Blindsided: Renegades 7 (The Renegades Series)

by Melody Heck Gatto

  The pressure in his head was bad and getting worse with each breath, as though someone was tightening his head in a vice. The pain was so intense he would’ve welcomed unconsciousness, just for some relief. Stabbing pain shot through the left side of his head, forcing him to stop in his tracks and grab onto the wall for balance.

  Trina gasped. “You okay, babe?” Her arm tightened around his waist. Apparently, she thought she was going to help hold him up if he took a tumble. He highly doubted that. She was tiny compared to his large athletic frame, and would most likely fall along with him.

  Taking a deep, ragged breath, his eyes closed, and he took a moment before he looked at her and answered. “Yeah. Just the headache.”

  “Are you able to take another one of the pills they gave you?” Her face was scrunched up and nervous.

  The ER doctor gave him a migraine medication to take for the headaches. It wasn’t a pain pill, so it wouldn’t be a miracle cure, but at least it was something. He hadn’t had one since he’d been in the Emergency Room. He wasn’t big on pills, but right now he didn’t have a choice, since the pain was deafening. They said he could take another after an hour if the first didn’t work. Nodding his head, he patted his pocket where the newly filled bottle of migraine meds was.

  Looking up the stairs, he frowned; they seemed steeper and longer than ever before. His temples thudded at the thought of climbing them, and his knees buckled under his weight. Squinting at the bright light, he tried to shake off the raw feeling in his core. I need to make it up these steps. “I think I should just go lie down.”

  Trina turned off any unnecessary lights in the stairway and surrounding rooms. Her shoulders rolled forward, and her face wilted as if she were unsure of the right words to say to him. She was so good to him all the time; he hated seeing her like this. I was supposed to be her rock, not the other way around.

  “Sure.” She slowly nodded without making eye contact with him. “Yeah. That’s probably a good idea. The doctor did say that you need rest. And it was nice of Kat to keep Willow for us tonight so you could do just that.”

  Sam knew she just wanted to take care of him, but that she wasn’t sure how. He didn’t know what he needed, except the heavy desire to hide out in a dark room, alone. He didn’t want to hurt Trina’s feelings, knowing she had been through hell tonight. But that exact reason was why she needed to wind down and take care of herself before she tried to take care of him.

  “You should probably unwind a little first. It’s been a long night for you, I’m sure. Have a drink of wine and take a breather? Then join me? I’m going to hop in the shower real quick, then I’d appreciate the company. You know how much I hate going to bed alone.” He was in no mood to mess around, but he still wanted her at his side, hopefully after the bass drum stopped playing in his brain.

  A sad smile crept along her lips. She shook her head, and he wasn’t sure if it was in protest of his suggestion, or just her being overwhelmed by everything, but she seemed to perk up somewhat. He had to remember, he wasn’t the only one hurt tonight. Trina was a good hockey wife, but this was a lot to put anyone through.

  “Yeah. A glass of wine sounds perfect right about now. But just a few minutes, then I’ll be up.” She placed a soft kiss on his cheek. “I love you, babe. I’m so grateful that you’re okay.”

  Her kiss was sweet and gentle. She was his wife, his love, his best friend. She was his world. But right now, he didn’t know if he wanted to hold her or pass out on sleeping pills.

  His head throbbed, and his stomach twisted with sour nausea. He’d faced injuries before, but nothing as debilitating, as painful, as this. There is no worse pain than not wanting to be held by the woman that you love. Well, maybe there is one—hurting the woman that you love.

  Not turning his bedroom light on, he headed to the bathroom. His head pounded and light was not his friend at the moment, but the pitch black was too hard to maneuver. Using the dimmer, he set the light just above a shadow, but light enough to see. He turned the hot water on and waited as the steam filled the room, then stripped his clothes off and kicked them into the corner.

