Page 59 of Disorder (Elite of Elmwood 2)

Closing my eyes, I gritted my teeth against the throbbing pain and turned my thoughts to the long, long list of ways I’d make Ava regret what she’d done. I didn’t even want to think what the Elite would do when they found out.

Lose their shit.

Kill Ava and her bandit of whores.

Not that they didn’t deserve it, because right now, I was feeling all sorts of vengeance.

He stayed with and I was so grateful. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner,” the guy said, regret heavy in his tone.

I drew in a quivering breath, the air like shards of glass and fire in my lungs. Sirens blared in the distance. It grew harder to breathe, but I forced myself to take it slow and steady. I didn’t attempt to move but just lay on the ground, bleeding and clutching this stranger’s hand.

Getting the ever-loving crap beat out of you was an experience words failed to describe. I could taste blood.

The next few minutes after the first responders arrived and then the ambulance were a whirlwind of questions, needles, and finally meds. I was most eager for them to kick in and take the edge off the agonizing suffering of my body.

“Thank you,” I managed to whisper to the guy who helped me, finally letting go of his hand as I was wheeled into the ambulance.

He smiled. “No more alleys, okay?”

Chapter Thirteen

Iwoke up disorientated and sore as fuck. Someone knocked on my hospital room door, and I realized that woke me up. I must have fallen asleep after the doctors patched me up and administered more pain medication. My eyes cracked open slowly as the door squeaked and my dad walked in. His eyes went through a range of emotions as he got his first look at me, and it was enough to tell me I was a fucking mess. I didn’t need a mirror to tell me that. It was written all over his face.

“Dad?” I rasped.

“Hi, honey.” He forced a smile, adding extra doses of happiness into the deep timbre of his voice. It didn’t help, but I knew he meant well. What else could a parent do when their child was hurting and there was nothing they could do to take away the pain? You faked it.

I was so damn relieved it was him and not Angie. Someone upstairs must have taken pity on me after the shit day this was turning out to be.

“How did you know I was here?” I rasped.

His face paled after stepping into the room. The old band T-shirt he wore had a grease stain on it, so I knew he had rushed over from the shop. “The hospital called me.”

Why him and not Angie?

“They weren’t able to reach your mother, and I’m still listed as your secondary contact,” he explained, seeing the unspoken question crossing my expression.

Oh, thank God. “I’m glad,” I said, making the mistake of attempting a smile. The cut on my lip protested, and I thought it might have started bleeding again.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, pulling the chair in the corner close to the bed. He sat down as he waited for me to respond.

“Like I got the crap beat out of me,” I admitted.

“You don’t look so hot. I’ve had my fair share of split lips and black eyes. Who did you get into a fight with, a troll?”

A hollow chuckled escaped which turned into a wince. “No jokes. I can’t laugh. It hurts too much.”

“I can do that, considering you always thought my jokes were lame.”

“Dad,” I groaned.

“You want to tell me what happened?” he asked, all humor aside. His expression sobered, those blue eyes brimming with concern.

I averted my gaze, staring at the foot of the hospital bed where my feet were. “I got jumped. It was stupid.”

His rigid shoulders dropped a fraction. “What were you doing at Tommy’s? Shouldn’t you have been in class?”

Ugh. Busted. “It’s complicated.” I didn’t want to go into the details.

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