The roar of a motorcycle started up outside. It was the way people left that told you what you needed to know. The spray of gravel and full rev told me they needed to get somewhere fucking fast.
“Sarah! Run up and get my first aid kit from my room,” Skins yelled as he came sprinting in from outside throwing orders at one of the newer club girls. She didn’t miss a beat, immediately tossing the cloth she was using to wipe down the tables and making a beeline for the staircase.
A chill instantly went down my spine, and I stood up from the stool I was sitting on leaving my pool cue leaning against the wall. Romeo felt it, too, his face instantly changing into a deep frown while Phee obliviously played her shot on the pool table. We were spending some time together, it was kind of like getting to know each other again, I guess. Some parts were easy, others were awkward and really made you feel emotions deep down in your gut you couldn’t have imagined. Good or bad, though, I was enjoying my time with my two siblings. And while I knew there were still a lot of things Romeo was holding back, and the trust between us was still hovering in the air, I was glad to know he was willing to try, and that he wasn’t just going to write me off.
“What’s going on?” I asked, even more confused when Skins asked a very pregnant Hadley to get him a couple of towels.
Skins rushed over to the nearest sofa and quickly cleared it off. “I don’t know what you know, but Eagle just rang and said some shit went down. He’s bringing Meyah in on his bike.” He continued moving pillows, and when Sarah leaped two steps at a time downstairs with Skins’ massive medical bag and placed it beside him, I instantly felt fucking ill.
“She hurt?” Romeo asked seriously, taking in what was happening.
“Someone needs to get Op,” Skins noted to no one in particular.
Hadley appeared from the hallway with black towels. “No problem, I’ve rung Leo. He’s meant to be in a meeting, but they’re leaving right now,” she explained, tossing down the towels and returning her empty hands to her baby belly, moving her hand over it gently as she turned her attention to Skins. “Now tell me, is Meyah conscious?”
Skins nodded. “Yes, Eagle said she was awake and talking.”
“What are the towels for?” Phee asked, finally coming to investigate, but I already knew the answer.
“Blood. He said there was some blood.”
Romeo moved in closer watching the way Skins meticulously pulled out bandages and blood pressure equipment—anything he thought he might need. They were placed on a clean towel. “You know what you’re doing? Isn’t this a little overkill?”
Skins didn’t bother looking up at him. “I was an EMT for years. I’m not a doctor, but I know what I’m doing. Eagle didn’t say much, but I heard blow to the head and blood, so I’m gonna prepare for the worst and hope for the fucking best.”
I didn’t know what to say as I stood there with my brother waiting and waiting. I had images in my head that made me want to vomit.
Meyah was hurt.
She was bleeding.
What the fuck happened?
I clenched my fists at my side, ready to punch a fucking hole through the damn wall. “Why is this taking so long? If they were just in Athens, it shouldn’t take them this long to get here.” I worried, my eyes continuously looking toward the open door as if I might not hear Eagle’s bike roar into the compound.
Right at that moment, the sound of him changing down gears to get in through the gates had my feet moving with my little brother directly on my heels.
He was moving slowly, and it was then that I realized why it had taken them so long to get back to the clubhouse. Where the girls would usually get on the back and hold on, Eagle had put Meyah in front of him and caged her in. She was leaning back into him. It would have been a difficult and uncomfortable ride home, and they would have had to take things very slow.
He sidled closer stopping his ride just a few feet from where Romeo and I were standing. The moment he had his feet on the ground, I rushed forward. He was already lifting her under his arms and passing her off to me. She was awake, her eyes open and alert, but she seemed a little dazed, and her entire right cheek was bruised and swollen which almost forced her eye closed. I bundled her into my arms.
Eagle was quick to follow me kicking out his stand and clambering off. “I didn’t know if she’d be able to hold on if I stuck her on the back, it was the only way I could get her here.”
I nodded, understanding completely. I would have done the same thing instead of waiting for someone to bring a car. She sniffled in my arms and cuddled closer to my chest. It was when I looked down again, I noticed she had a hand pressed to the side of her neck and blood was staining her fingers. “Fuckin Christ,” I cursed, heading for the door and carrying her straight to where Skins was waiting. “I gotta put you down, Meyah.”
She whimpered but gave me a nod, and I gently laid her on the sofa that Skins had covered.
My little sister gasped behind me. “Oh my God,” she whispered in horror, but I couldn’t focus on her right now. I dropped to my knees next to Meyah, trying to stay out of the way but refusing to move too far. Skins was just going to have to fucking work around me.
The sound of more bikes riding in played in the background as I watched Skins work. He shone a little light in her eyes and pressed softly against the already darkening bruise on Meyah’s cheek. She pulled away at the first touch, every muscle in her body tightening telling me just how painful it was.
“What the fuck happened!” Leo roared as he came through the door, Blizzard and Op right behind him. “Where is she?”
“Here,” Eagle replied, nodding toward the sofa where I was crouching. Skins continued to look her over as if there was nothing going on around him. I appreciated the fact that Meyah was his first priority and fuck everyone else.
I held her hand in mine, my thumb drawing circles on the back of her hand. It was a habit I had in situations where I was nervous or unsure of what to say. My mom used to do it when we were little if we were feeling scared or overwhelmed. The continuous pattern was calming. It made us focus on something else, something predictable and comforting.
“Meyah, I need to look at your neck,” Skins prompted. When she shook her head, refusing to pull her hand away, he turned to look over his shoulder at me. “I need to see how deep it is.”