Page 20 of Hold Us Close
“I’ll be right there.”
We say goodbye and I lie here waiting. Swearing to myself that I won’t ever do this to her again.
But if I’m being honest with myself? That might be a promise I can’t keep.
God I hate hospitals. But I don’t even take the time to weigh just how much I hate them as I barrel out of the cab, tossing money at the driver.
The smell hits me as soon as I walk through the doors to the emergency room. Sterile with undertones of human waste. Voices surround me, speaking Spanish and what I think might be Portuguese.
I spot a desk with a heavyset dark-skinned woman behind it. “I’m looking for Landen O’Brien. Can you tell me where I can find him?” She looks at me like I’m nuts and I repeat the question in my broken Spanish.
“Señor O’Brien?” an attractive woman says from beside me. “You must be his girlfriend.”
I don’t know who she is, but I take a second to thank God for her. “I am. Where can I find him?”
“Come with me,” she says, so of course I do. She’s not walking nearly as fast as I’d like for her to, but I’m grateful for any help I can get.
“W-what happened to him?” I ask, deathly afraid of the answer.
She stops and turns to face me. “He was beaten. Probably by gang members. He’ll be residing with us overnight.”
My heart drops to my toes. Fighting to remain upright, I swallow the contents of my stomach as they push their way north. “Is he okay?”
“See for yourself,” she says, pulling the curtain beside us back.
In all of my twenty-two years, I’ve never seen anything like what I see when I look at him. His eyes are closed. His face is black and blue and a sickly shade of yellow.
I know from the memory of my parents’ murders that blood isn’t crayon red like in the movies. It’s darker and spreads quickly. It stains the bandages covering Landen’s chest. My hand flies to my mouth in an attempt to keep my horror from escaping. But it doesn’t work. A sound like that of a wounded animal breaks free and I have to fight not to drop to my knees.
The air has been stolen from my lungs, and hot, wet tears flow freely down my face. “Oh God.”
My words have his eyes fluttering open until they lock on mine. “Come here, baby. I’m fine.” Landen opens his arms to me and I launch myself at him, careful not to land on his bandages. “Shh,” he murmurs into my hair. “I’m sorry, angel. So sorry.”
A violent sob racks my body as he wraps his arms around me. He’s the broken one, comforting me. But I can’t help it. His pain is my pain. It seeps into me, weighing me down until I can’t move.
“Landen,” I whisper against his bandaged chest.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” he promises. I raise my tear-stained face to his and he frowns.
I wince as he rubs his thumb across my upper lip. I already forgot about it. I checked the mirror after he left earlier. It’s bruised and swollen. But nothing compared to what he looks like right now. “It’s not as bad as it looks,” I say right back to him. But it is. I don’t know how everything got so messed up. But it is.
“Take it easy,” I tell Landen as I help him up the stairs. His arm is draped over my shoulders but I know he’s only got about half his weight actually on me. “One more step.”
My stomach tightens at what awaits us inside our apartment. Or rather, what his reaction to it will be. But I was out of options.
I pull out my key and unlock the door. But before I push it open, I lose my nerve. “Babe, I need to tell you something. I’m sorry, please don’t be mad.”
He turns to me with an arched brow.
I take a deep breath, trying to steel my nerves with oxygen. It helps a little. Not much, but enough. “I didn’t know what to do. I still don’t. But you need help.Weneed help.”
“What are you talking about?”
I push the door open, hating myself for feeling grateful that he’s not in any shape to run out.
Four pairs of eyes regard us warily as we walk in.
“Fucking hell,” Landen mumbles under his breath. “Seriously?” he turns to me with betrayal in his eyes.
