Page 1 of Mysterious

CHAPTERONE

Liam

Slowly,I open my eyes and see nothing but white. Definitely not my bedroom. I try to place where I might be, but nothing makes sense. What is that sound? It’s a constant beeping, but I can’t figure out where it’s coming from.

My phone? No. Maybe my alarm? No, I’d never choose to wake up to that noise.

I look left and right, but I see no one in this room with me. Did I change my bedroom to all white? No, that doesn’t sound like anything I’d do. I hate all white rooms. They feel so sterile, so much like hospital rooms.

Then I remember I would be in my room at Mia’s house. No, that doesn’t make sense either because that room isn’t all white. What color is that room? Tan? Beige?

Whatever color it is, I’m not there.

The memory of Mia running into traffic flashes through my brain, and panic rushes through me. Did she get hit by a car? Is she okay?

I sit up to get out of bed, and instantly, pain stabs down my entire right side. Fuck! What the hell is that? Turning to look at my arm, I see it wrapped in bandages and wires all around me.

Awake after feeling like someone sunk a knife into my skin, I finally understand where I am. That explains the wires and the beeping.

But why am I in a hospital?

“Please remain still, Mr. Jackson. You’ve suffered a gunshot wound to your arm, so we need you to keep still so you don’t tear any of the stitches. The doctor will be in momentarily,” a woman’s voice says, and I turn my head to see a tall nurse with the palest skin I’ve ever encountered smiling down at me.

“Where is Mia?” I ask, desperate to know she didn’t get shot too.

Jesus, if the bastard who got me got her too, I’ll never forgive myself.

“Mia?” the nurse asks like she’s doesn’t understand the question.

Nodding, I answer, “Yeah. Singer. Superstar. She should have been with me when I was brought here.”

God, I hope she was. The memory of her running away floods my mind, and all I can think of is Mia off on her own up to who knows what. Or worse, hurt by the son of a bitch who shot me and pulled over on some road bleeding to death.

The nurse’s eyes open wide, and she smiles. “Oh, the young woman who rode in with you on the ambulance. Yes, she’s here. She’s been here the whole time. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to hear that you’re finally awake.”

“So she’s okay?” I ask, suddenly fearful she needed to be in the ambulance like I did.

The nurse nods as I notice her nametag that reads Theresa. “She’s okay, even if she is a little impatient. I’m going to assume she was just frightened that you might not make it.”

I notice a hint of unhappiness filling the woman’s voice as she says that first sentence. Knowing Mia, she had some kind of temper tantrum when she couldn’t force them to make me better on her schedule instead of theirs.

“If I’m not mistaken, you have an entire waiting room full of people very eager to see you. As soon as the doctor comes in and takes a look at you, we can bring some of them in.”

My mind fills with the image of my family out there scared to death I might not make it. Not my father, of course, since he’s always of the belief that we Jacksons are indestructible, but I know my mother and she’s let herself worry that the last time we talked at my grandmother’s house that day when she convinced me to take the job with Mia was, in fact, the very last time she’d ever hear my voice.

Abbi Jackson is nothing if not an overreacting mother when it comes to me.

“Okay, thanks. I’m sure they’re just frightened. It’s not every day that you hear someone you know got shot,” I say, preemptively hoping to excuse whatever madness my family has brought to the hospital while I’ve been in here.

Just as those words leave my lips, I hear Mia arguing with someone right outside in the hallway. “I don’t care what the rules are. I need to see him. He’s the person in charge of my security. Where he goes, I go, and vice versa, so please move so I can get in there to see him.”

I glance up at the nurse as she turns to leave the room. “I’m sure she’s just scared. If you send her in, I can calm her down and probably make things better for all involved,” I say sheepishly.

For a moment, Theresa doesn’t seem too inclined to give in and break whatever rule there is that says I can’t have visitors before the doctor sees me, but as Mia continues to berate someone out in the hallway, actually threatening the poor soul if they don’t let her in, the nurse with the pale skin gives in.

“Just as long as she doesn’t upset you.”

With a smile, I shake my head. “She’s just someone you have to get used to. Once you know who she really is, Mia’s a lot easier to deal with. I promise she won’t upset me.”

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