Page 22 of Make Her Bleed
"What the hell were you thinking, running off like that?" I ask, knowing she won't answer me or even hear the question lingering in the air. "If your father tried to send you away and I find out that's why you ran, I'll fucking butcher him."
I'd kill anyone who tries to hurt this spunky, fearless woman. The only one allowed to hurt her is me … and whoever I order to do so.
"Doc is here!" Dax calls into the room as the doctor strolls in. I quickly move out of his way as he checks her over.
"Are these injuries your doing, Malakai?" he asks, a tense irritation in his voice. He looks over his shoulder at me, leveling me with a scolding look.
I've seen that look too many times to count. The disappointment borders on anger.
"No, Dad. They aren't. She was in a car accident.” I hate that this man is my father, and I’m pretty sure I’m the bane of his existence as well.
"Then, why isn't she in the hospital? She could have a mild concussion, and she has severe bruising on her ribs and along her upper spinal column. This girl could have easily been paralyzed by these injuries," he angrily grits out.
"He's telling the truth, Dr. Harris. I found her on the side of the highway. She's Coach Patrick's daughter, Aria James," Nico rushes to my defense but I shush him before he can add more.
"Tommy Patrick's daughter? Hmmm. That explains it," he sneers in disgust.
It's no secret that my father has a huge distaste for me and sees me as a complete disappointment. He has plenty of reasons to. For example, I constantly have teenagers running around my house, and it's not exactly a secret that I've done some immoral things with said teenagers.
But, that's not why my father sees me as a failure. It all has to do with my career choices. He never saw sports as a valid career path. Even when I was in Gridiron, he called it ahobby. He won't accept that I've made a good living as a football player and now a successful coach. He thinks I'm a bum because I'm not a doctor or a lawyer.
His opinion doesn't matter much. He was never around when I was growing up anyway.
"Is she going to be okay, Doc?" Nico asks, nervously fidgeting from the doorway.
"She should be in the hospital to have everything monitored but since you called me here, I doubt that is in your game plan. For all the injuries she has sustained, she should remain sedated for a few days." He pulls a vial out of his bag and a needle, filling the needle with the medication before sticking her in the hip, earning himself an unpleasant groan from her. "I'll fill a couple syringes with the appropriate dosage and leave them in your fridge. She'll need a shot every six hours. Let her wake up enough to eat something before putting her back under. When she wakes up, check her cognitive abilities to make sure the concussion is resolving itself.”
"But, I thought someone with a concussion isn't supposed to sleep?" Nico presses.
I already know his answer.
"They aren't, but she already is, and even if her concussion makes her slip away, it's better than the alternative: waking up and realizing she's inthishouse."
He's not wrong. She'll probably lose her shit when she realizes her attempt to flee did nothing but give her life-threatening injuries.
That’s not what he’s referring to, though. He’s referring to the past, horrible things that have happened within these walls.
"Thanks, Dad," I say as he goes to leave but he just waves me off.
Fuck you, too, Dad.
CHAPTERTEN
ARIA
"Aria."
I hear a voice in the distance. It's quiet, yet masculine.
My senses are dull. I can barely feel my body, and I know I shouldn't. I should be dead. I'm supposed to be going into the afterlife knowing those guys can never hurt me again.
I always thought you don't become grown-up until you've experienced the darkness and evils of the world at least once. Something that makes you suspicious of the world and everybody in it.
I never thought the person who would lead me into that dark and skeptical place would be one of the people I trusted most in this world. The veil dropped and I saw behind Malakai Harris’s mask. I witnessed the true evil in his eyes, the eagerness to watch my horror and pain.
"Aria … wake up," the voice calls to me again.
I don't want to wake up though. I want to slip back into the memories of another life, memories from my childhood. My mind played the same memory on repeat …
