I doubt it was anyone important and I don’t think Liv would be calling me so fast, especially after how I left her.
My phone went off again. Agitated, I gripped the door handle and stormed over to my phone. Eight missed calls.
FUCK!
As I held the phone in my hands, it went off again with a local number and the caller ID read Shiloh Rehabilitation Center.
With trembling hands, I swiped the screen to answer the call. “Hello.”
“Mr. Hawthorne? Ocean Hawthorne?” The woman on the other end sounded agitated but I had no idea what for.
“Yeah it’s Ocean. Who’s this?”
The woman huffed on the other end. “Sorry to interrupt you, but my name is Marion Shiloh. The director of Shiloh Rehab Center.”
I was silent, wanting her to tell me what the hell was going on.
“I know that visitation for Livie is not until Sunday and considering it is only Thursday, we…”
I cut the bitch off because she was stalling and my blood was boiling over. “What’s wrong with Livie?”
The woman hesitated but answered finally. “She got sick this morning at breakfast and she is refusing pain medication and antibiotics. The doctors say she may have an infection in her hand, but they are unclear. We can’t get through to her, I was…”
Again, I interrupted the bitch; it was like she was star struck and couldn’t get the fucking words out of her mouth fast enough.
“I’m on my way. Thank you.” I bit out as I ended the call.
With my heart pounding and blood racing, I grabbed my briefs, sweats, white T, socks and my Jordan’s.
Stumbling out of my room pulling my briefs up, I grabbed my phone and wallet last and sprinted towards Law’s room. I barged into his room, tripping over the damn shoe’s he left in front of his door.
Fucking pig!
When I finally reached his bed, I slapped him in the face hard.
He jerked awake and sat up ready to argue, but I guess the look on my black and blue face, along with my lack of clothing, gave him the right message. “Shit Ocean, give me thirty seconds, I’ll be ready.”
I nodded as he bounced out of his bed running to the bathroom to brush his teeth. I finished dressing in his room using his deodorant and lotion.
Two long minutes later, Law was ready to go and we ran out the front door without saying a word. I finally came to the conclusion that Livie Marie Acosta-Hawthorne-yes, fucking Hawthorne-was put on this earth to kill me at the age of twenty-seven from constant heartache.
****
For the first time since Law got his driver’s license, he wasn’t driving like an old lady. We made it to Shiloh’s in exactly thirty minutes and I was kind of proud of the ass wipe. He pulled up to the facility’s front door and turned off the ignition, jumping out of the driver’s seat.
I opened my door to follow in shock that he didn’t park his precious truck. He was really starting to turn into me and it was fucking scary.
The same two security guards that took my Liv away met us at the main entrance.
“You Ocean and Lawrence Hawthorne?”
I pulled out my wallet and gave the asshole closest to me my ID. Law did the same. After they were satisfied, they scanned their ID cards, opened the door and led us through what I imagined was the back way to wherever Liv was considering on all the turns we took. We walked through three sets of secured double doors.
The guard turned to face me before he opened the final set of doors. “Have to warn you, Ms. Acosta’s pissed and she won’t speak to anyone that’s not Ocean. You go first, she needs to be stabilized before both of you can enter. Boss’s orders.”
The guard looked at Law, who looked one second away from punching them both in the face.
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Hey. Calm down. Let me talk some sense into her and then I’ll come back out to get you, okay.”
He nodded at me but I knew he didn’t hear a single word.
I grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him back, sitting his body down into one of the waiting chairs across from the room Liv was in. “I’ll be right back, promise.”
“Just hurry up!”
I turned on my heels and prayed to God that I could get through to this girl without losing it again because if not, she was going to kill me or I was going to end up killing her.
****
I pushed open the double doors to the room and immediately spotted Liv.
She was reclined in a hospital bed that looked three times bigger than her entire body in length and width. She looked like a little kid sitting in the middle of the bed all red in the face and pissed off, lost in thought and scared straight.
I could see her lips trembling from where I stood and her face was flushed.
A woman with scrubs came to stand in front of her. “Honey please, we understand you’re frightened but we need to get the IV started.”
The lady went to reach for Liv’s hand but she pulled it away.
“Not until Ocean gets here.” She hissed through her teeth.
I cleared my throat as I stepped out of the shadows.
“I’m here Liv.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ocean
The lady turned in my direction with wide eyes. I’m assuming because of the sight of my face and the nose bandage I still had on. She slowly stepped aside and away into another room, closing the door behind her.
I took a couple steps closer to Liv, stopping to leave some distance between us. My body was indecisive on what to do. A part of me wanted to run to her and hold her in my arms while the other part wanted to keep my distance.
The fact that she still had not looked up at me made my thoughts even more jumbled. She refused care because she needed me and here I was, but she couldn’t even look at me. It was either that or she was straight up terrified of this place.
“Liv, I’m here.”
She dropped her head forward letting her hair fall around her, hiding her face.
In a tiny voice, she finally spoke. “I’m sorry Ocean, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. It hurts so badly. You’re the only one that can take it away.”
