Page 62 of Hunter

Chapter 24

Louisa

I knew today would be a bad day, but I didn’t know things would get this kind of fucked up in the space of about twenty minutes. Daniel has every right to be angry, to hate me; I’ve betrayed him like Tony betrayed me all those years ago. It was so stupid and insensitive to kiss him back, especially right next to Daniel’s office. What kind of heartless bitch does that to someone?! Especially to someone who they are beginning to realize they love.

I can’t think about it right now, I have to get to my brother, to check he’s ok, then kick his ass for causing me so much worry. As I race up to the ward where he’s currently hooked up to an IV, machines, and goodness knows what else, I take in his huge body lying there in nothing but a hospital gown and his tattoos. His breathing is deep and slow; he almost looks peaceful. It’s only when I get closer to him that I see the usual deep-set frown between his eyes. Even in sleep, he’s always worrying, angry, and lost. His right eye is swollen into something that resembles a deep purple plum, his neck is sporting rope burns and bruising, and his lip is split. They tell me his body has taken a severe battering and that he’s lucky there isn’t more internal damage.

I reach inside of his hands, which are still so warm, and squeeze gently while slumping inside of the chair next to his bed. If there’s one thing you can guarantee about Phoenix, it’s that he’s always so warm, like a furnace. He’s also the most caring, loving, and troubled man I’ve ever known, and I love him so much. I sit there for a long time and just let myself cry over everything - my brother, my childhood friend, and Daniel.

I must have fallen asleep like that because when I lift my head back up, it’s dark outside. My hand is still clasped inside of his, too frightened to let go. After rubbing my eyes, I look around to find a nurse who’s taking his stats, and we smile at one another.

“You had a drink, honey?” she asks me with a friendly smile. I shake my head and she nods. “There’s a café on the floor below, open all night too.”

“Ask ‘em if they sell beer,” a familiar, croaky voice chuckles into the space in front of him. I gasp and get up to sit as close to him as I can, squeezing his hand even tighter. I desperately want to hug him, but I know I can’t, given the state of his body. “I feel like shit!”

“You kind of look it too,” I reply with a smile and tears in my eyes, which makes him laugh, then groan in pain. “Dammit, Phoenix, you are a giant asshole, you know that?”

“Everyone knows that, Lou, especially me!”

He winces when he tries to open his eyes, but only manages the left one because the right one is so swollen that it must be impossible to do anything with it. He squeezes my hand back, so I kiss the back of his and break down into whimpering all over it. He can’t do this to me anymore, this has to be the end of it, once and for all.

“Hey, Lou,” he sighs softly, “it’s ok, I’m fine. Just took a beating is all.”

“No, it’s not ok, Phoenix,” I snap with anger and fear in my voice, “you’re not immortal and I need my big brother. Please tell me you’ll stop, that you won’t do this ever again!”

“Lou, it’s ok-”

“Warren!” I shout, causing him to jump. He then closes his mouth and looks almost guilty, which only tells me he’s not going to stop. In fact, he’s only just started.

“You didn’t find them, did you?” I ask, but he doesn’t say anything, just shakes his head, so I begin crying all over again. It means he’s not going to stop until he finds the person who is responsible for our mother’s death.

“Come here, Lou,” he whispers.

I hesitate at first, but when I look into his eyes, they’re begging me to give him comfort, so I do, because he’s my big brother and he needs me just as much as I need him. I curl up tightly on the bed beside him and that’s where we end up falling asleep for the night. The last time we lay like this together was after Dad died. It was traumatic, and we knew we only had each other. I pray to God I don’t end up curling up like this alone because I’ve lost the last member of my family. No matter what happens in my life, I know I will always need this man, my brother, my savior, my Phoenix.

_____

Louisa

I left Phoenix, only because I got chucked out and he was drifting in and out of consciousness anyway. I went back to the bar to get him some stuff for when he woke up. I also grabbed a little shut eye, before braving it and trying to call Daniel. He didn’t answer until the fifth attempt, and once I told him about Phoenix, he told me to take as much time off from work as possible, and that he would send my stuff to the bar by courier. His tone was polite but curt at the same time, which in itself, told me that what we had was more or less over. I thanked him, said goodbye, then sank down on the couch to cry, long, hard, and ugly.

Jake wandered in to find out about Phoenix and embarrassingly, caught me losing hold of my emotions. Give him his due, he didn’t tease me, or act awkward, he came straight over to comfort me. He was surprisingly good at it and extremely sensitive and caring. I always thought Jake was just a bit of an idiot, but he’s one of those rare men who know how to deal with a highly emotional woman.

I headed back to the hospital after that, put on my game face for Phoenix, and picked up his favorite chocolate before finding him. Actually, I heard him before I saw him. His low, dulcet tone which gives Chris Hemsworth a run for his money, was chuckling seductively with someone. I found myself rolling my eyes even before I walked in to see him taking a card from one of the pretty nurses who appeared to be taking extra good care of him. She blushed when she saw me and quickly scuttled off along the linoleum floors with a gentle screeching of her loafers. Folding my arms in mock judgment, I raised an eyebrow, to which he did the same, moments before giving me a cheeky smirk.

Knowing he is well on the mend, I walk slowly to the chair beside his bed, throw his bag of candy on top of him, then sit down with a smile I can’t help cracking when he maintains that ridiculous grin on his face.

“Lou,” he says with only a hint of seriousness.

“Brother,” I reply.

“You miss me?” He grins even wider because he knows I’m still pissed with him.

“What happened, Phoenix?” I ask seriously, effectively ending this little play session with him. He sighs heavily and looks to the ceiling as he lies back on his pillow.

“I found the guy Javier told me about,” he huffs, taking a look around to check no one is listening in. “He was a fat motherfucker, old too, so I figured this was going to be so easy, it almost took the fun out of it. Anyway, we got talking, him and ‘Warren’ that is, and he revealed that he knew Mia and Diesel, aka, Mom and Dad. Apparently, he got to be really friendly with them. They even had picnics and such when their kids were young. Just before you turned one, he relocated his family to Florida, where his wife and kids still live, all on his legitimate dime as a fucking realtor!”

He shakes his head as though he can’t believe what an epic waste of time and effort it all was.

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