanted to feel him against me.
“Who did this to you, Reed?” I whispered, finally voicing the question that had been in my head since I had first seen him in that alley. “What the hell happened?”
I pulled a chair right up against his bed and sat. I took his hand in mine and leaned down, pressing our joined hands to my forehead as sobs racked my body. I heard a machine beeping beside me, knowing it signified his still strong heartbeat.
He was going to be okay.
“I love you,” I whispered, bringing our joined hands to my lips and knowing I’d never have the nerve to say it if he was conscious.
“What’s with all the crying?” I heard a scratchy voice followed by a pained moan.
I dropped his hand, shocked that he was awake after the doctor had said he’d be out for the night. “Hey, you. How are you feeling?” I glanced up at his face. He didn’t open his eyes.
“Like I got hit by a train.”
“Want me to get the nurse?”
“No.” He paused, his eyes still closed. “I heard what you said.”
A jolt lanced through my chest and my heart flipped. “What I said?” I knew what he was talking about. He was talking about my declaration of love. And I was mortified.
Until his next words.
“Look at me, Quinn.”
I did. His eyes were open, and even though they were rimmed in black and blue and red, the irises were still that deep blue that I had fallen head over heels for.
“I love you, too.”
My heart flipped again as butterflies beat everywhere inside of me. My heart swelled with love for this beautiful, now broken, man.
I stood and leaned over him, kissing him above his right eye, not wanting to disturb any of his injuries. He closed his eyes and sighed, wincing from the deep breath, and then he fell back asleep.
I still had no answers as to what had happened.
I was terrified. My neighborhood had always been a safe place, and the eerie thought crept into my mind that this hadn’t been a random act of violence.
My breath caught in my throat as an even worse thought entered my mind, but as soon as I thought it, I knew that it had to be true. There was no doubt in my mind that it was true.
I could only think of one person capable of something like this.
Only one person was vindictive and malicious enough to do this, and he was the one who had been ready to brawl the night before.
I knew before I even had to hear it out of Reed’s mouth that Tyler was the one who had done this.
I left Reed sleeping and headed back out to the waiting area.
“He’s going to be okay,” I whispered.
My mom hugged me. “You love him?” she asked.
I nodded.
“I’m so glad you found someone like him, Quinn.”
“Me, too.”
“What do you think happened?” Grant asked me.
“Someone obviously kicked his ass. I have an idea who it might be, and I’m going to go find out.”
Grant narrowed his eyes at me. “How could you possibly know?”
I lowered my eyes to the ground, unable to meet the eyes of my family as I realized for perhaps the first time that this was all my fault.
Holy shit.
This was my fault.
If Tyler had kicked the shit out of Reed, it was because of me.
Reed had gotten hurt – once again – because of me.
“Grant, how did you know to call me?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Reed had called me to, uh…” he paused, glancing at my parents. “To discuss a work issue. He had gotten to the pizza place and had to get off the phone. My phone rang just before I called you, and it was the sheriff. He dialed the last number that had been called on Reed’s phone to notify me that he’d been found in an alley, but he wouldn’t give me more details.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that when you called me?”
“Because I didn’t know what I was walking into, and I didn’t want to scare you more than you already were.”
Tears formed in my eyes. “Oh, Grant,” I whispered, and then I flew into my brother’s arms.
We weren’t emotional, public display of affection type people. But something about the way my big brother had just confessed that he had been looking out for me made my heart swell with love for the second time that night.
I really had an amazing family. And an amazing boyfriend.
Boyfriend.
I liked the way it sounded.
I liked the way it sounded all the way until the reminder popped into my mind that it may have been because of his girlfriend that Reed was lying in a hospital bed.
“Are you staying?” Grant asked me.
“Yeah. I can’t just leave him here all alone.”
“You sure?”
I nodded.
“I’ll stay with you.”
I shook my head. “You go home. Get some rest. I’ll just need you to pick me up tomorrow because I don’t have a car here.”
“We can get your car,” my mom volun
teered, and I smiled in her direction gratefully.
