by K E Osborn
Alana nods and smiles. “Perfect. Now let’s pull up a chair and spend some quality time with our favorite girl.”
“Sounds like the best idea I’ve heard all day.”
We spent a good couple of uninterrupted hours in the room with Effa, talking to her, and just watching her vitals. Then Alana and I thought we’d better let some of the others come in while we get some coffee.
We walk out of ICU and back down to the waiting area where everyone is located, and they all look up at us with tired eyes and hopeful stares.
Kristy stands walking toward us, her eyes red and puffy as she sniffs hard. “How is she?”
Alana takes her into an embrace as I glance to Luke who’s assessing us both. Casey stands there watching the interaction.
“She… she looks peaceful, but it’s a sad sight to see. She just… looks so helpless… it’s heartbreaking. Right, Mercs?” Alana’s voice breaks as she talks.
I nod and smooth my hand up and down her back for comfort as I try to remove the image of Effa with those damned tubes coming out of her mouth from my head. “I, ahh… need coffee, so if someone else wants to go in there for a while, please feel free,” I announce.
Kristy’s eyes light up. “Oh, do you think I can go?” she asks, and I nod.
She leans forward embracing me, and I hug her back as she sniffs again like she’s only just holding it together. “Thank you, Mercs.”
She rushes off as Alana winces and looks to Andi, who’s still sitting on the chair next to Tank, head in hands. “Andi, do you want to go in with Kristy?”
Andi looks up, hope in her eyes. “Really? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, hon… you go, I need a coffee and a break, too. Go! Be with Kristy, I think she’ll need you.”
Andi doesn’t say anything as she races off after Kristy.
I look to Luke who’s still pacing the waiting room floor.
Tank stands from the seat and clears his throat gaining all our attention. “Coffee everyone? My shout?” he asks.
I nod, along with Alana and Luke, as he smiles and walks off leaving just the three of us.
Sitting down on a plastic chair, I slump into the back feeling mentally and physically drained.
Luke turns to face Alana and takes a deep, steadying breath like he’s preparing himself. It’s strange, almost like he’s scared to tell her something. It’s odd seeing the stern, hard-faced Luke, falter slightly as he walks up to Alana and rests his hand on her lower back gaining her attention. She turns to face him, and she weakly smiles looking relieved to see him as she casually turns to look at me and then back to Luke.
“It’s a hard thing to look at Luke… she doesn’t look like our Effa.”
He nods with a frown and touches her arm in an unusual move of affection from him. He lets out a heavy sigh and shifts his weight from one foot to the other like he’s impatiently trying to find the right moment.
“Alana, I have to tell you something,” Luke croaks as he looks down to the floor and not directly at her making me sit up and pay more attention.
She faces him completely, her brows scrunching together in concern as her hand reaches out and gently squeezes his forearm. “Luke?”
He inhales sharply and looks up at her. “I called Donny and Livvy.”
Alana groans, spinning away from him and starts pacing the waiting room as I sit here confused. “Luke, why? Why would you do that? Why couldn’t you have waited until we know more?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “Because when I took you girls on tour, I made a promise to Donny that I would look after you… that if anything went wrong, I’d call him no matter what. I told him that I’d be the one taking care of you and nothing would happen to any of you. I’ve failed him, Alana. So, I had to tell him, in honor of my promise, and because out of everyone that it could have been, it was fucking Effa.”
Alana groans and gnaws on her bottom lip. “How’d he take it?”
I’m sitting here completely confused. I’ve heard the name Livvy before, but I can’t quite place where I’ve heard it. But Donny? I have no idea who they’re talking about.
“They’re on the first flight they could get. They should be here within forty-eight hours.”
Alana rubs at her face. “Great! Just great.”
I stand from my seat and walk over to them. They both look at me like they’d forgotten I was even in the room as I shake my head. “Sorry, I’m drawing a blank… Donny and Livvy?”
Alana exhales. “Livvy is my mum, also Effa’s step-mother and Donny, he’s Effa’s dad. And he’s going to be insane when he sees his little girl like this.”
