Page 55 of Forever Yours

“Want me to bring back some coffee?”

I assumed he was talking to me, and thought it an odd question, but it was directed at Jayson.

Jayson looked down at his feet and shuffled backward a few steps, like he was trying to increase the distance between him and Dad.

“Uh, no thank… sir.”

The air thickened with a sudden tension, and then, as soon as Dad left, it released in a trio of audible sighs.

And that was when I smelled it. Apparently, so did Fallon.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Julien tried to grab my hand, but I tucked it under the starchy sheet.

“It’s not what you think,” Jayson said.

Fallon shot him a derisive look. “That motherfucker may have bashed his head in, but he’s not stupid.”

“Fallon, enough,” I rasped. My throat still burned, causing my voice to sound almost demonic.

Three pairs of panicked eyes landed on me.

“Someone beat you up?” Julien shouted, and I cringed at the pain it caused.

“If you’d all answer your fucking phones instead of going out and getting wasted, you’d know that already. Look at him. What did you think happened?”

Jayson lunged at Fallon, but Ryder was quick to get between them. I couldn’t handle any more chaos right now. Not when I hurt all over and just wanted to sleep.

“Get out.” At Julien’s harsh bark, the room went blessedly silent. “Please,” he added, choking up when it looked like Jayson was about to protest.

Fallon moved around Ryder and Jayson toward the door. “I need to handle the two police officers in the waiting room. I suggest you three idiots haul ass to the cafeteria and load up on whatever shit they serve for coffee.”

Julien sat down in the chair Dad had been using. “I’m not leaving.”

Ryder tried to be the voice of reason. “Jules, if the cops smell alcohol on us, we can get arrested for underage drinking.”

“I don’t care. I’m not leaving.”

The mood in the room was made more ominous by the steady beeping of the monitor hooked up to me that sounded like a bomb ticking down.

Fallon eventually relented. “Fine. I’ll call Charles Worthington and have him know what’s going on, so he can intervene if necessary.”

“Thanks, Fal,” Ryder told him.

“Who the hell is Charles Worthington?” Jayson asked.

“Family lawyer and your best friend if you get your stupid ass arrested.”

“Fuck you,” Jayson shot back, but Ryder pushed him out the door before he could say more.

“You need anything?” Fallon asked me.

“No. But there’s one thing you should know, though. The guy who did this…”

Losing my breath, I coughed. Dr. Li said I didn’t have any cracked ribs, but it sure as hell felt like I did.

Julien lowered the side railing of the bed and reached over to lay his hand over my forearm. It was warm and provided the comfort I needed right then.

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