Piper looked fragile lying in the hospital bed with her red hair falling forward to hide her face. I was surprised to find her alone. I’d expected her family to be there. If not them, then Cerise and Andy.
“Hi,” I said quietly.
When she turned to face me, I sucked in a sharp breath. I wanted to kill the person who’d done this to her. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, I reminded myself. Her cheek and eye were swollen on the left side, but they would heal. She hadn’t been shot. Those reminders did nothing to lessen my anger at the man who’d hit her.
“I must look really bad,” she said with a forced smile. “I’ve been afraid to look.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I took her hand. “Not nearly as bad as you think, I’m sure,” was my honest response. “You’ve got some swelling and a couple of bruises. I hate seeing you like this.”
“You didn’t have to come,” she practically snapped before sighing and saying, “Sorry. I didn’t mean for that to come out sounding so bitchy.”
“Don’t apologize,” I told her. “You’ve had a rough night. Why are you here alone? I figured your parents or Cerise would be here with you.”
“I’m not sure where my phone is,” she admitted. “Someone from the hospital offered to call my parents, but I don’t want to wake them up with news like this. When I first got here, I also wanted to be alone. I wasn’t. Everyone had a million questions, and they needed to do x-rays and a bunch of other things.”
“Is anything broken?” I asked.
She shook her head. “It feels like my ribs are broken, but they’re just bruised.
Hearing about the x-rays made me think of a more delicate subject. “Did you tell them you might be pregnant?”
“I’m not,” she replied. “My period started yesterday.”
I nodded. Though I was a little disappointed, it was for the best.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to get here, baby,” I murmured before leaning in to kiss her forehead.
“I’m fine,” she insisted. “They’re going to release me soon. Delaney came in here to check on me, so I wasn’t alone the whole time. I honestly expected to be out of here by now. It’s taking forever to get my release paperwork.”
“Since you don’t have your phone, I assume you also don’t have a ride home.” I continued when she nodded. “I’ll get an Uber for us, and we can head back to your house, unless you’d rather go to my place.”
“I’d like to go home,” she replied. “It’s sweet of you to offer to let me stay with you, but I’ll be fine alone.”
This was the tricky part. No way in hell was I letting her go home alone, but my reasons weren’t all about thinking she needed me. I decided to be honest. “Baby, I know you don’t need me. I just need to be close to you. This has been a scary experience for me. We can stay at your place, if you’d prefer that. I can call and warn Cerise about what happened and tell her I’ll be staying there today.”
Piper considered what I’d said before nodding. “Okay. I hope they let me out soon.”
“Have you eaten?” I asked. “If not, I can run down to the cafeteria to grab some food.”
“I’m not hungry,” she replied.
I took that to mean she hadn’t eaten, but we’d worry about it after she was released.
“How is Bentley handling all of this?” Piper asked.
“She’s having a hard time,” I replied. “Gage is with her.”
“He shot her,” Piper said around a sob. “She was trying to save me, and he shot her. There was blood everywhere. It was Seth. No, it was his friend who shot her. Mercy tried to get Seth’s gun when he was kicking me. And Jeff. They knocked him out. He has a concussion. I don’t know how bad it is. Both Jeff and Mercy could have been killed, and the guys who did it got away.”
I held her close. “Mercy’s brother told me the police caught them.” I was glad I could tell her that. I was annoyed that the police hadn’t told Piper yet.
“I want to talk about something else.” Piper’s words sounded almost like a plea.
“What do you want to talk about?” I asked, brushing her hair back and kissing her cheek.
“Anything other than what happened at Euphoria,” she replied. “Tell me about the show.”
For the next twenty minutes, we made small talk about the show. When the nurse finally came in to release Piper, we headed straight to the waiting area where Mercy’s family had been gathered. I found only Bentley and Gage there.
Bentley stood and hugged Piper gently. Piper mumbled something about Mercy that I’m not sure Bentley understood. I needed to get my girl home. She was exhausted.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, surprised to find the waiting area so empty.
“They went to get food after Mercy had her first visitors,” Bentley explained.
“No one wanted to,” Gage added. “We had to push them out. Mercy was only allowed two visitors. They said it will be at least a few hours before she can see more people.”
“How is she?” Piper asked hesitantly.
“She’s doing pretty good, all things considered,” Gage replied. “They expect she’ll make a full recovery with no long-term effects.”
Piper nodded and started to cry. Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I whispered, “It’s okay, Button. She’s going to be fine. We should go now.”
“I’ll keep you updated,” Bentley assured her.
“I’m so sorry this happened,” Piper told her.
“This isn’t your fault,” Bentley insisted. “You have to know you aren’t responsible for any of this.”
“I do,” Piper whispered. “At the same time, I keep thinking about all the things I could have done differently.”
We said our goodbyes, and I led Piper to the hospital’s pharmacy to pick up her prescription. After we had her pain pills, we headed outside to the pick-up area. Piper caught my hand when I was arranging the UBER.
“Let’s go to your place,” she suggested.