I inhale sharply thinking about meeting Effa’s parents. Meeting them so soon had not entered my mind, let alone in a situation like this. Not only that, Effa will technically not be around for said meeting, she will be asleep through the whole thing.
Holy shit! This should be interesting.
Chapter Four
MERCS
Two Days Later
Effa is still in an induced coma but seems to be responding well to the treatments the doctors are giving her. Her parents are coming in soon having landed after their long flight from Australia. They came as soon as Luke rang, and I know Alana has been on edge ever since. I’m hesitant to ask why.
Are they strict?
Are they vocal about the girls being in a band?
I have no idea. All I know is that Alana’s on edge and that has me on edge. I don’t know if Effa has even told them about me, so I’m not sure what to do or say when I meet them. I wish I were meeting them under different circumstances. Sure Effa’s met my family, so I was inevitably going to meet hers one day.
But not like this.
Not under duress.
Reaching out, I grab Effa’s hand. She’s getting better. The doctor said they will try to pull her out of the coma as soon as tomorrow, to see how her brain is recovering. It’s just a waiting game now to see what permanent damage has been done from the Rohypnol overdose. Let’s hope there’s no permanent injury.
The door to her room opens, and a nurse walks in sporting a small smile. “Afternoon guys, sorry to drag you away. I think her parents are on their way in. Can you go back to the waiting room, please,” she tells Andi and me kindly.
I nod, even though my adrenaline is spiking through the roof right now.
Andi smiles as I tighten my grip on Effa’s hand and lean down to kiss her cheek. “I’ll be back when I can, beautiful,” I whisper as I slowly let her go, stand up and walk with Andi out of the ICU toward the waiting area, where everyone has been camping for the last two days.
As we round the hall corner I notice everyone’s here—the band, Luke, Tank, Jay, Raoul, even Cooper with his bandaged arm. We are a tight-knit family. Everyone loves these girls. I have to say it’s a pretty incredible fucking atmosphere to be around.
The clicking of high heels and the clunking of heavy running footsteps barrel down the hall. We spin to see a man and a woman heading right for us. He’s tall, his gray hair sweeping over his face in a longer than normal style for a man of his age. It’s not long as such, but more, unkempt I suppose. His jaw is defined, and even though he looks disheveled, he would be described as a handsome older man if you’re into that kind of thing.
He’s wearing a khaki jacket over a flannelette shirt, and a pair of very worn jeans. It’s kind of a cross between country and homeless. It makes me almost smile as I look at him.
The woman, on the other hand, is completely done up. Her blonde hair cut short to her shoulders, styled in a very fashionable way. Her makeup’s well done for someone who’s been on a long journey, and she’s wearing a tie-dyed kaftan that flows down around her like a gown as she wafts into the area. Her black leggings cling tightly to her thin legs leading down to her black pumps that she wears so well. She looks great for someone of her age, not that she’s that old, I mean she’s obviously only in her mid to late forties, but even so, she looks good.
; “Mum,” Alana calls out as she rushes over to her, and I smile knowing that they are who I suspected—Effa’s father and step-mother. They both rush to Alana and wrap their arms around her tightly in a group hug, as Livvy smothers Alana with kisses all over her face leaving bright red lipstick marks covering Alana’s cheeks.
“Mum, stop! I’m fine.”
Livvy snorts and pulls Alana back looking her all over. “Oh, I know honey. It’s so terrible, and I needed to be close to you.” She pulls Alana back into her again hugging her once more as Donny looks around finding Luke’s gaze and frowning at him.
“How is she?” Donny asks Luke.
Luke walks over and places his hand out to shake Donny’s while I stand back not knowing what to do or say. “She’s getting stronger each day. They want to take her off the ventilator tomorrow, so we’re glad you got here in time.”
Donny exhales nodding once and looks him in the eyes. “You were meant to look after her, Luke.”
