Page 59 of Dirty Love

“I wasn’t doing anyth—”

“I saw you!” he roars, right up in his face while he yells so loud it makes my head throb. “I just watched you make out with your fucking brother, you sick cunt!”

Kade blinks at him and Dad punches the wall next to his head, making me jump, then he looks at me and glares like he’d rather see me dead, his lip curling as he moves his terrifying gaze over my form.

“You deserved this…” he accuses. “You’re a fucki—”

“Officer Rivers?” a female voice asks, and I look over to find a pretty brunette nurse standing in the open doorway. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s another police officer here. He wants to talk to Nicky.”

She doesn’t even look at me when she says that, and any hope I had just now falls through the cracks, my silent tears slipping down to my ears when I realize she’s not here to help us.

There’s no one here to help us.

“That won’t be necessary, my dear,” Dad informs her, releasing Kade’s neck to swipe his hands over the white button down he’s wearing. “Take those tubes from my son’s body and get the doctor to sign his discharge papers. Tell the officer I’ll be out in a second.”

She nods once and I shrink back as far as I can manage, looking at Kade for help when she walks towards me.

“Wait a minute, this is bullshit!” he shouts, gritting his teeth at her while she takes my left arm and turns it over, making me wince as she slides the needle from my skin. “You can’t just send him home like this.”

She ignores him as if he doesn’t exist and he mutters something I don’t catch, ripping his hair out on both sides as he glances between me and her.

“Can you at least give him something for the pain?”

She looks at Dad and he shakes his head no, a nasty little snarl on his face while he throws some clean clothes at my chest. Kade catches them before they hit me and sets them down on the bed, taking two steps towards him when he takes one towards me.

“Get the fuck out,” Kade says slowly, and even though I can’t see his face, I can tell he looks vicious right now, fucking seething as he stares our father down.

The nurse leaves quietly but Dad remains still, his hands flexing at his sides while he looks between me and my brother. “You have ten minutes.”

I release the breath I was holding and watch him step out into the hall, hiding my face behind my hands while I struggle not to fall apart. “Kade…”

“It’s okay, Nicky,” he assures me, but it’s not okay and he should fucking know that.

“He’s gonna kill us.”

“He’s not gonna kill us.”

“Yes, he is!” I cry, gagging and choking on my own air, this burning pain inside me getting too much for me to handle. “Don’t stand there and tell me he’s not when you know… you know… I’m gonna be sick.”

He moves quickly and I throw up into the cardboard bowl he’s holding, my eyes watering while I clutch on to his wrists and let it all out. As soon as I’m finished, he gets rid of it and gently wipes my face with a wet paper towel, reaching over to feed me another couple sips of water. I rinse my mouth out and spit it back into the cup, breathing hard while I lean sideways against his body. The position hurts so much that it makes me sweat all over, but I need him too much to care.

“You okay?”

“No, I’m scared, Kade,” I croak out, resting my sore cheek on his chest. “I don’t wanna go with him.”

“Baby, listen to me,” he whispers, holding my head while he presses his mouth to my hair. “I don’t want this either, but you have to know that I will never let him get you. I’ll never let anyone get you like that again. I just need you to trust me, okay?”

I sniff and nod my head, hissing through my teeth when it causes my face to rub on his shirt. He tenses and pulls back a bit, studying the stitches there while he fists the hem of my hospital gown. He pulls it up slowly, and I can only imagine what he’s seeing, his eyes darkening with rage as he moves them over my naked body. His hands start to shake and I think he’s about to smash something, but then he shakes it off and moves to grab my clothes, scarily calm and collected while he stretches the collar of my t-shirt.

“I’ve got some pills stashed in my nightstand,” he tells me, making sure to avoid my broken nose as he pulls it over my head. “Can you hang in there just a little bit longer?”

“How much longer?”

“Not much,” he says vaguely, helping me the best he can while I try to get my arms through the holes. “Okay, get your ass to the edge of the bed and I’ll do the rest.”

I take another breath and do as I’m told, suddenly wishing I could just die again. My sweats are the hardest to put on, because my ribs are on fire and I can barely move without wanting to puke all over myself. He finally manages to get me dressed and then eases me up to my feet, holding me up by my hands while I wait for the room to stop spinning. I don’t get to wait, though, because then our dad lets himself inside and crosses his arms over his chest, staring at us in disgust while he holds the door open with his back.

“Hurry up before I drag you myself.”

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