I nodded and finished requesting our ride. Piper was so tired, she was asleep by the time we got back to my place. She swatted my hands away when I tried to carry her in from the car.
“I can walk,” she argued, as she stood and walked toward the house.
“I know you can, Button,” I assured her. “You were sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake you.”
“I’m so tired,” she admitted. “All I want to do is sleep, but I need to use your phone first to call my parents and Cerise. If they hear about any of this on the news, they’ll panic.”
“Let me take care of that,” I offered as I opened the front door for her.
“You don’t have to do that,” she insisted.
“Let me help,” was my frustrated reply. I was tired and on edge, too, but trying not to let it show.
“I’m making you mad,” she deduced.
“Not mad,” I insisted, before carefully pulling her into my arms and hugging her. “I’m just stressed out, and I want to do something for you. Let me make the calls and feed you. Do you know where your phone is?” I asked.
She nodded against my chest. “I think it fell out of my purse at Euphoria. I can have someone drop it off later.”
I pulled away some to regard her. “So, are you going to let me help?”
“All right,” she agreed much to my relief.
Chapter 60
Piper
I wasn’t looking forward to Cerise’s reaction. That cowardly reason was part of why I’d decided to stay with Austin. I was also afraid of being alone. The latter made no sense since Seth and his friend had been arrested. Even if they were let out on bail, they had no idea where I lived. Still, I felt safer in Austin’s home.
“Other than ice cream, I don’t have much in the way of food here,” Austin began. “I can make pancakes and eggs or order something.”
“I’m really not hungry,” I insisted.
“You still need to eat before you take your next pain pill,” Austin r
eminded me.
I hated pain medication, but I hurt so much, I wasn’t about to turn it down. “You’re right,” I agreed with a sigh. “Whatever you want to eat is fine with me.”
Austin nodded. “We’ll do pancakes and eggs since I’m not sure how many delivery services are open at this hour.”
It was a little after nine in the morning, so I had to assume some were, but this was probably easier. “I need to call the police today. They talked to me a little at the hospital, but they said they were going to need more information later.”
“It can wait,” Austin assured me.
“I don’t want them letting Seth and his friend out on bail just because they don’t know how dangerous they are. That sounded dumb. It’s obvious how dangerous they are. The police know they shot Mercy, and they photographed what happened to me.”
“I seriously doubt they’re getting out on bail,” Austin assured me. “They shot at the police before they were arrested. Those assholes are staying in jail.”
“I hope you’re right,” I replied softly. “They didn’t shoot anyone else, did they?”
“No,” he replied.
“How did you hear about this?” I asked.
“Mercy’s brother told me,” he explained. “The police are still withholding names from the press, but I should probably call your parents and Cerise soon. Once they hear there was a shooting at Euphoria, it won’t take them long to realize it might have been you.”
Thankfully, Andy had worked late and Cerise had planned to wait up until he got home. They’d both still be in bed. My parents weren’t morning news people, but they needed to be called. “This day has been too much,” I whispered.
“Come on into the kitchen,” Austin coaxed. “You can write down the numbers, and I’ll call everyone before I make breakfast.”
I nodded and followed him, taking a seat at the breakfast nook. I wished I didn’t need to eat. All I wanted to do was climb into bed. Austin handed me a paper and pen so I could write out the numbers. It was a miracle I remembered Cerise’s number. My parents still had the same number as when I was a kid so that one was easy.
I did my best to tune out Austin’s conversations with my mom and Cerise. It was obvious they were upset and wanted to rush to his house. Austin had, thankfully, convinced them to wait. I wasn’t ready for visitors yet. I needed at least eight hours of sleep first.
Chapter 61
Austin
I was ready to drop by the time I settled onto my bed beside Piper. While I wanted to pull her into my arms, I didn’t want to hurt her.
“Thanks for helping me change and for loaning me one of your shirts,” she said groggily. “It must seem ridiculous that I want to wear clothes to bed when I usually don’t with you.”
“It doesn’t seem ridiculous,” I assured her.
She wanted the bruises on her midsection covered. We hadn’t talked much about what had happened since leaving the hospital, and I wasn’t sure if I should ask her if she wanted to talk. I was completely out of my element.
Rolling to my side, I looked over at her. Her head turned toward me, and she smiled. It was a weak smile, but not forced. That smile warmed me all over. “What’s on your mind, Button?”
“I was thinking that you’re good boyfriend material.”
“Does this mean you’re going to let me call you my girlfriend?”
“I guess so,” she replied. “You’re being awesome about all of this. I’m really glad you’re here with me. It helps.”
“I’m glad,” I murmured as I allowed my fingers to trail along the unbruised side of her face. “I wish I could do more to help you.”
“What you’re doing is perfect. Just continue being here like you are. That’s all I need. That and to hear Mercy is out of the hospital.”
“She’s going to be fine,” I assured her.
“I’ve never been that scared,” she confessed. “Mercy handled things great, but I panicked. I didn’t know what to do.”
“I probably would have panicked in your situation,” I admitted. “They had guns. That would scare anyone. I’m sure Mercy was scared and just did a better job of hiding it.”
