Page 22 of The Wayward Son

Keith smiled. “You must be his mystery nurse.” He brushed by her and helped Sawyer to the couch. When they got to it, Sawyer collapsed onto it with a groan. Keith looked down at him. “There you go. You made it.”

Sawyer let the dark take over again.

Jade looked at Keith. “Why isn’t he in the hospital?”

“He refused to go.”

“He’s hardly in a condition to make that call for himself.”

“Look, sweetheart. Sawyer has a thing about hospitals. Who am I to force him to go?”

Jade scowled at him. “Don’t call me sweetheart. And who are you?”

He held out his hand. “Keith Meyers. Sawyer’s manager.” He started for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“He’s in good hands. I’ll check in on him tomorrow when I bring his truck over.”

“You can’t just leave him with me. I don’t know what to do for him.”

“If he starts throwing up or pissing blood, call an ambulance.” He opened the door. “He knows what he needs.”

Jade looked at Sawyer. “He’s unconscious.”

“He’ll come back. He always does.” Keith went through the door and looked back at her. “Lock this door. It’s kindof a sketchy neighborhood, and your bodyguard is out of commission for the night.”

He left then, and Jade went to the door and locked it. “Bastard.” When Sawyer groaned, she went back to the couch and knelt next to it. “Sawyer?”

He opened his eyes. “Hey. I think I got my bell rung a little.”

“A little?”

He tried to smile, but it seemed to hurt. “Bourbon. Pain killers. Water.”

“What?”

“Above the stove.”

Jade went to the kitchen and got the bottle of bourbon, the prescription pain medication, an empty glass, and a glass of water. She then returned to the living room and was relieved to see Sawyer was still conscious.

He looked at her, though she was pretty sure he couldn’t see out of his right eye, which was black and blue and swollen almost shut. “Ice. The bags are…in ahh…”

“I’ll find them. One for your eye?”

He nodded, then opened the dark blue robe he was wearing over his matching trunks. There was a massive bruise on his left side, and Jade took a step back. “Oh my God.”

He let the robe fall from his hand. “Two bags.”

“Please let me take you to the hospital.”

“No. Just get the ice.”

With a sigh, Jade went to the kitchen and filled a small bag and a large bag with crushed ice, then she went back to Sawyer.

He sat up a little. “Whiskey.”

She poured a shot into the glass and handed it to him. He drank it down and nodded toward the water. After taking a drink of water, he said, “Three pills.”

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