Her sobs came in slow and steady. I closed the distance between us using my trembling hand to bring her chin up to face me.
When she finally looked up into my face, she gasped opening her eyes wide. “Oh my god, what happened Ocean?! Was that because of me? Please tell me it wasn’t because of me. Who did it? Why? Does Law know? I swear Ocean if you did this t…”
“Shh baby. You ramble when you’re nervous. I’m fine. It’s not me we’re here for, it’s you. You want to tell me why you’re not following doctor’s orders and your refusing care?”
I was playing it off pretty good on the outside while on the inside I wished for superman powers so I could grab her and fly out of this damn place.
“But your face Ocean.” she reached up with her right hand to stroke her fingers along my lips and I wanted to die.
Her touch was the cure my body and soul was craving. The feel of her touch was patching up and weaving my open wounds closed for as long as I was with her.
I took her hand into mine and kissed her palm. It was hot and clammy. “Like I said, I’m fine. What happened to you this morning?” I asked, sitting down to face her so she wouldn’t have to look up to me as we spoke.
Before she started to speak, she began to play with my hands rubbing her tiny fingers against mine. She was interlocking them together, squeezing them, and then releasing to do the same process all over. It was amazing. All she needed and all that she wanted was my touch.
“It…it started during breakfast. I was fine, I swear I was and then I felt sick. My hand started burning and then came the pain. It was too much. I couldn’t take it anymore. I even think I passed out. I don’t remember much.”
I raised my eyebrow at her. “Who found you?
“Oh. Dulce, she’s my roommate. She helped get me here. I heard her calling f
or someone but I don’t remember who.”
Liv pulled her hand away from mine and ran it through her hair, pulling at the ends. I reached up and grabbed her hand out of her hair. It was her nervous tick and I hated when she pulled on her hair like that. I would much rather her pull on mine.
“Doctor’s think you have an infection. Why won’t you let them help you? You have to let people help you if you want to get out of here Liv.”
“I know.” She huffed out agitated. “I don’t know why I did this. I don’t know why I made them call for you. I just—it’s just, err.”
I hushed her again. “Shh, it’s okay. I’m here now. I’ll stay here until the doctor’s finish with you and I’ll stay here for as long as they let me. I have to warn you, Law is here and he’s worried about you too.”
She bit her lip. “Oh no. I’m always making the people I love hurt. Why am I so pitiful?”
“Hey, stop it Liv.” I said probably a little too loud. “You’re not pitiful so don’t say shit like that. You needed me and you called. That’s all I ever wanted you to do. It’s that simple. I’m going to go let the guards know you’re ready because whether you want it or not, you are getting treated. If they have to shove that IV pole up that sexy ass of yours to do it, that’s what’s going to happen.”
The smile on her flushed and sweaty face had my heart breaking for her all over again. She did exactly what I always wanted her to do - call me for help.
My heart was breaking because I felt like pushing her away when she needed me the most. She nodded her head as I went to get the guards. Today was officially my breaking point and I couldn’t help but welcome it.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lawrence
I twisted and turned in the seat Ocean pushed me into, waiting for the damn door to open.
Why did Sunshine have to be so damn stubborn? She didn’t want help from Ocean or me before and now she was refusing treatment at a freaking rehabilitation center for Christ sake!
I looked down at my watch and seven minutes had gone by. I wanted to sucker punch the two guards and barge in the room just to make sure they weren’t sucking face while I was out here having a panic attack. I refrained because the guards were just too fucking huge to mess with.
I leaned forward, dropping my face into my hands as I closed my eyes and started counting backwards from one million. The higher the number the less risk of breaking my concentration. That was, until I heard the sound of a voice that shattered my brain cells into tiny molecular pieces.
“Hey Trevor…Joseph. Any word on how Sunshine’s doing?”
My head popped up and in front of the two guards stood an angel. I didn’t need to see her face to know she was gorgeous, but I heard it in her voice and felt it in the air.
She had on a pair of baggy black sweats with the waistband clinging to her tiny waist and thick hips. Then there was her ass.
Damn! Did all Hispanic women have perfect asses?
I had about twenty things on my list I’d like to do that that ass.
One of her pants leg was bunched up to her knee, rockin the LL Cool J look with a pair of air Jordan’s on her feet. Her thick and wavy brown-blond hair fell to the middle of her back over her white spaghetti strap work out top. She had both hands on her hips as she rocked side to side on her feet nervously as the two guards looked down at her.
They didn’t gawk at her, so I assumed that she has known them for a while. Even now my mouth was hanging open and she hadn’t even turned around. What the hell is it with exotic, petite, sporty, kick ass and sexy, seductive women?
I watched her turn around as my brain processed it in slow motion. It was as if gravity couldn’t hold her. When she finally turned all the way around to face me, she took her first step toward the seats next to me and froze in place.
It was right then and there that she tore my heart out. Shredding it to impossibly tiny pieces, smashing them to the floor then leaving me breathless and struggling. This girl was gorgeous and perfect in a very imperfect way.
She had these cute bangs that fell right above her perfectly arched eyebrows. Her left eyebrow had a small scar running through it, which gave her sexiness an edge. She was a fighter, I’d imagine.
