Page 33 of Beast: Part Two

Doc comes back over to the bed. He pulls three packages of gauze and a tube of ointment out of his black bag and places them down beside me.

“You have about four more weeks before you can move that arm freely again.”

Nodding, I don’t comment. Four weeks feels like a long time away, but when I realize I could have died, limited mobility is nothing.

“Do you need any more pain meds?”

I shake my head before he can finish his sentence. “No. I’m good.”

“Well, alright. I’ll see you in about two weeks. Take care, Summer.”

Doc walks out of the room leaving me and Maksim alone.

“You’ll be back to normal in no time,” Sim says, walking over to the bed.

He picks up the t-shirt I had on earlier. I continue to hold the towel up to my chest with my right arm. Carefully, Sim slides my injured arm into the sleeve of my borrowed shirt and works it over my shoulder and head before I stick my other hand into the last sleeve.

Once my shirt is back on and covering my breasts, I pull the towel out and toss it to the bed.

“Good news, right?”

“Yeah. I guess.”

He steps back, narrowing his eyes, he looks me over.

“You’ve complained for a week about needing to shower and now you don’t seem as happy?”

Being around Maksim has even further shown me how toxic my relationship with my sister is. Although he’s Gabriel’s brother, I swear he feels more like mine. He’s truly become a friend since I’ve met him. He starts every day knocking at my door to see if I need help with anything. If something is going on in the house, he always makes sure I’m included in the details. I like the women I’ve met here. They are all really nice, but Maksim is who I talk to most.

“Did Gabriel say anything to you today?”

Maksim shakes his head. “No. He stormed out the house early this morning and hasn’t been back yet. Priest asked him where he was going but he simply told him ‘Out’.”

He holds out a hand to help me down from the bed.

“I thought we couldn’t leave?”

“Youcan’t leave,” he laughs. “You and all the other women. Until we figure out who is behind the excommunication order and get a hold of Corbyn, it isn’t safe for you all to be out roaming freely. From my understanding, the Church has no idea any of you exist. Except for the female that Priest is with andher twin sister. But you’re different. Corbyn knows you, so you definitely can’t leave. We should all be keeping a low profile, but Beastie, well, he seems to do what he wants.”

I kind of figured that. Most of the women here are terrified of him with the exception of Fem. However, even she is giving him a wide berth lately. Especially after that situation in the kitchen the other day. Something is off with him. I’ve seen him go dark before. There is a look in his eyes when his mother takes over. But that day the look felt different, darker, more vacant. Even his movements when he walked over to me were different. Gabriel has always been stealth and quick, but it was like he was on autopilot walking over to me.

“Can I give you some advice, big brother to little sister?” Maksim asks.

I smile and nod. He walks over to the door and holds it open for me. I make my way over to him but stop in front of him.

“Give him some time and space. I know his decision to call off the relationship hurts, but I think he needs it.”

I’m all for giving Gabriel his space, but I will never give up on him. It may make me sound crazy, but I know him. The more I back down from fighting for us the more reason he will believe that his decision was the right one. But more importantly, he needs to know he is worth the fight. Between his mother and his psycho biological father, he needs to know that I will have his back. There is nothing he can do that will make me walk away. Even though that’s what he believes.

However, I don’t tell Maksim this.

“Fine,” I say, rolling my eyes with a smile. “I’ll give him his space.”

“Good.” We walk out of the bedroom side by side.

“You know, you’re doing good at this self-appointed big brother role.”

He chuckles. “You’re a lot easier to deal with than my other siblings.”

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