by Evan Grace
He turns and walks back to Gwen, who is sleeping with her head resting on her mom’s lap.
It’s an hour later, and I am climbing into Troy’s car. Gwen left with her parents twenty minutes ago. I wanted to tell them no, that she was coming home with me, but instead I gave her a wave… a stupid fucking wave.
“Do you need anything before I drop you off? I can stay with you if you want,” Troy says as he pulls away from the hospital.
“Nah… I should be cool. I just appreciate you bringing me home.”
“What was it like being stuck with her?” I know Troy doesn’t mean anything by it, but I want to punch him right now. He must be able to tell that I don’t like that because he quickly apologizes. “Sorry, not the time.”
When we get to my house, he follows me inside, making sure that I’m all set, and taking care of Butch for me before stopping in front of me. “I’m going to be fine. You don’t have to stand over me. If I need you, I’ll call you.” We share a half handshake, half backslap hug.
“You better call me if you need me. I put the discharge instructions and prescription papers on the kitchen counter. Schedule a follow up with your doctor,” Troy says as he walks toward the front door.
“Yes, Mom,” I say in a high-pitched voice.
He gives me the finger, chuckling as he shuts the door behind him. I lock up and then head into the bathroom. I strip naked and then step into the shower. It’s the fastest shower in the history of the world. I just wanted to rinse the sweat, blood, and grime off of my body.
I grab four ibuprofen and toss them into my mouth. I swallow them down with half a bottle of water and head back into my bedroom, crawling into bed naked, and I promptly fall asleep.
“Fuck my life.” I groan as I try to get out of bed. Butch sits in his dog bed, staring at me as I try to stand, but quickly change my mind as my body screams. I knew this was going to happen, but I was hoping I wouldn’t hurt this bad. The prescription for muscle relaxers is on the counter.
I was going to try to avoid taking them, but I don’t want to suffer either. I send Troy a text asking if he’d come get it. Of course he answered immediately saying yes. He has keys, so I lie back down.
Fifteen minutes later, I hear the front door open. “Where are you at, pussy?”
“Go fuck yourself,” I shout from my bed.
Troy appears in the doorway. “Holy shit,” he says, looking at me while scratching my dog’s head.
I haven’t seen myself since yesterday, and now I’m curious. “Is it that bad? Lord knows I feel like death.”
“You look like you got your ass kicked. Your face is one giant bruise.”
“Fuck, don’t sugarcoat it or anything.” I push myself up into a sitting position. I realize I’m still naked, but covered by the sheet and wrap it tightly around my waist as I stand up. “Sorry.”
“No worries, tiny.” He smirks and then walks out of my room.
“Fuck you, you’re just jealous that my dick is bigger than yours,” I shout at his back. At my dresser, I grab a pair of basketball shorts and throw them on… slowly, of course.
Troy meets me in the hallway after letting Butch out. “I’m going to go get your script and I’ll bring it back with breakfast.”
“Thanks, brother.” He takes off and I grab some ibuprofen, popping a couple of pills into my mouth, and swallow them down. I let the dog in and he follows me into the living room. I wish I had Gwen’s number. I want to make sure she’s okay.
I grab my laptop and sit down on the sofa. I Google her name and pick the one social media platform that we both have. After clicking on the link, I press on the message button.
Maverick: Hey, I don’t know if you’re going to see this, but I wanted to make sure you were okay. I’m sore as fuck—it hurt getting out of bed this morning. I haven’t looked yet, but apparently, I look like I lost a fight. Let me know you’re okay.
I lie on my back on the sofa, close my eyes, and feel myself start to fall asleep.
Gwen is sleeping next to me. I reach out to stroke her hair, but my hand touches something wet. I pull my hand away and I hold it up to the light. Crimson covers my hand.
I look back down at her and she’s deathly pale, her lips tinged in blue. “Gwen? Gwen baby, wake up.”
