Leo was breathless and nervous, but he was doing his best to stay calm and comfort me.
"Pauly's driving fast. We're gonna make it in thirty minutes, no problem. Mickey's gonna have the doctor waiting at his house when we get there." There was another long pause. "Okay, Mickey's got some instructions. First off, we need to remain calm. We're doing that, Mickey. Then we need to take off any restrictive clothes." He looked at me. "You should probably pull off your shoes and socks. And Mickey's saying for you to put your leg down where the bite's below your chest."
I lowered my leg to the floor again.
"He said we could tie a loose tourniquet around your leg, but make sure not to get it too tight."
"The whole point of a tourniquet is that it's tight, Leo," the driver (who I now knew was named Pauly) said from the front seat.
"Shut up, Pauly, I’m trying to listen to Mickey here. (Pause) We just need to keep her calm and get her to Mickey's house fast."
"I'm going as fast as I can without getting us pulled over," Pauly said.
***
An unknown amount of time passed as the venom took hold of me. I remember some of the events, but a lot of it was blurry. I'm relatively sure I had some sort of anxiety attack through most of it, because I had cold sweats and felt like my heart was about to beat out of my chest. It felt as though I had completely lost control of my body.
I remember bits and pieces of arriving at Mickey's, meeting the doctor, getting an IV, and getting settled into a bed. I drifted in and out of consciousness, but remember feeling surprised by being in a nice, clean place instead of a rundown shack like I expected to be held during a kidnapping.
The doctor told me that his intention was to give me the antivenin I needed. He stated that he had some sort of plan that included giving it to me at a certain pace, but I didn't really care what he was saying. I heard parts of various conversations, but never the whole thing. I knew I was tied to the bed. I remember someone saying that. But I was comfortable and didn't feel much like moving anyway.
I remember what it felt like when I woke up for the first time and could actually think straight. I immediately had a sense of relief like I might live through the experience.
I took in my surroundings. I was in a nice bedroom lying in one of two twin beds with lots of pillows stacked up behind my back. It took me a few seconds to comprehend that I was hearing voices, but once I did, my sense of relief multiplied by a thousand. There were male voices, and I clearly heard someone say the name Brock as if they were addressing a person who was in the room.
I tried to make out what they were saying but couldn’t. I looked around again, assessing my position and wondering whether or not I had the strength to get up. I had an IV in my arm and was strapped to the bed with those official looking straps like you'd imagine they'd use in an insane asylum.
I wanted to yell out to let them know I was awake, but I couldn’t find my voice right away. Just as I was clearing my throat, the door to my room flung open, and I saw my knight in shining armor standing in the doorway. I tried to smile at him, but I knew even as I did it that I was pitiful looking.
His expression grew livid as he took me in. "You have her strapped to the bed?" he asked, whispering and screaming at the same time to whoever was standing next to him.
"It was for her own good… so she didn't pull out the IV," the person said.
Brock crossed to me without hesitation and began gently unlatching the restraints. The doctor and a man I thought I vaguely recognized as Mickey joined him in the room.
"I'd like to watch her for a few more hours," the doctor said.
"Well, you can watch her without these things," Brock said, through gritted teeth. He got one of my arms loose, and stooped to my side, looking me in the eyes for the first time. He stared at me as if gauging if I was alert and aware of his presence.
"I'm so glad you're here," I whispered in a barely-there voice.
He touched my forehead, smoothing my hair and looking me over with great concern. His face was the best thing I could possibly see upon waking up. I watched the spot by his temple flex as he gritted his teeth.
"I feel better now," I whispered, trying to assure him I was okay.
He smiled at me, but it didn't reach his eyes. I knew he was mad. He stood and reached over me to unlatch the other strap.
"I don't recommend you leaving right now," the doctor said. "I'd like to watch her a little bit longer to make sure she doesn't need any more anti—"
Brock cut him off. "We'll stay while you watch her, but she's not staying strapped to this bed."
Brock grabbed a chair from along the wall and set it right next to the bed near my arm—the one that didn't have the IV. He picked up my arm, holding it gently in his hands before interlacing his fingers with mine and letting our hands rest comfortably on the bed together.
"This will all be over before you know it," he assured me. He did his best to smile, but I knew he was upset. The muscles in his jaw and temple moved as he stared at Mickey who was standing across the bed.
"We need to get a few things straight, Mr. Silliman," Brock said calmly.
Mickey asked the doctor to leave the room for a minute, which he did. "We didn't mean for the girl to get harmed," was the first thing Mickey said when the door closed. "It was an accident."
"I think we both know it never would've happened if you hadn't taken her in the first place."
"That’s true, but we had no intention of harming her."
Brock took a deep breath as if he was trying to remain calm. "Okay, I'm gonna say some things right now, and you're gonna keep your mouth shut and listen to them. I don't really care what you intended. She got hurt, and it happened when she was being taken against her will."
"We knew it was the only way we could get you to fight."
Brock put his hand up and closed his eyes, patiently telling Mickey to be quiet. "Listen closely to what I'm saying here, Mickey. My brother has your address. He knows exactly where I am, and will have the police all over your house if I don't call him in the next few minutes to check in."