We arranged the logistics, and my parents left to go get my car. My brother made sure that I was really okay, and I was. The panic had passed, and now vengeance was on my brain. Well, vengeance and finding out the truth.
Grant wanted to go see him before he left. As soon as he made his way down the hallway, I pulled my phone out and pulled up Tyler’s contact. “Talented Tyler Bartender.”
I glared at the screen as a severe hatred started filling my blood.
This was the guy I had done casual with for the past six months.
I was accusing him in my mind of something horrible with zero evidence, but the events of the past twenty-four hours spoke for themselves.
I went outside before I called. I was worked up, and I didn’t think it would be smart to make a call that could potentially end with me yelling in the middle of a hospital waiting room.
I clicked the call button, and Tyler’s voice answered after three rings.
“Hey, babe.”
“Where were you tonight?” I demanded.
“I’ve been at the bar.”
“All night?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“You fucking know why!” I screamed at him.
“Whoa, Quinn. Calm the fuck down. What’s going on?”
It was all an act. I was certain of it.
“You beat the shit out of Reed and left him in a fucking alley!”
“What are you talking about?”
“Prove that you were at the bar all night.”
“Fuck off.”
“You can’t, can you? Because you left to finish what you started last night!”
“I’m done with this call. Lose my number.”
He hung up on me, the fucking asshole.
I was seething with anger. Shaking. So fucking angry that I didn’t even feel my brother’s arm wrap around my shoulder.
“You okay, Curley Q?”
“No, I’m not. This is all my fault.”
“What happened?”
“He and Tyler got in a fight over me last night.”
Grant chuckled.
“What?”
“Yeah, Reed got his ass kicked because of you.”
I turned to look at my brother. He thought this was funny.
“I’m back to hating you.”
“I always hated you,” he said, and he mussed my hair and I couldn’t help but laugh. Falling back into our teasing felt good. It felt natural after our rough night.
“Quinn, they’re both lucky that you even looked in their direction. You can’t blame yourself for what happened.”
“Yeah, I’m sure Reed feels really lucky right about now.”
“Reed’s passed out. He’ll be okay. It’ll take time to heal, but in a few weeks, he’ll be back to normal.”
“He can stay with me while he recovers.”
“Stairs will be tough for him for the first few days. Besides, I’ve got more room at my place.”
“Then can I stay with you? I’d like to take care of him.” My voice was soft.
His arm tightened around my shoulder. “Of course, Curley. Stay as long as you want.”
I turned into him and gave him a hug just as my parents walked up from the parking lot. They handed me my keys, and then they left and my brother did, too.
I headed back up to Reed’s room and sat in the chair next to his bed for a while, pondering everything that got us here.
I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do about Tyler, but I was starting to form a few ideas.
CHAPTER 18
I woke up stiff from sleeping in a chair all night. What should have been the second night Reed and I spent together at my place had turned into me keeping vigil at Reed’s hospital bedside. I fell asleep at some point, but not for very long.
I was honestly just happy to be next to Reed.
Morning was a flurry of activity in the hospital room. I was dying to ask him what had happened, but I didn’t get the chance as the doctor came in to check him again, the nurse came in to explain his medications. Then he had to fill out what seemed like endless paperwork.
He was discharged, and when he stood, he immediately sat again, groaning as he grimaced with pain. Even on the painkillers he’d been prescribed, he was still in a lot of pain. A nurse helped him into a wheelchair, and he didn’t fight her. She wheeled him to the exit, and I walked beside him, not exactly knowing my place.
I pulled my car up, and the nurse helped him in. I studied the way she handled him so I’d be able to mimic her actions when he needed me. We headed toward my brother’s house.
“Are you ready to talk about what happened?” I finally asked.
He sighed heavily, the weight of the world on his shoulder.
“Do you remember what happened?” I tried a different approach.
“Yes.”
“Yes, you remember? Or yes, you want to tell me about it?”
“Both.” He paused. “I was jumped and dragged into the alley. I tried to fight him off, but he took me by surprise from behind.”
“He?”
“I never saw his face. But I know who it was.”
“How do you know?”
“The things he said.”