The crunching of metal has me wrapping myself around Gwen’s still body as the room gets smaller and smaller, I scream for help, but no one comes. Fuck, I push on every inch, trying to get out.
“Maverick,” I hear someone yell. “Maverick.”
“Help us,” I scream.
“Maverick. Wake up.”
I open my eyes and fly back on the sofa.
Troy is standing next to the sofa, holding his hands up. “Sorry brother. You started thrashing around and calling out.”
I shake my head. “No, that’s okay. I was just having a nightmare.”
We walk into the kitchen where a big paper bag waits. He hands me a little white pill and a bottle of orange juice. “Take that and then eat.”
We both dig into our food. Bertha’s Café has the best pancakes I’ve ever eaten. They’re made from scratch and I heard rumors they make their own butter too. By the time I finish, I feel somewhat better… somewhat. The remnants of the dream gone too, thank God.
“Thanks for getting my pills and grabbing some breakfast.”
He pushes his plate away. “Do you want to talk about your nightmare? What was it about?”
I shake my head. “It was nothing.” Luckily, he drops it.
Seven
Gwen
I sit on the side of my bed. My seatbelt left a nasty, painful bruise. It’s made it impossible to wear a bra. Luckily, I have camis with built-in bras—they’ll do for now. I normally sleep on my stomach, but with the bruise I’m not able to.
I’m debating if I want to suck it up, and head downstairs, or just try sleeping on my back, again. Maybe I’ll be exhausted enough to sleep finally.
I take a quick picture and post it on social media with a brief summary of what happened. Once that’s done, I thumb through my page and see I have a new message, one I didn’t see until now.
When Maverick’s name pops up, I feel a fluttering in my belly. It looks like he sent it this morning. I read it, smiling. I’m surprised that he thought to check in on me, but it’s definitely sweet.
I start typing out a reply.
Gwen: Hey, yeah I’m pretty freaking sore too. I’m sporting a pretty bad bruise across my chest. The scratches on my face have scabbed over, but the bruises look worse. The staples in my head are irritating, but I guess it could be worse. Thank you for… I don’t know what else to say. He kept me calm when I wanted to scream and cry.
When we were being rescued, he didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms protectively around me. He didn’t let go of my hand until he’d been forced to. I can still hear the words he yelled, “You’re okay, you’re safe.”
I focus back on my message.
Thank you for being strong when I wasn’t and for everything. I hit send, set my phone down, and stand up.
I walk gingerly across my room and out into the hall. It’s late and I doubt anyone is up. I take the stairs down to the living room, one at a time. Fuck, this sucks. Maybe if I take the muscle relaxer and half of a pain pill, it’ll do the job of making me comfortable enough to fall asleep.
The living room is empty, but when I step into the kitchen, I can see the family room light is on. I step into the room and freeze, smiling at the sight in front of me. Dad’s asleep sitting up with his head tilted back, and Mom’s asleep with her head in his lap. His fingers are in her hair, like he fell asleep while playing with it.
Since I was little, I always swore I wanted someone who looked at me like Dad looks at Mom. Of course as I got older I realized that men like my dad and uncles were an anomaly.
I move to step out of the room, but my dad’s voice stops me. “Hey honey.” I turn to look at him. “What time is it?” He covers his mouth as he ya
wns.
“After twelve, I was just coming down to take a muscle relaxer and a pain pill.” I sit on the arm of the sofa.
His brow furrows. “Do you need to go to the hospital? Are you okay?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m just a little sore and couldn’t get comfortable.”
“Do you need anything?”
“No, Dad. I’m okay, I promise.” I stand up. “I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. Try to get some sleep. Hopefully you won’t be so sore tomorrow.”
In the kitchen, I grab my meds and pop them into my mouth, swallowing them down with a glass of water. I head back up to my room and climb back into bed. I’m lying on my back, trying to find sleep when I hear a knock and then the door opens slowly.