Her nose was straight and petite just like the rest of her. I could tell by her cheeks that if she were to smile, her eyes would look Chinese. Her cheeks were perfectly round with a dimple below each cheek. Her lips were a natural pink that brought out her skin color. She had a natural tan that was more of a light bronze, a little lighter than Sunshine was. Her breasts were perky and cute. She was probably a B cup by the way they sat up high in her sports bra and looked perfectly rounded.
When my eyes drifted down to her stomach, I felt myself drool and my dick wake up from its sleep. Her tank top cut off right above her belly button and her stomach was tight and flat unlike the rest of her body.
She had curves for days on that tiny body. She also had a belly ring of a zodiac sign, two fish, so I guessed Pisces and even though it was cute and looked sexy on her, it was making me fucking jealous being that it was so close to her in an intimate way.
She brought her hands to her hips and swayed them to the left as she bent forward to distract me from my daydream. She rolled her eyes at me and my heart starting skipping.
“Hey pervert! I’m up here!” She said pointing to her face with both her index fingers.
Yes you are. Finally the woman I was going to marry was staring me down, ready to kill me for being a freaking pervert. THANK YOU GOD!
She stood straight again as my eyes followed her body back up. When my eyes met hers, instantly her cheeks flushed pink and she sucked in her top lip into her mouth. I knew she felt it too. Whatever it was between us, it was strong. It was all mine; she was all mine.
I stood up from my seat as she watched my every movement with her curious and cautious eyes. Walking towards her, I extended my hand. “I’m Law, Sunshine’s…”
What was I to Sunshine?
As she stared at me, I couldn’t label what I was to Sunshine. So I said what felt most natural. “I’m Sunshine’s family; sort of like the brother she never had.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, shoving her hands into her pockets. “Okay…that’s fair.”
I stepped back, giving her some space and sitting down in my seat. She turned around to look at the guys she called Trevor and Joseph. They nodded at her while looking in my direction. She shuffled forward nervously, sitting down two seats away from me.
From around the corner, a tall geeky looking guy walked towards us and I could have sworn I heard a growl come from her. The closer he got the more she fidgeted in her chair. I looked at the creep again and he was staring her down like she was a freaking steak.
When she looked up and saw his stare, she turned to look at me. I didn’t move or make eye contact with her. Instead, I just watched the creep walking towards us.
She ran her hand through her hair as she slowly stood up from her seat. Again, she looked to me and then down the hallway. In her split second decision, she closed the distance between us and sat down next to me.
“So what did you say your name was again?”
Her accent was thick but she spoke very clear. I put my arm around the back of chair as the creep stopped to talk to the two guards. They looked just as annoyed as I felt.
Without looking away from them, I asked my future wife, “Who’s that guy?”
I saw her roll her eyes from the corner of my eye.
“Who?”
“You know who answer my question.”
“Yeah, okay. You didn’t even answer mine so no.”
I glanced at her for a brief second, catching her looking at my lips. I smiled while running my tongue along my bottom lip. “I already told you my name and I know you still remember it; so whose that guy?”
She pulled her arms across her chest scooting herself back into the seat. When the back of her neck reached my arm, she took one hand grabbing all
of her hair pulling it to the side to rest it all on her right shoulder away from me.
That skin-to-skin contact fired me up inside and it was all the confirmation I needed to know that she indeed was mine.
“He works here genius, what else do you think?”
The creep said bye to the guards but before leaving he walked over to us looking down at my Blue. Yes, that was her nickname from me, Blue; she was Blue because if you’ve ever seen a blue moon than you’d know how exotic and beautiful it is.
“Hey Dulce, you ready to go back to your room?”
She pressed the back of her neck into my arm. Why the fuck would she need an escort?
“She’s not ready and she’s staying with me,” I said, standing up to face the asshole that was getting under my skin.
He looked like one of those sick motherfuckers who got caught on Dateline with Chris Hansen for preying on underage children. Thank God I was taller than he was because if I had to look up at him, I probably would have punched him in the face just because of that.
He stepped back when I straightened up. “Okay man, just asking a question.”
The smug grin on his ugly face had my hands fisted at my sides. I saw Ocean come out of the room from behind us.
Immediately, he caught wind of the tension building in the air. When he saw me standing face to face with the creep, he closed the door lightly, sneaking up behind him.
I caught the smiles on the guard’s faces snuck up behind the asshole. “Yeah, well don’t ask. Don’t ask her and definitely don’t ask Livie because the guy standing behind you is a hell of lot funnier than I am.”
The creep turned around to coming face to face with Ocean, who was standing feet apart with his huge arms sitting peacefully across his chest. Since his face was still bruised he looked far more pissed than what he really was.
The creep slipped away from in between us, holding his hands up in surrender. “Alright, I’ll steer clear. Sorry man.”
“Yeah whatever,” I mumbled, turning my head to look down at Blue.
She was looking down at her sneakers when I turned my attention back to Ocean.
Oceans Submerged: Book Two, the Oceans Series Page 10