The doctor rushes over and shines a bright light in my eyes. “Mr. Giddens, where are you hurting?”
“Everywhere,” I whisper, squeezing my eyes shut.
My head is pounding, the pain in my ribs is excruciating, and it’s difficult to breath. I’m alive, but right now I wish I was still passed out. The pain is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. There’s no point where it starts or stops, it’s everywhere.
“Do you remember what happened?” the doctor asks.
“Beat up,” I whisper, wincing as he touches me.
“Can you open your eyes?” I try, but only one cracks open. I see him nod as he writes things down on a clipboard. “You’re getting out of here. It seems they have no evidence to keep you, but you need to go to the hospital to treat these injuries. You need a cat scan of your head and chest. I’m certain you have a few broken ribs and by the sound of your lungs, I believe you may have punctured a lung. You have severe swelling in your left eye and from the looks of the bleeding from the back of your head, I’d imagine you at the very least have a concussion. Your lawyer will accompany you to the hospital. I am going to give you some pain medicine to help, which will probably knock you out. Although, I’m guessing right now that might be just what you want.”
I try to nod my head, but I have no idea if I succeed. I keep my eyes closed and feel my body relax. The pain medicine courses through me and I’m fucking grateful. When I wake up again, I’ll be free.
At least for a little while.
Chapter 18
Gillian
* * *
“Stop pacing,” Nora says, holding her hand out.
I glance at her, shaking my head. “Something’s wrong. I can feel it,” I say, looking at all the girls.
The guys all rushed to be around the table twenty minutes ago, after Brooks got a phone call. I could see on his face something was wrong. I can’t shake the feeling that something horrible happened to Riley and I feel sick to my stomach.
I blow out a breath and run my fingers through my hair. “What is taking so long?”
“Gillian, I know the waiting is awful, but we don’t know anything. That might not even be about Riley. It could be about something else entirely. Don’t let your mind fuck with you,” Harper says.
I want to believe her, I really do, but I don’t. Brooks made eye contact with me. It was brief, but I could see the fear in his eyes. I don’t know if it was for Riley or the fact he’s going to have to tell me that I’ve lost him. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath to try to relax.
I can’t lose him, please.
“Sweetheart, they’ll tell you when you need to know. You need to believe in them, believe in Riley. They know what they’re
doing,” Nora says.
I nod as I continue to pace. “I do believe in them and Riley.”
“Go get her some tea or something,” Nora whispers to Ivy.
Ivy gets up and goes to get me some tea. I can’t even stomach the idea of tea right now, but it’s nice they care. They’ve all been amazing since I flipped out begging for help. All of them make sure I am never alone, that I’m eating, and that I’m kept up to date on everything that has to do with Riley. Finn has extended his best friend status by sleeping on the floor at night so I’m not alone. I have told him it’s not necessary, but he refuses to leave. Ivy makes sure I play with the baby. Harper has been asking me for tech help for the club. Nora tells stories from over the years. Adalyn holds my hand when I get too deep into my head. The rest of the members try to keep me distracted with stories of Riley.
It’s all so appreciated and I feel like I have become much closer to everyone. We even had a long talk the other night about Rachel and all the shit that happened. They apologized for what happened but just like Riley, they said it was kill or be killed. It still hurts because she’s my sister and I’m not sure I’ll ever completely forgive them, but I’ve decided to put it behind me. I’d like to remember my sister for the girl she was before she got mixed up with the wrong people.
“Stop it,” Harper says, breaking my thoughts.
I glance at her, lowering my eyebrows. “What?”
“You’re in your head. Stop that shit. Come over here and drink this tea or have a cigarette. Talk to us, stop hiding in your damn head,” she says, pulling out a chair for me.
I sigh, but walk over and sit down. I push the tea away and light a smoke. “If he was dead, they would’ve told me by now, right?” I ask, looking around.
“I’m sure they would’ve,” Nora says.
I look at the door they’ll come through and shake my head. “I need to know something.”