Page 60 of Inevitable

“Alright! When do we get that bitch?” he asked a little too gleefully, but he was interrupted by my phone ringing yet again. Since it had been a morning of surprises, I had no idea who it could have been, and was even more mystified when the number came through without a name. I didn't recognize it, but the area code was from Austin, so I answered.

“Hello?”

“Bash! It's Rhys!” Rhys breathed out, sounding shaky as fuck and like he'd been crying.

My stomach dropped and I felt ice race up my spine. “Rhys? What's wrong?”

“It's Micah! He's at the hospital. I didn't know what to do…there was so much blood and…” he didn't even get the words out before I blanked out, crashing back to the couch when my legs gave out beneath me. I struggled to hear the rest, but my brain was shorting out, only letting a couple of Rhys' words through the haze of pain and fear coursing through me.

Nate ended up grabbing the phone from me and I partially registered him talking to Rhys and getting details of what happened. I couldn't find any strength left in me to move. I could only sit there and beg God that I didn't just lose the love of my life.

Please let him be okay. He has to be okay. Without him, there is no me.

CHAPTER 21

Micah

The first thing I became aware of was the sound of muffled voices around me mingled with a high pitched buzzing sound that rivaled a dentist's drill. I could make out certain words like “concussion” and “recovery” and “blood loss”, and I was left wondering who they were talking about. I thought of Bash, wishing he were there to help me. Then I realized I didn't even know where I was or who the voices belonged to. I started to feel panic setting in, struggling to move or do anything, but I couldn't feel any part of my body. I felt detached, untethered to the world around me, and the thought that I was dead flitted through my mind.

That idea was quickly abandoned when I heard the rapid beeping of a monitor and felt a hand on my cheek.So I do have a body still. Good to know! Now why the hell won't it move?

“Micah? Micah baby, can you hear me?” a disembodied voice called to me, and familiarity tugged at my mind. I knew that voice. I strained to focus on it, to get control of my body and move even a little. A few seconds later, awareness of my arms and legs came back to me, along with a throbbing pain that scattered through my body like buckshot, starting at a single point and spreading outward. I groaned in discomfort, and the soft voice spoke again.

“Shh, it's okay love, you're okay. Deep breaths. We'll get you some pain meds.” Like a picture that was fuzzy but slowly sharpening before my eyes, I figured out who that deep, sweet-sounding voice belonged to.Bash…my Bash.

“Bash,” I croaked, the scratchy rasp sounding unrecognizable to my own ears. I fought to open my eyes, and the image of his handsome, worried face started to reveal itself. His eyes were red-rimmed and his cheeks tear-stained, but he had never looked more beautiful to me because he was right there next to me, just as I wished. He smiled and it nearly blinded me with the love and relief that shone through it.

“Yeah sweetheart, it's me. I'm right here. God, you scared the shit out of me, baby,” Bash said, his voice cracking at the end.

“What…happened?” I forced out past the aching dryness of my throat. I was sure I was barely speaking above a whisper, but he seemed to hear me fine.

“You're in the hospital, babe. Rhys called me. He came home and found you bleeding in the living room. You apparently cracked your head on a table corner and passed out. He didn't know how long you had been out, but there was a ton of blood and he called 911. Then he called me and told me where you were,” Bash explained, softly stroking my cheek with his thumb, and my heart fluttered in the chest that I could finally feel again. The monitor beeped unsteadily for a second before returning to a rhythmic beeping, and Bash chuckled.

“I guess that's all the proof I need that I get to you, huh?” Bash smirked, his eyes shining at me.

I felt a small laugh escape me, but it was breathy and soundless. My head pounded a bit in response. “Am I okay?” I rasped, wanting to know the extent of the damage.

“They gave you a transfusion and stapled the cut in your head, but your CT scan and MRI were both clear. They said it's a mild concussion and you should make a full recovery. You'll be in pain for a few days because of the gash in your head, and the staples will need to be removed in about ten days, but other than that you're okay.” Bash leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, merely a brush against my skin and I ached for more.

Bash looked into my eyes again and his eyebrows furrowed. “Do you remember what happened, baby? Anything at all?”

I searched my memory for anything relevant, trying to piece together how I ended up with a cracked skull in the hospital, but my brain felt scrambled. It was a broken, dizzying kaleidoscope of fragmented images, noises, and colors. The events in my head were thrown together in a haphazard timeline where I couldn't distinguish reality from fiction, the past from the present. It was like a tornado sucked me in and I was expected to find solid ground. It was frustrating and scary as hell.

“I don't know…I can't…get it straight in my head,” I groaned, pushing myself to grab hold of any event I could remember that might help.

“Hey, it's okay, M. Take your time. Think of this morning. Do you remember waking up with me?” Bash soothed, moving his thumb to stroke my forehead in a calming manner.

I took as deep a breath as I could, and focused. Fragments sprang up of me and Bash in bed, his hands on me, kisses, and an argument. Slowly, the fragments stitched together until I remembered the entirety of the morning. I remembered the fight about Ainsley and Bash saying he wanted more from me. He had said he'd be mine, but he couldn't get rid of her, and it just made me think of how I'd get rid of Kit in a nanosecond for him.

Wait. Kit. My apartment. The breakup. What he said about me and Bash.Fucking hell.

“Kit. He was at my place…waiting. I told him about us and we…fought. He…grabbed me and I tried getting away and…I fell and that's all I remember,” I forced the disjointed words out, my throat on fire from the effort.

Bash's eyes were smoldering, the fury building in him so potent that I could almost taste it. “Kit did this?” Bash ground out through gritted teeth, his thumb stilling on my head and I could feel his hand shaking. I knew that if he thought Kit was responsible, he'd hunt him to the ends of the earth.

“It was an accident,” I tried to assure him, but Bash didn't believe me.

“No, I'm going to fucking murder him. Did he try to hurt you?” The look on his face was downright hostile.

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