  Slowly and gingerly, Sam stepped into the stream of hot water. The force of it beat down on his head and face. Holding on to the wall, he steadied himself as his head throbbed and the room spun. His stomach turned, opposing this detour from where he really wanted to be – asleep in his bed. Quickly soaping up and rinsing off, he cleaned the sweat and other nastiness off his body. Stepping out of the shower, he haphazardly towel-dried his hair. The intense pain in his head made him double over. The towel dropped to the floor as he clutched the sink top to keep from falling over.

  His hair was as dry as it was going to get. With the amount of discomfort he was in, going to bed with wet hair was the least of his worries. Sliding on fresh boxers, he crawled into bed. His body was still damp, and at first, the smooth sheets were rough against his skin.

  His bed was not nearly as comfortable as he imagined it would be. Settling under the covers made him hot, and lying on top of them kept him chilled. The fan did the same: on, he was too cold; off, he was too hot. He was miserable. Finally, once the migraine pills kicked in, nothing else seemed to matter. The soft mattress swallowed him up as his thoughts faded to black.

  Noise from the doorway woke him. The room was dark and the numbers on the alarm clock read almost midnight. The overly bright, illuminated red numbers stung his eyes.

  Trina didn’t speak as she sneaked into the room. She quietly slipped into bed, and her coconut body spray filled his sinuses. Usually, he loved her sweet, beachy scent. Tonight though, it was like acid burning his sinus cavities.

  Her warm lips brushed against his bare shoulder. Normally, her sweet kisses on his skin sent waves of lust through him. Instead, static ran through him and his muscles involuntarily tensed. He didn’t understand his body’s reactions. If he couldn’t comprehend what was going on with him, how was he supposed to explain it to her?

  Avoiding it for the moment was the best idea. He didn’t want to hurt her any more than he already had tonight. He sighed heavily and mocked a snore, hoping she would believe he was still asleep.

  Trina settled in, slipping under the covers and close to him. He typically slept in only his boxers, and she liked snuggling against him, almost as much as he enjoyed her nuzzling against him. She always said he gave off heat, which was a good thing because she was usually cold. They were the perfect complement to each other.

  Sam expected her to snuggle close to him like normal, but she only rested her hand on his side. The chill of her fingers stung his skin. The sting sent waves of electricity down his body, straight to his toes. It wasn’t the good kind of lightning that ran through a man when his sexy wife touched his bare skin. It was almost painful, though not a pain that he could describe, nor one he had ever felt before.

  And it sucked. He didn’t want to feel like this. He wanted to wake up and have this all be a bad dream.

  Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe it was just the fact that he felt like shit. His insides just felt raw, like something that had been chewed up and spit out. His stomach flopped. It’s probably the nausea making me feel like this. Or that fact that even with my eyes shut, the room just spun. His stomach gurgled angrily.

  Sam didn’t want to pull away; he needed her. When her light breathing told him that she had drifted off to sleep, he lay still, needing her hand to stay on his body for a feeling of comfort, but also not wanting the surge of electricity to run through him again if her hand moved along his skin. This was a weird way to feel, needing her comfort yet not wanting to be touched. He was so tired, and his eyelids grew heavy and threatened to shut.

  But as he allowed himself to finally drift off, a loud sound rattled through his head, shocking him awake again. He looked around without moving, but the room was silent. The noise that had woken him was gone. Until he would try to sleep. The loud ringing woke him in a panic each time he drifted off, until finally, he was eithe
r so exhausted, or the medicine kicked in and he fell asleep.

  The night was not an easy one. Every few hours he was awakened by some unknown noise, and the red numbers on the clock only seemed to get brighter as the room grew darker. All he wanted to do was sleep.

  He remembered he still had some natural sleeping supplements that he occasionally used, sitting on his nightstand. He’d try anything right now. While awake, light hurt his head, and when he shut his eyes, his brain screamed like a siren. He just wanted it to stop.

  The natural supplements did the trick, because once he drifted off, he no longer dreamed and didn’t toss and turn uneasily. When he shook off the tiredness and finally awoke, it was morning.

  Stretching gently, trying not to wake Trina, he took inventory of how he felt. His head seemed to feel better, and his stomach growled. Hunger was better than nausea. But the light from the window burned his eyes, so he shaded his face with a pillow.

