Page 51 of Street of Dreams
It felt like a jackhammer was drilling into Jake’s skull. His mind was fuzzy, and he couldn’t think clearly. He tried to move, but his arms and legs were like lead weights. The left side of his face felt swollen and sore. It hurt to breathe. He struggled to open his eyes, but only the right one cooperated. Bright light blinded him, and he groaned.
“Jake! You’re awake. Thank God.”
It was Mac’s voice, and relief filled Jake’s heart before he even knew why. Then it all came back to him, and he thought he might vomit. He tried to lurch forward, but sizzling pain in his ribs stopped him. “Where’s Ben? What happened?”
“Ben’s fine.” Mac sat on the edge of the hospital bed with tears pooling on his lower lids and worry wrinkles across his forehead. He gently took one of Jake’s hands and pressed it to his lips. “He’s with the twins. They went to the cafeteria and should be back any minute. How are you feeling? Do you want me to get the nurse?”
“No. What the fuck happened?”
Mac swallowed hard and tightened his grip on Jake’s hand. It took a moment for him to answer. “You have a couple of fractured ribs. Stitches above your eye.” He lowered his gaze to the bed and tried to steady his voice, but it cracked anyway. “They had to reconstruct your eye socket. And your nose is broken.”
None of the bruises or broken bones mattered to Jake. He focused on the butterfly bandage above Mac’s brow, the purple discoloration and the red splotch marring one of his beautiful green eyes, and on the split in Mac’s lip. Those were the things that hurt like a knife twisting in Jake’s heart. “I don’t care about me. Are you OK?”
Mac nodded. “Yeah. Just still shaken up by everything. I thought he was going to kill you. I couldn’t stop him, and I didn’t know what to do.” He pressed his quivering lips together while the wetness in his eyes swelled, making them pools of green water, until two fat tears fell down his cheeks. “I was so scared. I love you so much, Jake. I thought I was watching you die.” He leaned forward and gently kissed the right side of Jake’s face, letting his lips linger.
“I love you too.” Jake swallowed, emotion clogging his throat and making his chest hurt. This whole thing was his fault, and people he loved got hurt. He took too many chances and put Mac in danger. He’d been selfish, fooling himself into thinking he could have some kind of normal relationship. He’d never forgive himself for that. “I’m so sorry. I never should have brought you to my place.” Tears filled his eyes, and he blinked rapidly. His left eye, which was swollen completely shut, pulsed with pain as the lid attempted to move. “I’m such a fucking idiot.”
“None of this is your fault. Please don’t think that. Your father’s an animal.”
Jake leaned his head back and took a deep breath, imagining what would have happened if Ben didn’t show up. His little brother probably saved his life. Mac’s too.
“Here. Drink this.” Mac placed a small cup of water in Jake’s hand.
Jake didn’t realize how thirsty he was until the cool water met his lips. It felt soothing on his scratchy throat, but the paper cup made his lip throb. It wasn’t the first time he took a beat down, but it was, by far, the worst and the only time he thought his old man was going to kill him. The details were still unclear, and it hurt his head to think about it too much. He was worried about his brothers, though, and what would happen now. “How did I get here? What did you tell the doctors?”
Mac’s nostrils flared and he took a labored breath. “I wanted to call the police and tell them everything, but your brothers wouldn’t let me. Henry told the doctors we got mugged. He said I got knocked out right away and didn’t see who did it.” Mac shook his head with remorse. “I went along with it, against my better judgment. I shouldn’t have said that. The twins were so adamant about not involving the cops that I agreed to it. I guess I was in shock. I’m sorry. That was the wrong thing to do. We need to call the police and tell them what happened. Right now. He needs to get arrested. He deserves to rot in jail for what he did to you.”
Jake sighed. If it was that easy to get rid of Bruce, he would have put his old man in jail years ago. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not? He could have . . .” Mac trailed off, and his face fell with realization. “Ben. They’d take Ben away if your father went to jail.”
Frustrated, Jake let out a growl.
“Don’t get upset.” Mac rubbed Jake’s shoulder with a soothing touch. “We’ll figure something out. We have to.”
The door to Jake’s room opened, and all three of his brothers walked in. Ben immediately ran to Jake’s bedside, but stopped, afraid to touch him.
“It’s OK, buddy. Don’t be afraid.”
“I’m not scared,” Ben quickly replied. “Does your face hurt?”
“Yeah. But it’ll get better.” The image of Bruce backhanding Ben suddenly flashed in Jake’s head, filling him with worry and rage. “Are you all right?” He gently cupped Ben’s chin in his hand and turned his face to the side, expecting to see a bruise, but there was only a small red mark on his jaw.
Ben nodded. “Yeah. It still hurts a little. And I bit my tongue.” He stuck his tongue out to show Jake the red meaty edge that got caught between his teeth.
It infuriated Jake, but, more than anything, he wanted to cry. “I’m so sorry.” His voice cracked and he reached for his little brother, who wrapped his arms around his neck. Jake flinched at the contact with his cheekbone, but he squeezed Ben tighter despite the pain. This kid was so fucking tough, taking a rap in the mouth and acting as if it were nothing.
Ben patted Jake on the back. “It’s OK. Danny gave me ice to put on my face, but it was too cold. Henry bought me two ice pops, so my tongue stopped hurting.” Ben pulled out of Jake’s embrace, held his chin in his hand and moved his jaw from side to side. “I think I need another ice pop.”
Henry smiled at his little brother. “I’ll get you one in a minute.”
The twins greeted Jake, a mixture of relief and worry clear on their faces, and each gave him a bro shake.
“I’m so glad you’re finally awake.” Henry let out a pained breath and pushed his fingers through his hair. “What a fucking mess.”
“Yeah,” Danny agreed. “It’s a good thing we got home when we did.”
“You guys were there?” Jake remembered Ben but had no recollection of the twins. He rubbed at the pounding ache in his forehead. “What the fuck happened? Why was Ben home so early?”
