Page 35 of Victorious: Part I

Unscrewing the flask lid, I hand it to Livvy. She smiles at me with deep gratitude crossing her face. Poppy grins at me as Alpha scowls like we’re going to be having words later. Livvy’s shaking hand moves the flask to her lips, and she takes a small sip of Alpha’s tequila. Her eyes close as she lets the alcohol flow down her throat. Almost instantly, it’s like her body relaxes. She lets out a sigh of relief, and I glimpse at Alpha, seeing his tense muscles soften a little too.

Maybe we could all do with a drink?

Livvy’s eyes open again, a slight smile touching the corner of her lips as she shifts her gaze to Alpha. “I get it now…” she whispers to him.

He tilts his head in response. “Get what, Liv?”

“The drinking… it helps numb everything.”

Alpha clears his throat, taking his flask back from her. He goes to screw the lid back on but hesitates, looking at the opening. His nostrils flare, and he nods once, then moves the flask to his lips, taking a giant gulp of the remaining tequila. I bite down on my bottom lip, watching him self-medicate as he swipes the back of his mouth, then screws the lid on and slides the flask back into his leather cut. “Yeah, Liv. Sometimes being numb is theonlyway to get through.”

Livvy softly smiles, her hand reaching out for Alpha’s. He hesitates but then takes hers in his. “But you’ve been there… done that.” She glances across to look at me, and Alpha follows her line of sight, his eyes locking on my concerned gaze as she continues. “The last time you went down that path, Stone… our relationship ended… please don’t let that happen again… Haven issogood for you… and you have Poppy to think about now…”

Alpha turns back to look at Livvy, a determination back in his eyes.

“Life’s thrown you curveball… after curveball… don’t get sucked back… into the same destructive patterns… you get ahead of it this time, Alpha… promise me!”

Alpha nods, his hand tightening on Livvy’s. “I got this, Liv. I won’t let you down. I won’t let Haven down. And I sure as shit am never,evergoing to let Poppy down. Even if she scares the hell out of me most of the time,” Alpha teases as he scrubs his daughter’s hair.

Poppy giggles, turning back to look at her father. “Hey, is that because I’m eight years old and can kick more ass than you, old man.”

Giggling to myself as Alpha huffs like the grump he is, I slide my arm around him. “Honestly, Poppy, Alpha’s scared because we can both kick more ass than he can.”

Alpha scowls, folding his arms across his chest in annoyance. “Okay, okay, to be fair, I wasn’t trained as an assassin, but I still have skills. You don’t become president of a biker club because you’re good at math.”

Livvy grins. “Definitely not. That’s why we have Loki. Your math is terrible, Alpha.”

We all chuckle, loving how Livvy is throwing her usual sass until she starts coughing through her laughter. Poppy sits taller, her eyes widening as Alpha and I step closer, trying to wait it out. Livvy’s coughed a lot over the last few hours, and generally, she can pull herself back into line, but this one seems to be lasting a little longer.

“Liv,” Alpha urges, reaching out for Poppy and pulling her off the bed so Livvy has more room.

My heart races in my chest when the monitors start beeping. The sound sends instant panic racing through me.

“Mommy!” Poppy screams.

Alpha’s holding her tight to his chest as I race for the door and lean out.

“Lock, we need you,” I scream down the hall, seeing him already racing toward me, his eyes wide as saucers.

He skids into the room, his face pale as he rushes toward Livvy, a nurse charging in behind him. She races for the bed, instantly lowering Livvy to a flat position to help with her airway as Lock moves in, increasing her oxygen input.

Poppy’s cries echo through the room, almost at the same pitch as the beeping machines. Alpha’s harsh breathing matches my own as we stand back, saying nothing, watching Lock fight to bring Livvy back under control.

“C’mon, baby, take a breath. Breathe for me, Liv,” Lock urges, sweat trickling down his brow as he injects something into her IV.

His frantic eyes race from the monitor to Livvy to see signs of any improvement. A faint smile crosses his face as he reaches out, his hand sliding to her cheek, cupping it as he looks down at her. “That’s it, nice and slow. You got this. Innn and ooout,” he whispers, holding her oxygen mask to her face while the nurse continues to check through her vitals.

The nurse glances up at Lock, a somber expression crossing her face, tears glistening in her eyes. “Dr. Rhodes, do you want me to get another attending to handle what comes next? You know youreallycan’t be involved.”

Lock clenches his eyes shut, his hand still caressing Livvy’s cheek as she slows her breathing right down, but he shakes his head. “I don’t care about conflict of interest. Thisshouldbe me.”

Livvy clears her throat, pulling at her mask, trying to take it off.

Poppy gasps. “Mom!” she whimpers.

Lock leans in, trying to put the mask back on Livvy, but she scrunches up her face and shoves it with as much energy I’ve seen from her since this started. “Lock… don’t you dare… throw away your… career for me… you be here, absolutely… but not as my doctor.” She glances at the nurse and weakly smiles. “Get Dr. Nettle,” she instructs.

The nurse doesn’t hesitate, rushing out of the room as Lock slumps his shoulders, scrubbing at his face. “I really tried to save you, Liv. I triedsofucking hard,” he sobs, tears streaming down his face now.

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