Luke inhales and shakes his head. “I know… I’m sorry I failed you, Don. I failed her. I failed…” Luke clears his throat as he inhales sharply. This is the most shaken I’ve ever seen Luke. He must really respect Donny if he’s feeling this shit about it. It’s a bit of a shock watching the ever-stern Luke falling apart like this.
Donny reaches out placing his hand on Luke’s shoulder and squeezes once. “Luke, I’m not going to pretend I’m not pissed. I’m not going to pretend that this is okay. I know the girls run wild. I’m not delusional. But when you took them you promised me you’d keep them safe, and you didn’t. Let’s just hope she pulls through.”
Luke nods looking defeated. If he’s this pissed with Luke, imagine how pissed off he’s going to be with me when he finds out. Fuck, this guy seems like a hardass.
Alana steps up shaking her head. “Donny, you know I love you. You practically raised me, but you need to cut Luke some slack. This wasn’t his fault, not by any means. If you want someone to lay the blame on, you need to place it firmly with Jett Jones. He’s the man who drugged her.”
Donny curls up his lip. “Why wasn’t her American boyfriend there to stop this Jones kid?”
I’m annoyed that my first interaction with Effa’s father is going to be on bad terms.
“That doesn’t even matter. What matters is that she’s getting better,” Alana tries to placate, but it doesn’t work.
“No. I want to know why. If Effa thinks so highly of him, then why wasn’t he around watching this Jones guy, and stopping him from slipping my baby girl some damned drugs?”
“Oh, come on now, Donny, don’t flip out. You know she has intense feelings for the boy. I’m sure if he wasn’t there, it was for a good reason,” Livvy sasses back to Donny, and he seems to soften when he looks at her and she smiles at him.
Feeling like I need to say something to let them know that I’m right here, I step forward gaining their attention as I walk up to Donny and put out my hand for him to shake. Alana’s eyes open wide as Livvy smiles at me a little too eagerly. Donny looks to my hand and furrows his brows without shaking it.
“Who are you kid?” he gruffs out.
Straightening my back, I look him in the eyes. “Kaden Mercury, or Mercs as most people call me...” I pause. “I’m Effa’s boyfriend.”
His face takes on a stern, hard demeanor. His eyes dark and cold. His lips turned down as he looks me over, assessing me. My hand still out, with him making no move to shake it. “Hmm… and where the fuck were you when all this went down? Tell me the truth, kid.”
“Donny… cool it,” Livvy berates as she glares at her husband.
I don’t want to lie to Effa’s father. I don’t want to start things off with untruths. So, I glance to Alana who’s gnawing on her bottom lip, and she nods. I’m just gonna go ahead and get it all out there.
“I’m sorry we’re meeting under these circumstances, sir. I would have loved to have come to Australia and met you the normal way, but—”
“You’re not answering my question, kid.”
His nostrils flare, I drop my hand from the shake position and simply nod. “Yes, sir, it’s my fault. I was talking to my sister, Kiera, on the phone. She’s sick and just needed to hear my voice...” I take a steadying breath. “Effa decided to head off to the party ahead of me, while I finished up with Kiera. When I went down, I saw Jett trying to take Effa. She was stumbling and wobbling all over the place. He’d obviously already drugged her while I was away. Then she collapsed in front of me and started convulsing. Her heart stopped…” I pause reliving the memory, closing and opening my eyes again. “I carried out CPR, got her breathing again. Trust me when I say I’m pissed off at myself for not being there when she needed me. I do understand your anger and where you’re placing blame… fuck knows I do,” I admit and the room falls silent. I let out a heavy sigh but look them in the face, even though I don’t want to witness her father’s disapproval. Or Livvy’s either for that matter as they both continue to stare at me.
Suddenly, Donny’s fist juts out toward my stomach. I flinch thinking he’s going to punch me, but his hand stops just in front of me and then his fingers spread out to shake. Furrowing my brows, I take a long breath looking at it.