"I have no intentions of you not making it home safely, Brock. If I meant any harm to the girl, I wouldn't have called you. I wouldn't have gotten her the medical attention she needed."
"I would appreciate it if you stop pretending that you have some moral code because I know you don't. You called me because you were scared she was dying and you knew I'd figure out you had her. I made it perfectly clear that I was not going to fight for you. Not this weekend or ever."
"I just need you to show everybody that it wasn't a fluke," Mickey said. "I got every millionaire in Texas wanting to come see you fight. You stand to make a bigger payday than you'd see in a year of building furniture."
Brock took a long, deep breath like he was trying really hard to hold on to his last shred of patience. He smiled at Mickey, but it was one of those smiles that said he was about to explode. "Mr. Silliman, I can appreciate that you enjoy watching fights and that you like making money. But I made it perfectly clear that last month's fight was a one-time thing." He leveled the man with a fierce stare. "I need to explain something to you right now," he continued, in a calm, measured tone. "Under no circumstances will I fight for you again. I told you that before, and my mind cannot be changed—not for any amount of money. I feel no obligation to comply with anything you ask of me. I didn't feel it the last time either. The only reason I went along with it was because I thought it'd be a quick, easy way to get the ring back without having to hurt anyone. As far as my girl goes… you do not want to find out what will happen if you or anyone associated with you ever, and I mean ever, lays a finger on her again." He paused and took a calming breath before continuing. "Please understand that I'm a Christian now, and I'm trying my best not to brutally murder anyone, but let me assure you, you do not want to find out what I'm capable of, Mr. Silliman. You really have no idea who you're messing with. I am a dangerous man, and I have lots of connectio
ns. I will not hesitate to unleash on you and yours if you come anywhere near Trish again." Brock stared at Mickey from across the bed. It was one of those long, knowing stares where he let Mickey see just how serious he was. "I need your word that you'll never touch this girl again."
"I'll never touch her again," Mickey said defensively.
"I also need you to leave me alone about your stupid fights."
"Fine," Mickey said with his hands raised in surrender.
"And you can tell your wife she's not getting her chair." Brock added. "I was almost done with it, but you relinquished your right to it when you pulled this crap."
I wondered what he meant by that, but I didn't ask.
"Come on!" Mickey pleaded. "She was looking forward to getting that."
"You're gonna have to buy it for her, then."
"How much?"
"Four grand."
"How's about three?"
Brock closed his eyes and shook his head. "You're really testing me right now, Mickey."
"Fine, we'll do four. Just don't sell it to someone else. She's got a space cleared for it and everything."
Brock didn't acknowledge his statement. "I'd appreciate it if you left us alone," he said. "Send the doctor in if you don't mind. I'd like to speak with him."
Mickey left without another word.
Chapter 17
"What time is it?" was the first thing I asked when Brock and I were in the room alone. I felt tired and still somewhat light headed.
"It's 2am," he said without looking at a clock or a watch. "Here, scoot over so I can lay by you. We'll see if we can get some rest before I take you home."
I pushed over to the edge of the bed to make room for him. He stretched out on his back and I snuggled up to him, resting my head on his chest.
"Be careful of that IV," he said as I got adjusted.
"I am."
I breathed a long sigh of relief once I was settled next to him. He smelled like the shower gel I bought him. "You smell good," I said.
He put his hand on my head and absentmindedly rubbed my hairline with his thumb. "You scared me to death," he said.
The way my ear was positioned on his chest caused me to hear his voice differently. It was low and rumbly and sounded like music to my ears.
"I feel a lot better than I did, but I don't know if that doctor knows what he's talking about," I said.
"Why do you say that?" he asked.
I could tell he was alarmed at the thought, so I quickly added, "I don't think it matters since whatever he's doing seems to be working, but he calls it antivenin with an N instead of antivenom."
I felt the tension leave Brock's chest after I explained. He breathed a sigh and began rubbing my head again.
"That's the real name of it," he said. "It's mispronouncing it to call it antivenom with an M—although I doubt anyone would correct you on it since just about everyone calls it that."
"Really?" I asked, lifting my head up. "It's venin with an N?"
He smiled and nodded.
"What's the stuff that goes into you from the snake? Is that with an N or M?"
"That's Venom with an M."
"But antivenom is really antivenin?"
He smiled. "Yep."
"You're so smart," I said, going back to my resting position. We stayed there for a minute or two without speaking. I was feeling better but definitely still felt woozy.
"I got to see my grandma," I said.
"What's that mean?"
"When I was sleeping just now. I got to see my grandma—my dad's mom. We called her Maw-maw. She's the one who gave me the ring. A good amount of my warm, cozy memories as a child involve her. She died when I was in high school. Anyway, I got to hug her for a long time. It was amazing. I've never had a dream so real. It must have been whatever chemicals I have going on right now."
He rubbed my head again. "That's the sweetest thing I've ever heard," he said.
"It was really sweet," I said. "It felt good. She's someone I really miss on this earth, you know?"