“Hi baby girl. Daddy says you were downstairs to get some pain meds. Are they helping?” Mom sits down at the side of my bed. She brushes my hair out of my face.
“A little. I just can’t get comfortable. Maverick sent me a message. He wanted to see how I was.” I’ve always been able to tell Mom anything. She’s always encouraged us to be open and honest with each other.
“That was nice of him. Tomorrow I’m taking him some meals so he doesn’t have to worry about feeding himself. You can come with me if you’re up to it—see how he’s doing for yourself.”
I grab Mom’s hand and kiss it. “That’d be nice.” I cover my mouth as I yawn widely. My eyes suddenly feel heavy.
“I think your medicine is kicking in.” She leans down, kissing my forehead. “I love you beautiful girl.”
As soon as she steps out, I finally fall asleep.
I climb out of Mom’s minivan and wait for her on the sidewalk. We head up the walkway to an adorable gray siding and red brick craftsman style home. The covered porch needs a porch swing, and then it would be the perfect reading spot.
The door opens and Maverick stands in the doorway. A yellow lab comes toward us, wagging its tail. “You guys didn’t need to do this,” he says as he looks between the two of us, and then his eyes stay locked on mine.
“Oh honey, it was no trouble. It’s the least I can do after you looked after Gwen.” Mom steps inside.
I don’t think twice, I walk right up to Maverick, wrapping my arms around him. I’m almost sure he’s going to push me away, but instead he wraps his arms around me too.
“You doing okay?” he asks quietly.
I nod. “Yeah. I actually had to take a pain pill and muscle relaxer so I could sleep last night. How are you?”
“Same; sore and stiff.” He lets go of me and leads me into his place. We follow my mom into the kitchen where she’s placing containers into his refrigerator. “Mrs. Malone, I appreciate the food, but it’s not really necessary.”
Mom shuts the refrigerator and stands right in front of him. “It’s no bother and I’m happy to do it. It takes one thing off your plate while you’re healing. We won’t keep you, but please…” Mom grabs Maverick’s hands. “Please let us know if you need anything.”
“I will, thank you.”
He walks us to the door and I squat down and give Maverick’s dog a quick rub. Mom hugs Maverick before heading out the door. He reaches out and helps me stand.
“See you later,” I say before stepping outside.
Once I’m back inside Mom’s minivan, she pulls away from the curb. I turn my head as we drive away and see he’s standing on the porch watching us as we disappear down the street.
I face forward and close my eyes. The meds from this morning are starting to wear off, which means my headache is back and my chest is starting to hurt. To keep the seatbelt from rubbing against my chest, I put the strap that goes across it, behind me. Mom wasn’t thrilled with me having just the belt around my waist, but I wanted to come and the belt across my chest hurt too much.
“Are you okay, honey?” I feel Mom grab my hand.
“Just sore, the meds are wearing off.”
Once we’re home, I take my meds and head up to bed. Marcie is coming over to hang out tonight and I wanted to be rested so I don’t fall asleep on her. I grab my phone and check my email. I respond to a couple of fans and post some teaser photos from my Fiji trip.
I start feeling sleepy so I lie down, close my eyes, and fade into la-la land.
The raucous sound of metal crunching causes me to fly up in bed, clutching my chest, and panting. I look around me and realize I’m in bed at home. I turn to sit on the side of the bed. My hands tremble as I lift them to push my sweaty hair out of my face.
My bedroom door opens and Taylor and Marcie come in. Their smiles immediately fall. Marcie squats down in front of me. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Yeah sis, you’re really pale.” Taylor turns her head. “Mom,” she yells, and I put both hands to my head. “Sorry,” she says quietly.
Mom comes in and looks between the three of us. “Girls, give us a minute.”
They both disappear into the hallway and close the door behind them. Mom sits down next to me, brushing some of my hair back. “You’re all sweaty. Are you feeling sick?” She places her hand against my forehead. “You don’t feel warm, but you are clammy. What is it, baby?”
