Page 9 of Where We Found Our Home
“Take care, honey.” The doctor closes the door behind her and Ciara whirls on me.
“You’ll be the one monitoring me tonight?”
“Listen, you seem anxious to not be here anymore, and if I had said no, she would have insisted you stay overnight.”
Her eyes soften slightly. “I really appreciate that, and I don’t wanna be here, but I’m not comfortable staying with you or you staying with me. I’m sorry.”
She’s absolutely right. I have no idea how I was thinking that would even be an option. My phone buzzes with a text from Sasha.
Sasha: Hey, Dom said you went back with Ciara. Is she okay? I’m in the waiting room.
Why had I not thought of that before?
Me: How would you feel about two overnight guests tonight?
The reply comes instantly.
Sasha: I’m gonna assume you’re talking about Ciara, in which case, I feel great about that. If you’re the 2nd guest I’m gonna need more time to consider.
Pain in the ass.
I turn back to Ciara. “Actually, I was thinking you might feel more comfortable staying with Sasha tonight. I’m sure Nevaeh would be excited to have you.”
“Oh. Umm, she doesn’t have to do that. Really, I’d be fine at home on my own.”
“Honestly, you’d probably be doing her a favor. She and Nevaeh seem to really like you, and they watched you hit your head really hard today. My sister is a worrier and she’s in the waiting room texting me for updates. If you don’t agree now, she’ll probably browbeat you down when we get out there. Sooo, would you rather agree now or have a worse headache when you agree later?” I’m really leaning into the guilt trip here, but it’s not a lie. Sasha would insist she look out for her. She’s always taking someone under her wing, and I don’t know if I’m annoyed or grateful that Ciara seems to be the latest target.
She thinks hard for a minute, but then all the fight seems to go out of her. “Okay, fine. But only because my head already hurts enough.” I chuckle. Whatever it takes is fine by me.
After she’s completely discharged, we head out to the waiting room to find Sasha.
“Hey, thank you for letting me stay with you tonight.”
Sasha wraps Ciara up in a hug, and she tenses for a minute before relaxing into it.
“No, thank you. I feel so guilty. If I hadn’t gotten on you about getting out more you probably wouldn’t have even been there.”
“Well, if I hadn’t been who knows what would’ve happened to that little girl, so it all worked out. Please don’t feel guilty.” My heart jumps at that response. I already admire her for jumping in front of the kid in the first place, but hearing she would willingly do it again gives me a sense of…pride.
I need to get away from this woman. I just met her, and she’s seriously fucking with my head. I should go home right now and leave Sasha to take care of Ciara, but I’m apparently a glutton for punishment.
“Let’s get you home. Carter called me earlier because Nevaeh is freaking out looking for an update. Linc, Carter and Isaiah went to get your car earlier, so it’s at my house.”
“Great. Thanks, sis.”
On the way to Sasha’s house, I take advantage of the fact that Ciara is sitting up front, and I spend the entire car ride stealing glances at her profile. I study her tattoo. It’s an intricate image of a phoenix rising from flames. It’s mesmerizing, but when I look closer, I can tell the tattoo is covering some extensive scarring.What happened to you, Ciara?I wonder if whatever caused the scars is the reason she was so anxious in the hospital.
When we get to Sasha’s house, I hop out quickly so I can help Ciara down. She hesitates but takes my hand anyway, and a shock shoots up my spine when our hands touch. I look over to Sasha, and she’s eyeing me curiously but doesn’t say anything.
“We’re here!” Sasha yells when we get inside. Nevaeh runs downstairs and hugs Ciara first, then me. Carter strolls down behind her.
“Are you okay? That looked like it hurted.”
Ciara chuckles, and the sound goes straight to my dick again. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just a bump on the head. I just need to take it easy.”
“Hi, Ciara, it’s nice to finally meet my daughter’s favorite customer. I wish it was under better circumstances.”
“Nice to meet you too, Carter.” She turns to Nevaeh. “Am I really your favorite customer, or do you say that to all the people with head injuries?”
