Page 16 of Deceit

“King, we gotta get you outta here. You’re in too much pain and you know this as much as I do. I’m assumin’ you’re Brynn?” Jinx asks her, his voice harsh yet gentle as he turns his attention to the woman kneeling before me.

“I am. Please get him outta here. He’s in so much pain and he’s covered in sweat. This isn’t good for him,” Brynn pleads with my best friend as she places her hand on my thigh and rests it there. “There’s an elevator here that you can get him down to the first floor. Not many people know about it, but I do. I come here all the time and know all sorts of things no one else does because they don’t look.”

“Come with me?” I ask her, my voice sounding as if it’s fading away to nothing. “I want you to see where I live and the clubhouse. To show you I’m not like the rest.”

I watch as Brynn thinks about my request. There’s hesitation and despair in her eyes. In the end, it takes her a matter of minutes to move away to pack up her things before leading us to the elevator after Jinx gets me out of the chair to help me. The three of us get in the elevator and I can tell I’m fading fast. Jinx has ninety percent of my weight and Brynn is trying to help him as much as she can. It’s not much, but just her being there with us is something I wasn’t expecting.

I’m finally back atthe clubhouse after Jinx and Brynn got me to the truck out in front of the bookstore. I don’t remember the ride back here, but I do know Brynn followed us the entire way. The sound of her bike’s engine was the only thing I focused on. My eyes were closed and I laid my head against the window of my door. Jinx didn’t talk as we made the trip to the clubhouse. When he pulled in, Hope and Ghost were waiting for us. That’s the last thing I remember as the engine of the sport bike shut off and then she was by my side once again.

Waking up, my room is dark with the exception of one desk light and the soft glow from the TV. There’s hardly any sound coming from it and I can hear the clicking of keys as Brynn sits at my desk and works on her laptop. I’m not sure what she’s doing right now, but the sound is enough to put a smile on my face as my eyes slide closed once again and I let sleep pull me under.

“Hey, Kingston. Youneed to eat,” I hear Brynn’s soft voice pulling me from sleep as I open my eyes to find her face in front of mine.

“What?” I ask her, needing to know why I’d need to eat.

“You’ve been asleep since we got back here yesterday. I’ve been up all night waiting for you to wake up so you could eat. Hope has been in multiple times with Jinx to bring you stuff and you haven’t woken up yet. So, I’m waking you up to eat before you get sick from taking the pain medicine on an empty stomach,” she answers me, her face coming in clearer as I wake up all the way and become alert.

“You didn’t leave?” I question her, slowly sitting up in bed as she moves to adjust my pillows without me saying a word.

“No. This doesn’t mean I’m ready to jump right back in to things, Kingston. All it means is you let me in and I wanted to make sure you’re okay after putting yourself through the extra pain of walking up all those stairs at the store. It gave me a chance to get a lot of work done and I think it helped clear my writer’s block. Now, Hope’s gonna be here in a few minutes and it’s time for me to go home so I can get some sleep. I’ll message you when I wake up,” she informs me just as Hope walks in the door followed by Jinx.

My cousin is holding a tray as she walks over to me and sets it across my lap. There’s a small bowl of soup, a sleeve of crackers, and some juice along with a bottle of water.

“Are you okay?” she asks me, placing her hand on my forehead to make sure I don’t have a fever as Brynn leaves the side of my bed.

“I’m okay. Just overdid it yesterday. Thanks, Hope,” I try to assure her as she steps back and lets me watch Brynn pick her things up and put them in her bag before grabbing her helmet where it sits on the side of my desk.

“Yeah. That was stupid as fuck, Kingston. I’m not happy. You’re lucky I didn’t call Aunt Kim,” Hope states, popping out her hip and placing her hand on it to let me know she’s pissed as fuck. “But, it did give me a chance to apologize to Brynn and talk to her a little bit while you were sleeping.”

“It was good getting to know you, Hope. Kingston, I’ll message or call you later to check in and see how you’re doing,” Brynn says once her things are in her hands.

“We’ll walk you out,” Hope says, lacing her fingers with Jinx as the three of them leave me in my room alone.

Brynn is the last one out the door and she looks over her shoulder with a small smile before closing the door behind her. I can’t help but smile in return before I slowly eat the food my cousin brought me. The entire time I’m eating, my thoughts are on Brynn and how I’m going to prove to her I’m not like everyone else she’s met in her life. It’s going to be a fight, but it’s one I plan on winning because she’s worth it. Brynn is worth everything I have to give her and I won’t lose her because of something stupid.

Chapter Ten

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