Page 58 of Needing More
Running full speed to the barn, he grabbed the extra large crowbars and pickaxe from the wall. Running back, he gave each man one and watched Hayden break the fogged shower window causing the glass to crumble into the shower on the other side.
"Oh God, Sapphire," Hayden groaned in pain as they all three looked into the window.
Crumpled on the floor in front of the bathroom door, Sapphire lay unmoving. They couldn't see her face due to her hair partially covering it but they could see the blood on the corner of the counter.
Vic stepped back and plunged the end of the crowbar into the frame of the window where it met the wood of the house. Beside him, Hayden did the same on the other side. Pushing all their strength into the bar they heard the wood splinter and crack. Two more times they heaved the crowbars into the frame and pushed until the window finally gave and popped free of its foundation.
Joel didn’t need any help. Grabbing onto the sides of the now wider hole he pulled himself up and through the hole and was stepping across the broken glass and wood splinters to the unconscious girl.
Vic and Hayden dropped their tools and ran back into the house. Coming inside, Vic stopped at the door to his room and watched as Joel carried Sapphire out of the bathroom and laid her on the bed. With her head lolled back they could see the gash on her forehead.
"Oh fuck," Hayden rushed to the bed and gingerly pushed back her hair to inspect the wound.
Joel leaned over his shoulder and Vic had no choice but to go to the other side of the bed to see.
"It doesn't seem to be deep," Joel remarked, tracing the edge of the bruising around the cut with his finger. "But it's bleeding like crazy."
Hayden stepped back and pulled out his phone. "I'm going to call Doctor Flemings and have him do a house call," he announced and then pointed to Vic. Thunder crackled in Hayden's eyes as he pierced him with a condemning look. "And we're continuing our conversation."
Vic looked at Joel and he saw a ghost of a smirk on the blond's face. It was evident byconversationHayden really meant beating.
The doc arrived within the hour at the same time the private ambulance from Stardust Cove Senior Center arrived. Vic watched from the bottom of the stairs with his arms folded across his chest as they carried his fuming father in a stretcher down the stairs and out into the waiting ambulance.
"I should have never had you," his father shouted from the bed. "You were never any good! Should have smothered you while you slept!"
One of the paramedics looked sorrowfully at Vic. Vic just smiled in return.
"He's y'alls problem now. I'm done." With that, he turned on his heel and walked back into the house.
He paused in the front door when his bedroom door opened down the hall and Flemings walked out with Joel and Hayden. From where he stood, he could only see Joel's relieved face as he nodded and thanked Flemings.
Nodding at Flemings' acknowledging nod on his way past, Vic stopped a few feet away from the guys. He only caught a glance of Sapphire's resting figure in his bed before Hayden shut the door on her and shot him a lethal stare. Silently, he pointed to the back door.
With no real choice, Vic followed Joel as Hayden led them to the barn.Great, he thought with a sigh. Just far enough away from the house so Hayden could try to kill him without disturbing anyone else.
"What did the doc say?" Vic asked, stopping in the middle of the open barn.
"Shut the fuck up!" The anger in Hayden's voice was scorching. "We're not doing that. You don't get to ask about her."
Tired of Hayden's drama, Vic stepped forward, gritting his teeth as he tried to hold back his own temper. "You're out of your fucking mind if you think I'm doing that shit."
"Why?! Just tell me fucking why, Vic?!" Hayden held out his arms. "You could have any other woman in this goddamn town and you decided to go after the one girl who didn't belong to you."
"It wasn’t like that. Itisn'tlike that," Vic bit out savagely.
Hayden's whole body bristled with anger, putting a distinct dangerous charge in the air. "Why, because you think she loves you?"
"I know she does," Vic stated bluntly.
Hayden shook his head and ran an angry hand through his hair. "No. She doesn't love you. She was…she was just confused by you. By the friendship the three of ushad," Hayden spit the word out making sure Vic didn't miss it before continuing. "And…and what Joel and I have with her," he tried to reason.
"No," Vic shook his head. A sudden odd calm covered him as he spoke the words he knew to be true. "She loves me but is too afraid to because she is terrified at the thought of losing you two. So terrified she passed out in my bathroom."
"Flemings said it was a panic attack," Joel interrupted. "When he spoke to her he said that she mentioned her head was hurting really bad," Joel offered helpfully from his position off to the side. As if this was just some everyday conversation, he was leaning against the workbench on the wall fiddling with two rusted bolts.
Vic gave him a grateful smile for sharing that. He really did want to know what the doctor had said.
Hayden turned away and stared at nothing in particular off in the distance. "I would never leave her," he whispered.
