Page 10 of Intertwined Souls

Cade is pale and his skin is clammy. He has an IV in his left arm, and a cuff of some sort around his bicep. I take a deep breath.

“He’ll be alright, kiddo. He just needs some rest, and he was extremely dehydrated, so we are giving him some fluids while he’s still out,” Doc explains, but I can’t force myself to relax as this overwhelming feeling of guilt and worry begin to rise.

“Do you know what they gave him?” Ryker asks quietly.

Sighing, Doc runs a hand down his face. “We weren’t sure what he was given at first. Brielle finally had the idea to take his blood sugar because he was showing some signs of hypoglycemia. His blood sugar level was deathly low. Our best guess is that they gave him a shot of insulin.”

“Insulin? Why did it affect him so badly?” Ryker questions, his forehead creasing in confusion.

“Someone who doesn’t need insulin can basically overdose from getting too much of it. It’s the same for people who have to take insulin; if you accidentally inject yourself with too much it can be fatal. Brielle thinks he was given a fairly low dose. They either didn’t want him dead or had no idea what they were doing.

“It was just enough to drop his blood sugar level and start shutting down his body slowly. Luckily, he got back here in time, and we were able to give him a glucagon injection, which causes the liver to release stored sugars into his blood.”

Exhaling sharply, I stare down at Cade, thanking the universe they didn’t give him more. Our lives got mixed together—intertwined, and now I can’t picture not having him or anyone else around here in my life.

Panic tries again to grip me in a vice at the thought of how many people I am beginning to care for and how that means I have so much more to lose now.

Fuck, I don’t know how to handle this.

Doc clears his throat. “Are you good? Anything I need to look at?” he asks, regarding me carefully.

I start to shake my head, but Ryker makes an annoyed sound and grabs my wrist, raising my hand to show Doc my knuckles that are raw, with a few cuts, and definitely bruising.

Doc sighs, “Alright, let me clean those cuts up, and then I can give you a cream to help the bruising heal faster. If you plan to work out—sparring, boxing, or really anything involving your hands, wrap them up really well.”

After he gets them cleaned up and provides me a tube of topical ointment, he leaves the room to give us some alone time with Cade.

I stare down at him, but seeing his unmoving face and pale, weak body is too much. I need out. The room feels like the walls are closing in around me, and I can’t take in a full breath. Everything seems to come crashing in at once now that we are back in a safe space and my mind isn’t racing with a million other things.

I hear Ryker say something and his hand brushes across my arm, but I bolt before he can touch me more. I can’t let him right now. I can’t breathe.

Rushing out of the room, I head down the hall planning to escape outside, but instead I run straight into someone. They grasp my upper arms, and I have to blink multiple times to see who it is.

“Bri,” I breathe out, my heart still pounding.

My shoulders sag as the last wall keeping my emotions locked up collapses. Heavy sobs shake my body as I wrap my arms around her waist, burying my head against her neck.

“Oh, sweet girl, I’ve got you. It’s okay,” she murmurs softly. She wraps her arms around me and holds me tight, running her hand up and down my back soothingly—something my mom used to do.

Another pair of arms wraps around both Bri and I from behind me, and I tense for a split second before recognizing Linc’s soft sandalwood scent.

The words come tumbling out through the sobs, “He told me everything, Bri. He taunted me with it. Every single thing he did to her. How she sounded when she was being–being hurt.” I hiccup and hold onto her tighter. She doesn’t respond and just keeps holding me. “I can picture it all in my head. After he finished making me live through what Mom’s childhood was like, he locked us in the tiny room, and I was left to my thoughts. I was drowning in them. I couldn’t breathe. I can’t breathe,” I gasp, sobbing even harder.

Voices whisper around me, but I can’t hear anything except my pounding heart and short gasps. Linc pulls away from my back, and an involuntary whimper slips past my lips. Bri tightens her arms around me, and another soft, gentle hand touches my shoulder.

“Come this way,” a voice I can’t quite recognize says.

Bri tucks me against her side and walks me out the backdoor, then across the yard towards Gabriel’s house. We head past the back slider and around the corner to where a bench swing sits.

Bri takes a seat and pulls me down to sit next to her, and then Presley sits down on my other side. I watch her cautiously, but she gives me a gentle smile.

“I can stay or go. Your choice; I don’t mind either way. But I am here for you, whatever you need. Another shoulder, ear, friend.” Presley shrugs. “Anything. I may even be able to relate a tiny bit to some of the emotions you’re dealing with,” she whispers before glancing away, wiping under her eyes before looking back at us.

Bri takes my hand and gives it a light squeeze. “Do you want to talk about it? Just sit here silently? Talk about something else? Whatever you want, sweet girl.”

Taking her in from head to toe, I see she wears a light pink maxi dress and her blonde hair is curled around her shoulders. “You’re here,” I say, trying to get my messed-up brain to fully take that in.

She chuckles softly, “I am. I told you I’d be back.”

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