Page 53 of They Call Me Wicked

I try to force my arms to move. My legs.Anything!But nothing obeys.

I feel his member, wet with spit, press against my opening and I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing for the intrusion I know will come.

But it doesn’t.

“Izabella!” The accented voice reaches my ears right before Arlo’s form is ripped from my own, leaving me chilled and exposed to the night air, the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoing around me.

“No! Stop! She’s my girlfriend! We were just roleplaying! Please!” Arlo’s voice sounds terrified as he pleads to whoever continues to rain brutality upon him. It continues for what feels like ages until it stops and a presence presses in around me. The touch is gentle as it pulls my hoodie down to cover me and lifts me under my shoulders and knees, cradling me against his body. All thoughts of the rest of my clothing are long forgotten.

“Nic?” My whispered voice cracks, barely making any sound at all as my head seems to swim in the blackness of my unseeing eyes.

“I’m here, Izabella. I’m here.”

And then I succumb to the darkness.

16

“Idon’t know how he got away. He shouldn’t have been able to move after I was done with him!” Nic’s scotch-smooth voice reaches through the darkness as I try to push through the fog, but it’s like wading through molasses.

“How could you even leave himbreathingafter what he did?” That’s Kai’s rough, timber tone sounding far more angry and devastated than my little jokester ought to ever be.

“How couldyouleave her alone like that? This is your fucking fault! I told you guys not to go!” Rage smothers the room, helping the fog in my head in its efforts to push me under once more, but I struggle against it.

“He knocked me out while I was pissing! Jesus! I didn’t even see it coming.” Kai’s voice breaks and I long to comfort him, to open my arms and hold him.

Yet, I can’t.

Instead, the steady beep of a machine in the room is all that answers him as I quickly fade into darkness once more.

“Stop it! Both of you! She doesn’t need the first thing she hears on waking up to be the two of you arguing. You’ve been at it for days. Ezra, stay with Wicked. You two, come with me.”

Alan? Is that you?

Come back…

“It’s aconcussion. Her body just needs to heal on her own time.” An unfamiliar woman speaks in a motherly tone, before the sound of a door closing reaches my ears.

“Wicked? Come on. Wake up, baby.Please.I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Kai sobs as I feel the bed shift next to me. He grabs my hand and I try to squeeze it, to reassure him that I’m here. That I’m okay.

But I’m dragged under again.

“No, Nic. We haven’t. He hasn’t been back at work and his ex-girlfriend claims she hasn’t seen him in days. We’re doing everything we can, but it’s like he’s disappeared.” Following the familiar voice, I finally feel the weight lifting from my consciousness.

“You’re all fucking useless! All of you! Let me out there so I can do my fucking job!” Nic’s voice sounds unsteady. A blanket of fear and rage, so thick I struggle to hear past it, emanates from where I feel his aura.

“Hey. Don’t talk to Snugglekins like that.” My voice is hoarse and crackly, the dryness of my throat causing me to cough. Trying to cover my mouth, I find the respirator mask over my face and pull it off.

“Wicked!” Four auras press in around me, all shouting my name like I somehow can’t hear them.

“Woah, boys. Calm down! Give me some room.” Two obey and step back as I start coughing again, but the other two just press in closer, Kai on my left and Nic on my right.

“Wicked, thank God! I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry!” Kai’s voice breaks, his hand grabbing mine as he pulls it to his face. I stroke over his features, my touch running over foreign bumps and ridges in his skin that weren’t there before, wiping away his tears as he succumbs to his sobs.

“Shh, Kai. I’m okay. Stop crying. I don’t know how to handle crying.” He laughs dryly, letting go of my hand and burrowing his face into my side.

Heat envelops my other hand, the rough calluses scratching my palm as Nic settles in closer on my right, his grip so tight I’d be surprised if it doesn’t leave bruises. I stroke Kai’s hair as I focus on Nic, a heaviness settling over me and making me feel like I might cry too.

“You saved me,” I voice the words, my chest inflating to an almost painful degree as my throat closes and struggles to work.

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