  An overwhelming urge to be close to Trina filled him. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he nestled in close, burying his head between her chest and the comforter to avoid the morning light. She was soft and warm in her cotton pajamas, as he listened to her breathe.

  His head was so heavy. As if he’d been out all night partying. Heavy eyelids forced themselves shut again. Dreams filled his head. He was floating, or maybe swimming. Every noise or person talking was muffled. He was relaxed and content…

  Until that noise returned, the screeching that shot through his brain. His body jolted and woke him up again.

  “Hey there,” Trina whispered. Her fingers gently moved through his hair. “You okay, babe?”

  “Um.” Sam’s body was tense as he tried to shake off the grogginess and confusion. His insides were jumpy, as if he were frightened by something. His eyes darted around the room. Their bedroom. He remembered he was in their bed, lying in her arms. “Yeah.” He tightened his hold on her, not wanting to be separated. There was an overbearing sense of uneasiness hanging over him that he just couldn’t shake.

  “How are you feeling this morning?” She kept her voice low, while she continued to play with his hair. “You slept for a long time.”

  “Tired. I really don’t feel like I slept.” His head ached, and the room spun.

  “Oh, you slept, alright. You slept straight through yesterday.”

  “Huh? I did what?”

  Trina stifled a yawn. “Yeah, you slept right through yesterday. The ER doctor said you needed rest, so I let you go. I picked up Willow, and Paige and Tyler offered to take her last night and today to give you time to rest.”

  “Wow, I really slept that long?” He pulled her tight when she tried to wiggle herself free.

  “Yeah. You obviously needed it. The first night you were tossing and turning a lot. You were also making noise like you were in pain, almost a whine. I was getting worried. But then you’d settle back down.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.” He kissed her cheek.

  “Don’t apologize. I’ll always worry.” Trina snuggled with him. Unlike the other night, she felt good against him. She was soft and her scent calmed him. Her touch was warm and comforting, almost like a security blanket.

  “I just want to sleep.” He re-adjusted himself on her middle until he was comfortable again.

  “The doctor did say you should rest. Paige said they’d keep her tonight, too, if we needed them to. I’ll text them a little later. I just want you to feel better, babe.”

  Sam glanced up at her. Even with her bed head, she was stunning. Normally, anytime he looked at her, he’d get a hard-on, but this morning his motherboard felt fried; he just wasn’t himself. Instead, he just felt love, and a little dizzy. “I just want you by my side and to go back to sleep.”

  Trina’s cool fingers felt good on his scalp. He always did like when she ran her fingers through his hair. It was warm under the comforter, but he was so comfortable in all the softness that he didn’t mind.

  “Your hair is getting long again. You know I like it when it looks shaggy.” She scooted down a bit, curling around him.

  “Yeah,” Sam said, not sure that he actually got the whole word out. His eyes had already shut. He could feel himself drifting off again. Maybe in her arms he’d sleep better…

  His dreams were the same. Floating. His body heavy, but drifting along the winds. Looking down onto the far away ground below… He peered ahead and around him. There was nothing on either side of him for miles and miles. Nothing to hold on to, nothing to grab. Peaceful. Nothingness.

  Then a loud squealing sound startled him awake, so hard that his whole body shook, and he almost fell out of bed.

  “Babe, hey.” Trina rubbed her eyes and flashed a tired grin. “You okay? You scared me for a second.”

  “No, yeah. Fine. Go back to sleep.” His eyelids were fighting him to close. His body was exhausted, regardless of what he wanted to do. A loud growling sound came from his stomach. Pretending not to hear it, he continued to go back to sleep.

  “Babe, you’re hungry. You should eat.”

  “Why? What time is it?” Sam groaned.

  Trina yawned. “It’s almost one in the afternoon.” She nudged at him to move off her. He didn’t want to move. This was comfortable. He clung to her as she tried to move. “Sam… You need to eat and drink. It’s been way too long.”

  I am not hungry. I just need to sleep. His stomach didn’t agree as it rumbled again. With an annoyed sigh, he rolled off her and put the pillow over his face again when the sunlight hit it from the window.