"What'd she say to you?"
"Nothing. We didn't talk. She was sitting in a chair, and I was kneeling down in front of her. I just rested on her lap for the longest time while she rubbed my head kind of like you're doing now. I miss her a lot. It felt really good."
"I'm so glad you weren't scared," he said.
I smiled against his chest even though he couldn't see me. "I think Leo was more scared than I was. You should have seen him. He was sweating bullets."
"I can't believe they came and got you like that."
"I don't think they meant any harm."
"It doesn’t make it right."
"I know, but I'm okay now."
We heard a few knocks on the door before it slowly opened. The doctor peeked his head in before coming to stand near my bedside to check my vitals. He said they were stable but that he'd like to watch me for at least a few more hours. He explained that there was a slim chance that I would have an allergic reaction to the antivenin within the next week and that I should seek emergency medical attention if I started having hives or trouble breathing.
I really didn't feel like hearing any of that right then, so I just sort of zoned out and let Brock take care of listening to his instructions. He administered one last low dose of antivenin before leaving the room so we could get some rest.
"Are you comfortable enough to sleep like this, or do you want me to move to the other bed?" Brock asked.
"You must be kidding," I said, lazily without taking my head off of his chest.
"You're good?"
"Most comfortable ever."
He rubbed my head again.
"I was gonna try to kiss you tonight." I said.
"What?" I felt him tense like he was straining to look down at me.
I just kept my head where it was. "I thought I might try to kiss you tonight when I went over to your house," I said. "Leo and them busted up my plans."
"Oh, now I'm really gonna hurt 'em," Brock said.
I giggled silently. "I think you should know that I really like you," I said. "I know I said I wanted to get to know each other as friends or whatever, and I'm still good with that, but after everything that just happened, I sort of feel like I should say how I feel… cause you never know what the next moment holds or whatever. Anyway, I like you, Brock. I liked you from the very beginning, I just felt like I needed to stop being in such a hurry or whatever. I'm not saying we need to be in a hurry now or anything—I just thought I should tell you that I like you, you know, in case you didn't know." I lifted my head from his chest just enough to barely peer up at him. "Did any of that make any sense?"
He didn't say anything right away, he just held me tightly. I rested my head on his chest again, relishing in the rise and fall of it as he breathed steadily.
"Are you gonna say anything?" I asked after a few long seconds of silence.
"I want to say that I like you back, but somehow that doesn't seem like enough. I'm just lying here trying to figure out how to put my feelings into words. Let me start by saying I love that one of the first things out of your mouth after this messed up situation was that you got to hug your grandma. That right there says a lot about who you are. You find something positive even in the worst situations."
"It's not so bad when I have a handsome hero coming to rescue me," I said, snuggling next to him. "And it was really hot to hear you tell Mickey about how dangerous you were."
His chest shook with laughter. "Mickey doesn't know the half of it," he said. "He's lucky you're doing better and that you're being so positive about the whole thing. When I first saw you lying here, I had plans to—" he trailed off. "Let's just say it was Mickey's lucky day."
"See?" I said. "That's hot how you're so confident. You're like my own personal bodyguard."
He breathed a little laugh. "I didn't do too good of a job last night."
"I should have known better than to pullover on a deserted road. My stepdad always
told me that if a cop tried to pull me over, I should go to the nearest public place."
"They pulled you over?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"They had a cop car?"
"It was a black SUV, but they had a light and sirens and a loud speaker and everything."
He let out a sigh. "I seriously want to punish them," he said. "Don't you think God would want me to—you know, like righteous anger or whatever?"
I knew him well enough to know that he was mostly joking by saying that, so I giggled a little. "I don't want you to punish anyone."
"Not even a little?" he asked hopefully, causing me to laugh again.
"Not even a little."
"What about them making me miss out on that kiss? Don't I get to punish them for that?"
I smiled. "No."
"That doesn’t seem fair."
"What about if I make it up to you?" I asked.
"You mean a rain check?"
"Yeah."
"How long do I have to wait for that?"
I smiled against his chest again. "Probably not too long. Maybe just till I'm not full of rattlesnake stuff."
"Well, just so you know, I'm ready when you are. I keep remembering the times that it already happened. I've been trying to give you space since that's what you wanted, but just so you know, it's hard."
I was delighted with his words. I wished I had been recording them so I could listen to them again and again once I wasn't so out of it.
"I just wanted to do things right and take it slow. You know, so we could get to know each other."
"You're probably right about that, but it doesn't change the fact that it's been really hard."
"You've been wanting to kiss me?" I asked feeling like I could explode from sheer joy.
His chest shook as he laughed again. "That's an understatement, Trish. It's literally all I can do not to kiss you. I want to touch you and hold you so bad every time I see you; it feels like I could go crazy with it. Don't get me wrong; I love getting to know you. I love that we're compatible on levels other than physical attraction, but you should definitely know that I'm counting every second until you give me permission to touch you again." He paused and squeezed me. "I'm getting a little satisfaction from this right here," he said.
Finally My Happy Ending (Meant for Me Book 3) Page 12