Page 17 of The Secrets We Keep

The next thirty minutes are a blur. The paramedics show up and so do the police. I hear Flo speaking with them while the paramedics load me onto the bus, saying that I need to get checked out at the hospital.

The ride to the hospital is short, but all I think about is how am I going to pay for this? I just started this job. I don’t have health insurance. I don’t have anymoney saved. How am I going to work with a burnt arm?

The hospital is quiet when we get there, which isn’t odd for a small town like Silver Springs. The emergency room doctor asks me what happened and winces when I tell him. He lifts the loose bandaging from the wound and tells the nurse about what he needs.

They give me something for the pain and then clean the burn before applying an ointment and bandaging it.

“I’ll print out your care instructions, just make sure you keep the burn clean and wrapped for now,” the nurse tells me softly. “I’ll be right back with your prescription and instructions.”

She walks out of the room and not even a second later, Grayson and Rowan barge inside. Grayson’s eyes are wide as they land on me and skate over me from head to toe. His jaw clenches when he sees the bandage around my arm and he’s next to my bed in the next second.

“What the hell happened?” He growls, fisting his hands at his sides.

I look between the two of them and then scoff. “Like you care, you probably rejoiced when they told you what they did to me.” I look down at my hands, not wanting to even look at them.

Grayson’s rough hand clasps mine. “What the hellare you talking about? Who did this? Flo just called me and told me to get my ass to the hospital because you had been hurt, she didn’t say what happened.”

I look up into familiar blue eyes and can see the truth in his words. He squeezes my hand encouragingly. I sigh. “Eric Tapper showed up at the diner. I didn’t know that it was him, I just thought it was three members of the Tennessee charter. I tried to avoid eye contact with them because I was hoping none of them would recognize me. One of them asked for more coffee, when I came back with it, Eric grabbed my arm and poured the fresh coffee on my arm. He pushed me to the ground and then took off,” I trail off. “Oh my gosh,” I sit up straight. “They didn’t pay! Flo is going to be pissed. What if she fires me?”

Grayson’s other hand squeezes my shoulder. “Calm down. Flo isn’t going to be mad at you over that, you’ve been gone too long if you’ve forgotten how she is.”

I can hear the tension in his voice. He’s furious. He didn’t get along with Eric back in the day. Eric caused a lot of unnecessary drama for the club.

“Did Eric say anything?” Rowan asks, his brow furrowed.

“He said something about me coming back now that my dad is dead, I don’t remember it word for word,” I mutter.

“Fucking prick,” Rowan growls.

The nurse walks back into the room and slows her steps when she sees Grayson and Rowan. “Are you okay, Sophie?”

“I’m fine,” I murmur softly. I don’t blame her for being skeptical. Grayson and Rowan are huge and bikers.

She nods her head and walks over to my bedside, handing me a paper. “These are your aftercare instructions, and your prescription has been sent over to your pharmacy. The doctor doesn’t want you to work for a week, so make sure you follow through. The skin on your arm will make a full recovery as long as you follow these instructions,” she looks at me pointedly.

“She’ll follow the instructions,” Grayson says. I glare in his direction. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“Perfect,” the nurse says with a smile. “Best of luck, Sophie. If you notice any signs of infection, don’t hesitate to come back. You guys are free to leave.”

With that, she turns and exits the room, leaving me with the two brooding men beside me.

“Let’s get you home,” Grayson murmurs softly, giving me a gentle tug on my hand.

I sigh but let him help me from the bed. Rowan grabs the discharge papers and Grayson leads me down the hallway. We exit the hospital, and I see their bikes parked right outside the door.

“Couldn’t find an actual spot to park in?” I ask dryly.

“I was in a rush,” Grayson grumbles before stopping in front of his bike and letting me hop on. He hands me a helmet and then climbs on in front of me, starting his engine and waiting for me to wrap my arms around him. When I do, he gently adjusts them to hold on tighter and then we’re off.

Something about being back on Grayson’s bike feels right to me. My arms tight around his waist, my face to his back, the smell of his leather cut engulfing me. Something about how he rushed to me when I was hurt.It feels like home.

13

GRAYSON

I revel in the feeling of Sophie’s arms around my waist. I can’t deny how right it feels to have her on the back of my bike with her arms wrapped around me. It feels like she never left.Like we never parted.

Her presence almost calms the anger brewing inside me.Almost.The rage that I feel towards Eric is boiling inside me, eager to escape.

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