Page 96 of Claiming Ours
“What the hell is wrong with him?” a familiar voice raged. “You said it was probably just a concussion.”
“Fuck, Lang, you brought the guy into my hospital room demanding the attending doctor see to him. Give the doctor a break. He’s about to piss his fucking scrubs,” a voice I didn’t know said, sounding both entertained and exasperated at the same time.
“Fix him,” Langston ordered.
My lids snapped open as the memories flooded in. Vision fuzzy, I scanned the room, finding Langston standing beside the couch I lay on, arms crossed over his chest, and a much, much smaller man standing beside him wearing a white lab coat.
“Fuck,” I rasped, throat and mouth so dry it felt like my tongue would crack.
The stiff cushion dipped beneath my hand as I pushed to sit up, but the room spun, keeping me in place.
“I’ll get someone to clean that up,” the doctor said and rushed out of the room.
“Lang, give him some space, for fuck’s sake.” I eyed the man in the hospital bed, who waved his good hand at me. “Not sure if you remember saving my life, but I’m West. Langston brought you in here after you got smacked over the head with a vodka bottle.”
“She was slippery as fuck,” Langston snapped, then looked at the ceiling. “She wormed her way out of my hold and cracked that bottle against your skull. Thank fuck it didn’t break.”
“Yeah, stitches are a bitch. I’d know.”
I nodded at West, agreeing with his statement.
“I thought I’d slipped, fallen back into my addiction,” I murmured, my voice sounding too loud in my pounding head. “I’d take a concussion or stitches over that failure.” With a groan,I finished sitting up and leaned back against the couch. “Did you call Liam, let him know?”
“I did,” Langston murmured.
“Is Baylee okay?” At his silence, I peeked one eye open, not realizing they had fallen shut to block out the blinding sun cutting through the blinds right into my brain. “Is she okay?”
“She doesn’t understand what’s going on. Liam respected you not wanting her to know about the crazy woman. So yeah, she’s okay, but he said she’s worried and freaked out.”
“I need to get back.” I started to push off the couch to stand, but my arms gave out at the agony that sliced through my head.
“You’re staying here overnight,” Langston commanded, “where that good-for-nothing doctor can keep an eye on you, and then we’ll get you home.”
“He’s a big softy,” West said, sending Langston a look that spoke to their relationship being way more intimate than just friends. “But he will kick your ass to keep you where he thinks you’re safe.”
“Damn straight,” Langston said with a curt nod.
Allowing my lids to close, I inhaled deeply and relaxed my tense muscles.
Tomorrow I’d go home, to the woman who made living and fighting my demons worth it all. And to a community that took me in without question and offered me hope of a better future, with a new family I never expected to want or need.
Home.
Yep, that was the exact word for what Anchor Bay had become for me.
31
BAYLEE
My socked feet slapped the hardwood floors with every step as I paced the length of my living room. Both dogs and BamBam watched me cautiously, as if they knew I was on the verge of tipping over into a hysterical crying fit.
Again.
“I just don’t understand why you can’t tell me,” I pleaded. “What if he doesn’t come back from wherever he went?” I paused and turned to where Liam sat on the edge of the chair, gray eyes locked on me like they had been all morning. “What if he realized I’m not enough to keep him here and?—”
“Okay, that’s enough of that.” He stood and strode to me, scooping me up in his thick arms and squeezing me tight against his chest. “You’re not thinking straight right now, so I’m going to allow that remark about you not being enough to slide without punishment, but you only get that one.” Cupping my face, he tipped it up to his. “You just have to trust me and Memphis both that what he had to do was to protect us—you, me, and himself. Can you do that, Little Bit? Can you trust me when I tell you everything will be fine, and he’ll come home to you?”
I chewed on my lower lip. “I do trust you,” I whispered. “But all these worst-case scenarios pop into my head, and the idea of yesterday morning being the last time I ever see him breaks me. I know what it feels like to be the one left behind, Liam. I’ve done it once and barely made it through, and that was with someone who I….” I trailed off, not wanting to admit that last part out loud since it had only been recently that I actually realized it myself.