“Nothing, I just woke with a start. My heart was racing and I was confused,” I tell her. I lay my head on her shoulder, mindful of the staples in my scalp. “I could hear metal crunching.”
She kisses my forehead. “You went through a trauma, baby. That’s completely normal and if it doesn’t stop, I want you to tell me and we’ll find someone for you to talk to.”
“I will, promise.”
Mom kisses my forehead one more time and then steps out of the room.
Taylor comes in, shutting the door behind her. “Marcie went to get you ice cream.”
I nod, and then lie down on my side. My sister crawls into bed with me so we’re lying face to face. We’ve done this since we were little girls. She grabs my hands in hers. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I promise.” I lean in. “Can I tell you something? You can’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t, I promise. What’s up?”
I take a deep breath. “Maverick and I had sex.”
“What? When?”
“When we were trapped in the van—it just sort of happened. One minute I was freaking out and the next minute he was kissing me. Things were fast, but intense and so amazing.” I close my eyes. “When they were rescuing us, he wrapped himself around me to protect me.”
Taylor wraps her arm around my waist. “Are you into him? We told you, he’s a player.”
“I’m not, just thankful for him being there for me. Plus when I was out running one morning I saw him leaving Tawney Jacob’s house. You know how I feel about her.”
Taylor nods. “Yeah I know there’s no love lost between you two.” She’s quiet for a minute and then she says softly. “Just be careful, okay?”
I give her, what I hope, is a spunky grin. “You know me, babe, I’m always careful.”
She gets up and then helps me stand. There’s a dull ache behind my eyes and above my ear on the side with the staples.
By the time I’m coming down the stairs, Marcie is walking in the front door with ice cream. This is just what I need.
Eight
Maverick
It’s been two weeks since the accident. There was an article in the paper the Monday after it happened. When I saw the pictures, it was a little unsettling. I’m not exactly sure how we survived. I thought we only flipped once, maybe twice, but apparently it was more like five times.
Thank God we wore our seatbelts, otherwise we’d both be dead. I haven’t talked to Gwen since the day she came over with her mom to bring me food. Too many things went through my mind when she wrapped her arms around me in a hug.
It felt too good and I couldn’t go there, which blew because I knew how good her pussy felt.
Tawney’s stopped over a few times, trying to be a girlfriend, and trying to take care of me. I put the kibosh on
that right away. Of course it still hasn’t stopped her from trying.
It also didn’t surprise me that when she was here, she was fishing for information about Gwen. Like, how was it we were in the van together, what did we do, and what did I think of her? I kept everything non-committal, knowing she’d hurt Gwen before.
I wonder how Gwen’s doing—is she having trouble sleeping like me? A week ago I woke up wrapped up in my comforter and had a panic attack. I ended up throwing my comforter and sheet on the floor. I haven’t been able to stand blankets on me since.
Poor Butch doesn’t know what to think, but he’s been staying close. Usually he doesn’t sleep in bed with me, but lately he has, and it’s usually him sleeping in the corner, like he’s guarding me.
Chief Malone wanted me to take another week off, but I can’t sit in this house another second. He was agreeable, thankfully, but he told me if I needed more time he’d give it to me. I grab my bag and head out to my bike. It feels good to be back on it and I take the long way to the station.
I pull into the parking lot and head inside. Mandy spots me when I step inside, and she comes around the desk and wraps her arms around me. “Oh my God, Maverick. I have been so worried about you. Are you okay?”
I pat her on the back awkwardly and a couple of the other officers see what’s going on and snicker as they walk past. “As you can see, I’m okay. Thanks for your concern.” I step back and walk around her, heading into the back. I change into my uniform and then head out for our debriefing.
Summers are a busy time in Sunnyville. We have a lot of festivals and fairs—between that and the local vineyards we get a lot of visitors. I spend a lot of time doing crowd control, breaking up the occasional fight, and arresting someone who has had a little too much to drink.