“What did he say?” I asked, carefully keeping my eyes on the road, afraid to look over and see the physical signs of his pain that I caused.
He lowered his voice. “He said that if he couldn’t have you, I couldn’t either.”
“Tyler,” I whispered.
I glanced over at Reed, and he nodded.
“I’m so sorry, Reed.”
“For what?”
“This is my fault.”
“Shut up, Quinn.”
“Don’t pretend like it’s not true.”
“It’s not. I brought this on myself when I decided I wanted to fight for you.”
I let it go for the moment, but it was on my mind. He was wrong. He hadn’t brought it on. If I hadn’t kissed Tyler two nights earlier, none of this would have happened.
Instead I was driving a very broken Reed back to Grant’s house so I could take care of him while he healed.
We were quiet the rest of the ride back, mostly because I didn’t want to disturb him when his eyes were closed and I thought he might be sleeping.
Grant was home, so he helped Reed out of the car and to his room, and I followed rather helplessly. My entrance into Reed’s room marked the first time I was in there. It was the first time I was actually getting a glimpse into the man who I now called my “boyfriend,” and that thought struck me as odd. Apart from the basics, I really knew very little about Reed. I knew how he made me feel, and I knew how he felt about me. Those were the things that were most important, but so was knowing that he cheered for the Badgers and he was a Green Bay Packers fan and his favorite band was Imagine Dragons. These were the small anecdotes I picked up just from walking into his room. A framed University of Wisconsin Madison baseball jersey hung on one wall. A Packers t-shirt was draped over a chair in front of a desk with a laptop on it. A signed Imagine Dragons CD sat on his dresser. These were things that showed me new insight into the man I had suddenly found myself in love with.
“Badgers?” I finally teased once he settled into his bed.
“I played for them in college.”
I melted into a puddle of lust. I walked around his bedroom and checked things out, not sure where the line was drawn for me. Was I getting too personal? Or was I allowed to do that after we’d declared our love to each other the night before? It was a fine line, but it was a line I was carefully balancing on.
He was lying in bed, propped up against his headboard, watching me.
“Can I get you anything?” I asked. I’d already brought him water from the kitchen while Grant had helped him get settled in.
“Come here,” he commanded quietly.
I followed his instruction and stood at the side of his bed. He took my hand in his and yanked my hand
slightly, and I sat on the bed. He winced; I stood back up.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Being so far away from you hurts more.”
I grinned. “Cheesy line.”
“I’m the master of them. Lay down.”
I snuggled into his side carefully. I wanted to throw my arms around him and squeeze him, but I knew it would only hurt his ribs.
I kissed his neck where my lips ended up, and he took a deep breath that was cut short with a slight gasp.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. Just hurts to breathe.”
“God, Reed.”
“Stop blaming yourself.”
“I didn’t even say that.”
“You were thinking it. Stop it.”
I wanted to stop, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t stop picturing Tyler as he attacked Reed when he was vulnerable. I couldn’t stop seeing Reed unconscious on the ground, helpless and covered in blood.
I couldn’t help thinking about how I could have somehow stopped this from happening.
“Are you going to press charges?” I asked.
I was met with silence, and when I looked up at his face, I realized that he had fallen asleep.
I supposed I’d have to ask again whenever he woke up.
I left him to sleep and found my brother on the couch playing a video game. He paused it when I walked in.
“How’s he doing?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Good as can be expected, I guess.”
“Did he talk about it yet?”
“A little on the car ride here.” I sat on the far end of the couch. “It was Tyler.”
“For sure?”
“He didn’t see his face, but he heard his voice.”
“Fucking asshole.”
“Tell me about it. I called him last night, and—”
“You called him last night?”
I nodded.
“That was stupid, Quinn.”
“Why?”
“Because now you’ve tampered with the investigation.”
“He denied it. He lied and said he had been at the bar all night.”
“Then how does Reed know for sure it was him?”
“The things he said.”
“Such as?”
“That if he couldn’t have me, Reed couldn’t, either.”
Grant stood and headed toward the kitchen counter, where he picked up his car keys.
“Where are you going?”