Page 83 of When It Reins
“What did they say? What happened? Is she injured?” Thea’s rapid-fire questions only make my head swim, and I wish I had more answers for her, but I don’t.
“I’m not family.” I swallow the bitter truth of what I was told. “They wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“I’ll go talk to them,” Logan tells her, marching over to the desk with authority.
“Mitch, are you okay?” Thea’s eyes look over me, probably seeing what a mess I am. “Did you get hurt?”
I shake my head, looking down at the ash covering my body. “No.”
I’m not particularly close to Thea. She is my boss and my sister-in-law, but we never really sat and chatted, never got to know each other.
But she is always nice, and Juniper never had anything bad to say about her older sister, making me wish I’d taken the time so that I could lean on her right now.
Maybe she needed to lean on me, though. This is her sister. She is just my…girlfriend. If that.
Fuck.
I wish we’d gotten a chance to have a conversation. I wish I hadn’t left yesterday. If I’d stayed, none of this would have happened at all.
“Mitch.” Thea’s voice is muffled to my ears, and I feel my shoulders sway. “Mitch? Are you okay?”
I nod, or I think I do, as I stumble back for a chair, hoping I hit one and not the hard floor.
“Logan!” I feel Thea’s hands on my arm and resistance when she pulls, but feel my ass hit the chair before she can keep me upright.
“Mitch.” Logan’s voice cuts through the fog that has my head swimming, and I feel my heart rate tick up as something makes it hard to breathe. Hands grab my face, and Logan’s face comes into view. “Did you get hurt when you went in the house?”
I try to shake my head, but the movement hurts enough that I wince and close my eyes.
“Grab a doctor, Thea.” Logan’s stern but calm voice reaches me, and I try to shake my head again. I don’t want a doctor. I don’t want to get seen. I want to be here when Juniper is done so we can go home and talk.
I need to talk to her.
I need…I need…
I wake in a hospital room and immediately know that I’m going to regret looking down at my body, knowing someone put a gown on my body when I wasn’t aware.
But, before I can harp on that, a hand in mine has my attention shooting to it and relief coursing through me when I see Juniper sitting there smiling at me.
“Hey there, Hero. Seems you’ve been earning your nickname overtime.” She teases me, even though there’s an underlying worry to her tone. Every tense muscle in my body relaxes, my hand tightening around hers in relief. She is sitting in a chair and has on oxygen with an IV bag on a pole next to her. I frown at it, wondering how bad she is.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she says, blushing furiously. “I guess after you left yesterday, I forgot to do some things. Like eating or drinking. So, I’m being treated for light dehydration along with everything else.”
I pull her hand and sit up, pulling the oxygen mask off of my face. My headache is nearly gone, and I can feel the way my lungs open up for me when I take a deep breath. I lift her hand to my mouth, pressing kisses to it before I look at her. “I’m so sorry, Starling.”
Immediately, her head shakes in denial, and she stands, coming to sit on the edge of the bed. I move to make room for her beside me, because there’s no place else I want her to be than right here.
“No, I’m sorry.” She shakes her head, lifting her arm with the IV to her forehead. “I feel so stupid. I let my emotions control how I reacted, and I guess…” Pausing, she bites her lip before continuing. “I love you so stupid much, Mitch.”
I smirk, unable to help myself, and pull the oxygen mask off of my neck before reaching forward and tangling my hand into her hair, pulling her closely and finally, finally kissing the woman who makes my world flip on its axis.
She kisses me back with just as much passion, holding herself to me and showing me how much I mean to her. I know that I want her to know how much I love her, how I can’t stand the thought of living without her.
I pull her to me, and she rests her head on my chest as I breathe deeply, knowing that no matter what, she and I are going to be just fine.
Finally, it feels like I can breathe easy, that peace has settled over me.
Hours later, Juniper is sleeping next to me when Logan and Mick walk in, side by side. I frown at the sight. Logan and Mickhave known each other for years, but somehow, seeing them together like this unnerves me.
