Page 48 of Sugar Coated

Chapter Ten – Kieran

When I woke up in the hospital, the hour was late. No sunlight shined in through the window on the other side of the room, so my eyes didn’t take long to adjust. My body ached in a way it hadn’t in, well, ever, and it pained me to sit up, but I managed to do so without making a sound. I quickly noticed I was hooked up to multiple machines, all taking my vitals.

My mind was fuzzy. My stomach had a low, dull pain, and I struggled to remember what had landed me here in the hospital, why I was here and not, you know, in my own bed.

And then it hit me like a truck. Or like a bullet. I supposed the latter was more apropos.

I’d gotten shot saving Laina. It must’ve done more damage than I thought, for me to be here, but I’d take it as long as it meant I’d saved Laina from sharing a similar fate. I should get back to the house and make sure she was all right.

I hit the button for the nurse as I swung my legs off the side of the bed. My clothes and belongings sat on a little end table just out of reach. I ripped everything off me—and out of me—before stumbling to the nightstand and digging through my clothes to find my phone.

The damned thing was deader than dead, and my body felt like a semi-truck had run over it a few times for good measure. I could honestly say I’d never felt this crappy in my entire life, and considering some of the things I’d done, that was saying a lot.

Most people took the smiles and the jokes at face-value. When you were a jokester, that’s who you became in all aspects, and people rarely thought you were hiding something more. To be frank, I was hiding an awful lot. A hell of a lot, some might say. Every single closet of mine was stuffed full of secrets, lies, and yes, even bodies.

There was one body I could never add to it, though, and that’s why I needed to get the hell out of here right now.

I had already changed into my clothes, blood-stains and all, by the time a nurse walked into the dim room. The light in the hallway shed enough for her to see me standing there, holding my dead phone.

Her eyes widened when she spotted me standing on my own. “You shouldn’t be up—”

“I need to go. Do you, uh, have a charger I could use first, though? Just a quickie, I promise.”

“Uh.” It was obvious she wasn’t expecting me to say any of that. She was a younger nurse; if I had to guess, she had a charger somewhere here, or she knew which one of her coworkers did. “I should let Dr. Newitt know you’re awake.”

“Sure, sure. Let the doc know, then swing by with the discharge papers and a charger, please. It’s late. I don’t want to wake the fam, you know? I’d rather surprise them at home.”

“You were shot. The police need to know you’re awake—”

“If you know anything about me, you already know my brother-in-law is the mayor, and my shooting was televised. Everyone who’s important already knows about the attempted murder, so can we just skip all this and get me out of here, please?” On a normal day, I could smile and charm my way out of anything. It had become quite a useful skill, one that was put to good use over the years.

I wasn’t fully myself right now, and it showed on my powers of persuasion.

The nurse compromised with me. She found me a charger, but she also made me speak with the doctor. The doctor thankfully came with discharge papers, although she highly suggested I change my mind and remain at the hospital for observation, but if I really wanted to leave, she could write mea prescription for pain meds and a round of antibiotics to take while I finish healing up, just in case.

The whole conversation involved a lot of me standing my ground; the hospital couldn’t force me to stay, and once it was made clear I was in no way, shape, or form going to be convinced to remain, the doctor gave me those papers to fill out, and then I was on my way. Whole thing took way too long, if you asked me.

After I charged my phone, I got anUber. Thankfully, the driver either didn’t see the blood on my clothes or he didn’t care, as long as he was getting paid. I told him I’d give him a better tip if we got to our destination quicker, and he accepted the challenge.

Hmm. I didn’t want to wake anyone up at home. Maybe I’d tiptoe to my bedroom and come down for breakfast in the morning and act like nothing was out of the ordinary. Yeah, that’s what I’d do. No welcome home party for me.

All in all, I was in pretty good spirits, considering everything that happened. I couldn’t wait to see Laina. Not that I planned on rubbing me saving her life in her face or anything, but it would be nice to get a thank-you and a hug.

A hug in private would be even better, because then I could hold her how I really wanted to hold her. Smell her hair and drown myself in her. You know, nothing too unusual.

The thought of Laina made me unlock my phone and go into a certain app I tried not to use too often. Some might call it spying, but I called it being safe. After Laina snuck out to that party a few years ago, I’d installed some spyware on her devices, just to be sure she didn’t do anything stupid again.

And I just liked knowing where she was.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the app and saw she was not at home on this Friday night. She was going somewhere. If she was going out with Mike, I was going to lose it.

What the hell could Mike offer her? Nothing. Nothing I couldn’t. Where that guy was concerned, that thing called jealousy reared its ugly head time and time again—and don’t get me started on Fang.

I was a man of no broken promises, so when we reached the house, I generously tipped the driver before getting out. In the dark, the house looked ominous, and as I walked up the driveway, I stopped beyond the camera’s view.

Mike’s car was still here, parked near the four-car garage. If he was still here, then where the hell was Laina going, and who was she with?

There was not a single part of me that could forget it and go into the house. I had to follow her, to find her, to make sure she wasn’t being stupid, as someone her age often was. So, I pulled out my phone, disabled the cameras, and went in through the side door to the garage, where my car was.

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