“You see, kid, the thing is… you may be the reason Effa was alone with Jett in the first place, but in the end, you were the one that saved her life. You brought her back from the brink. So, you’re all right with me, kid. Now shake my hand because I’m standing here with my hand out looking like an idiot… it does nothing for my image,” he jokes.
Stepping forward, I thrust my hand into his and shake. His grip is firm as his calloused hands graze against my skin. Looking at him his eyes lighten, and a smile creeps across his face. Livvy visibly relaxes, and Alana rolls her eyes as she cuddles into her mother.
“Well, thank you, sir—”
“And stop calling me sir, I’m not in the Army. I’m Donny… just Donny, okay?”
Letting out a small laugh. “Okay, Donny, thank you. And I do care about Effa. Very much. I promise I will make this up to her.”
He lets go of my hand. “Oh, you bet your American ass you will. You’ll be groveling for months because my baby girl deserves the best.”
Livvy brings her hands together clapping happily and smiling so brightly as she bobs up and down on her toes. “Yay, this is brilliant. All of us together again… with a couple of additions. This is groovy.”
Alana chuckles leaning in and pressing her lips to her mother’s cheek. “I missed you and your hippy talk, Mum.”
“Oh, I missed you too, my little llama bean,” Livvy chimes wrapping her arms around Alana as she rolls her eyes.
Donny looks back to Luke, and his face falls again like he’s just remembered why he’s here. “Luke, can we see her?”
Luke nods. Livvy lets Alana go, and she takes Donny’s hand.
“Follow me, I’ll take you down,” Luke instructs.
Livvy weakly smiles, and Donny nods to me as they begin to walk off.
“It was nice meeting you, kid. Make sure to stick around,” Donny instructs.
I nod as Livvy tightens her hand in his and the three of them walk away toward Effa’s room.
With a deep breath, I bend over resting my hands on my knees, and then exhale a deep lung full of air as I clench my eyes shut taking a moment.
“You doing okay?” Alana asks, her hand on my back as I open my eyes.
Standing up, I nod. “Yeah, just feel like I failed her. And for Donny to turn around like that. Shit! Honestly, I thought the guy was gonna sock me one.”
Alana smiles. “The thing about Donny… he’s a bit of a practical joker, and while he was serious there, most of the time he’s joking around with a carefree attitude. He’s a great guy and an amazing father. He loves with his whole heart. He was testing you, that’s all, just making sure you’re good enough for Effa. When it comes to his girls, he’s fiercely protective, but the minute he likes you, he’ll be so much fun to be ar
ound. And trust me, he likes you.”
Raising my brow, I snort out a bemused laugh. “You got all that from that brief meeting?”
She smiles. “Yep, as long as he thinks you won’t hurt Effa, he’ll be all good with you.”
“Well, that’s reassuring.”
“Good, it should be. Because being on Donny’s good side… well, that’s always a good thing, Mercs.”
I grin. “Okay, well that’s one fucking hurdle out of the way. Now we have to get the next one done.”
Alana raises her brow in curiosity. “What’s that?”
“Effa waking up,” I reply.
She purses her lips, and I let out a long exhale.
Effa waking up and being okay is the only thing I want right now. And the thought that she might wake up with some difficulties is playing on fucking repeat in my mind.
Brain damage.
Disabilities.
God only knows what impairments she might have.
All I know is I’m going to stick by her, no matter what. Because if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s I love her, and I’ll do anything to make damn sure she’s taken care of. For the rest of our lives if she’ll have me.
But one step at a time.
Step one—Effa needs to wake the fuck up.
Chapter Five
MERCS
The Next Day
The tension in the air ripples through me like a wave, surging like a rough current, forging its way into my very soul. The idea that this very moment could make or break a life renders me fucking useless as I stand here barely able to breathe.
We’re all gathered in the waiting area, waiting for the doctor to tell us how this will go down, how they will bring her back to me. If that’s even possible. The thought bringing another damn wave crashing over me, and I can’t help it as I bend over placing my hands on my knees trying to catch my barely-there breath.
Will she breathe on her own?