“How am I supposed to go back there?” she whispered.
I wanted to tell her she should quit, but that would be the wrong thing to say. “We’ll take things one day at a time. This is all too fresh to make any decisions now.”
“You’re right,” she agreed around a yawn.
Her eyes fluttered shut, and her breathing evened out. I stayed like that for several minutes, watching her sleep, thankful she was still with me.
Chapter 62
Piper
I wasn’t sure I’d ever been quite so sore. It was dark when I woke up, and it took me a moment to remember where I was and why I hurt so much. Once I was fully awake, I missed the blissful ignorance of my half-awake state.
The bed was empty, but I didn’t need to guess where Austin was; I could hear him in the shower. Reaching over, I cringed at the pain in my ribs as I turned on the bedside lamp. I looked around for my phone before remembering I still didn’t have it. Gingerly moving to the edge of the bed, I managed to sit up without too much additional pain. That had to be a good sign.
I was on my way to the kitchen to get something to drink when the doorbell rang, and I hesitated. Austin was still in the shower, so he wasn’t going to get it. I decided to look through the peephole to see who it was.
When I saw Xander standing on the front porch, I hesitated. He had several bags with him. Looking down, I checked to make sure Austin’s shirt adequately covered everything before opening the door.
Xander’s smile slipped when he saw my face. “Ah, babe,” he whispered.
“I know,” I muttered as I moved to the side so he could enter. “I’m a mess.
“Nah,” he said as he handed me my phone and brought the bags in. “You look like a woman who’s had a rough couple of days. Why is Austin making you answer the door?”
“He’s in the shower,” I explained.
Xander nodded. “I got here earlier than I expected. Sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize,” I assured him. “Especially not when it smells like you brought food.”
“I did,” he confirmed. “Not just any food. I convinced Cami to make you a batch of waffles.”
“Did you take any?” I asked.
He shook his head. “She made me promise I wouldn’t eat one.”
“And you agreed?” Our banter was helping things seem normal again.
“I figured you need them more than I do. I also brought you some clothes. Cerise packed them up, so you don’t have to worry that I was going through your panties. I offered to help, but she said no.”
“Perv,” I accused. “Can you help me take my clothes up to Austin’s room so I can get dressed?” I asked him. “I’d at least like to put some pants on.”
“Sure thing,” he agreed.
The shower was off, so I knocked. Without waiting for his reply, I called out, “Xan has some of my clothes out here in the hallway.”
Austin opened the door in nothing but a towel. “Thanks, man,” he told Xander with feeling. “I really appreciate you helping out.”
“Any time,” Xander assured him as he set my clothes inside the room. “I’m going to set the groceries in the kitchen and head out.”
“Why don’t you join us for waffles?” I offered. “I promise not to tell Cami you had one.”
“How can I say no to that offer?” Xander asked. “I’ll set out the plates.”
“How are you?” Austin asked me when the door closed.
“Sore,” I replied.
“Do you need a pain pill?” he asked.
“Not yet. I’d prefer to avoid taking one if I can. They make me groggy,” I explained. “Can you help me get some pants out? Hopefully, Cerise packed stretch pants.”
“Sure,” Austin agreed.
He handed me the pants, and we both dressed. I decid
ed to continue wearing Austin’s shirt for now and skip the bra. We found Xander exactly where I’d expected—in the kitchen, staring longingly at the waffles.
“You’ll regret letting him have one,” Austin warned me. “He’ll only become more addicted to waffles.”
“You’ve had Cami’s waffles?” Xander asked him, sounding oddly jealous.
“No,” Austin assured him. “I’ve only heard the rumors of how good they are.”
“They aren’t quite as good reheated,” I told them.
“I’m sure they’re still better than what I’ve been getting,” Xander stated.
I was hungry enough that I didn’t even take the time to enjoy Xander’s reaction to Cami’s waffles. He spent a great deal of time critiquing them. In the end, he concluded that had they been fresh from the waffle maker, they would likely be the best waffles he’d ever had.
“How were things at Euphoria when you stopped by to get my phone?” I asked Xander.
“They were still doing cleanup,” Xander replied. “Misty said to tell you everything is fine and to rest up. She said you are not to try doing any work.”
Misty was one of the shift managers who had transferred over from The Frisky Beaver. She was smart and could have easily run the club herself, had she not turned down the manager job when Mercy offered it to her. I was glad she could handle things without me. I needed some time away from Euphoria.
“Misty is awesome,” I told him.
“She is a scary woman,” Xander mused with a grin. “About ten other people told me to give you their love, but I don’t remember all their names.”
Tears burned the backs of my eyes. My employees were great. “Thank you for bringing all this stuff by.”
“Don’t mention it,” Xander replied. “You’re family.”
The doorbell rang and Austin sighed. “Speaking of family. That’s probably your parents.”
“My parents?” I asked. “When did you find out they were coming over?”
“Right before I got in the shower,” Austin replied. “Your mom’s call woke me up. I suggested she come by later.”
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