  “Oh, that’s bothering you? Let me get that. I should’ve realized sooner. Sorry.” Trina scooted out of bed, hurried to the window, and pulled the blind shut, creating a nice dark room. “That’s better—Ow!” A loud thud accompanied her yell of pain.

  “Babe, you okay?” He quickly moved to sit up, but the room spun, so he stopped short, propping himself up on his elbows. The room was dark now. It worked for him, no bright lights to hurt his eyes. But poor Tri must’ve hit something in the dim room.

  “Yeah.” Her heavy exhale gave away her masked pain. “Yeah, just fine. I’m going to get you some food. You have to eat.”

  “Tri, I’m fi—”

  “Zip it. You need to eat. Now close your eyes and rest, while I make you some lunch.” After she quietly shut the bedroom door, he heard whispered cursing in the hallway. “Holy mother of… Ugh!”

  He wanted to laugh, but laughing hurt his brain. Even thinking about laughing hurt. Before burying his head in the pillows, he popped a pill for the nausea and one for the headache. For a guy who didn’t like to take medicine, he sure needed one when the effects wore off.

  The quiet, dark room created a comfortable zone, and soon he found himself drifting off into a dream.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Sam

  A loud clang, a thud, and a muffled curse stirred Sam from his sleep. Trina’s voice wavered a little as she whispered, “If you’re awake babe, I’m sorry. I was trying to be quiet.”

  He wasn’t awake until she slammed the tray off the door, but keeping the room in darkness was keeping his headache at bay. He cleared his throat, but his voice was still gruff after sleeping so long. “I’m awake. You know you could use the light on your phone to see where you’re going, right? I’ll just put a pillow over my head or something.”

  “Oh, yeah, I guess I could do that.” Still, she fumbled her way through the room, set the tray down and gently crawled into bed with lunch.

  He wasn’t hungry and didn’t want to eat. He only wanted sleep. But the smell of soup and toasted sandwiches enticed him until his stomach started to growl. Hungry is better than nauseous, right? When he forced himself to sit up, a small crack of light caught his eye from the corner of the room. He must’ve squinted at the light or made some other uncomfortable looking face, because Trina jumped to explain.

  “If that’s bothering you, I can turn it off. I dimmed the bathroom light and opened the door just a litt
le so I could see my way around and not bump into anything else.” She winced in apology as she rambled on. “And I thought it would make eating a bit easier. But… if it’s bothering you, I can turn it off.” She motioned towards the bathroom.

  He grabbed her arm before she could move off the bed. “It’s fine.” He placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “Thank you for trying to take care of me. I appreciate it. All I need is you here beside me.”

  She ran her hand over his forehead, then gently moved her fingers through his hair. Even in the dim room he could see the concern in her eyes. “How are you feeling?”

  “Right now, I’m good. All the meds are working and keeping the pain at bay. You made this delicious lunch, so let’s eat.” He turned his attention to the food on the tray.

  The room was dim and quiet as they ate. Trina was being so good to him. With any luck, in the morning he’d feel much better, and they’d be able to get back to normal around here. After eating more than he thought he would, he sat back, satisfied. Dull pain slowly made his head heavy.

  It had only been a few hours since he’d taken one of the migraine pills the ER doctor had sent him home with, and he wasn’t due for another dose yet. Unfortunately, the pain was getting worse. He had some Oxycodone pain pills left over from dental work he had done a while back. Being a hockey player, he was no stranger to the dentist. It seemed logical that these pain pills would help dull the throbbing in his head, since they worked for the pain of fresh dental work—whether it was from his dentist or an opposing player.

  He hadn’t intended to use them for this injury, but he just wanted to feel normal. He wanted the pain to stop. Before putting too much thought into it, he popped one.

  “Babe, you okay?” Trina asked, tilting her head in question. “You took one of those migraine pills not too long ago.”

  “Why are you looking at me that way? I’m supposed to take them to keep the pain at bay.” The look on her face irritated him. Didn’t she realize he knew what he was doing?