It is sweet that they want to make sure I’m all right first.
But I’ll feel much better if they don’t delay their honeymoon for the crazy mess that I’ve gotten myself into with Kayden and the underground. I know Alyson has been really looking forward to the trip.
“Are you kidding? It’s a one week trip around Italy. And I’ll be fine. I’ll probably be out by tomorrow,” I insist, eyes darting between them. “Just go and have fun. You guys deserve it.”
A look of uncertainty crosses Alyson’s face as she glances at my father.
“You sure, honey?” My dad says with a questioning tone.
“After all that happened with your wedding and afterward . . .” I stomach a shudder at just how much I—along with the guys I’ve been involved with—put them through. “Yeah. I’m positive.”
Alyson and my dad really do deserve a break from this.
This has always been my fight to deal with and I hate that they keep getting dragged into it. They don’t deserve this and I’m going to do what I can to ensure that they don’t have to get involved anymore.
“We’ll stay for the night until you get better,” my dad declares. “And maybe we’ll go in the morning.”
“We’re just glad you’re okay, Sienna,” Alyson says in a soothing tone. “I don’t know what would have happened if you . . .” She chokes midsentence and I squeeze her hand in reassurance, letting her know that I’ll be fine.
“Thanks for making sure I was okay,” I say to my family.
I even say it to Beth, who smiles at me with sincerity and relief that I’m safe. And in that moment, I decide to set aside the feud between us and open my arms wide, allowing everyone to come into a group hug. They respond more than willingly, wrapping their arms around me firmly with the intention of never letting me go. Because when everything else in the world feels uncertain and unresolved, at least I can count on my family to stay constant.
***
Throughout the rest of the afternoon, I’m surprised to receive a steady stream of visitors shuffling in and out of my room. Cara, Simon, Alex, and Daniel stop by and bring me some cupcakes to snack on. Cara and Alex spent the entire morning making them, which was a nice gesture, though with just a single bite I feel like I’m halfway to being diabetic.
I had to throw the rest of them away when they weren’t looking because they simply weren’t edible. Their visit still ended up being a good distraction, especially since Simon brought along his Switch so the five of us could play games together while the hours waste away.
When they’ve left, Elijah and Patricia paid a visit. They apologized for Kayden’s disappearance and told me that he had texted them to let them know that he was safe, which I was incredibly relieved to hear.
“You think he’ll come and see me?” I ask Patricia.
Despite our differences, she knows I care about him a lot.
“Perhaps,” she tells me thoughtfully. “If there’s anything that I’ve learned in raising him, it’s to never rush him when he’s going through something. Just be patient and he’ll come around.”
I nod silently, wanting to believe her words. But they don’t quite reach me.
Maybe because I’m not actually sure he’ll come around this time.
Some good news arrived in the evening from the doctor when he told me I was free to go the next morning, but advised me to keep monitoring myself for any side effects from the concussion. Fortunately for me, the only side effect I seem to be experiencing is a mild headache. But I’ve learned enough from my degree to know that I could have ended up in a much worse state. The power connected to Jax’s fist as it plummeted toward me, forcing my head to collide hard with the cold concrete, could have landed me with severe, lasting brain damage that would have ended my MMA training career indefinitely.
I should consider myself lucky to have side stepped a much worse fate.
After checking me out of the hospital, my dad and Alyson offer to drive me back to the apartment . They aren’t too eager to leave me by myself but I assure them that I’ll be fine and shoo them off to pack for their honeymoon. They eventually decide to take my advice after much convincing and bid me good-bye, promising that they’ll text me the minute they land in Rome.
When I manage to drag myself up the complex, I slide my keys out of my bag and unlock the door eagerly. The past two days have just been an avalanche of drama, so it feels good to be back home. At least now I can start the process of returning to some semblance of normal.
But as I step into the living room, the hope for normalcy flattens, replaced with stone-cold dread when the sound of loud, frantic shuffling from Kayden’s room drifts into the air.
The door creaks as I push it open, and I see Kayden hauling a bunch of clothes from his closet, hangers still intact, onto his bed. His back is facing me and when I clear my throat, he turns his head and immediately halts what he’s doing when he sees me standing by the door. My breath hitches when I notice the huge, dark circles hollowing out his beautiful eyes, dimming out the light in his irises, and his sickly pale skin.
He looks beaten. Defeated. There’s a Band-Aid slapped over a gash on his left brow, and his shirt has ridden up to reveal a thick bandage wrapped tightly around his rib cage.
My first instinct is to ask him if he’s all right, if he sought some kind of medical treatment after the fight, but as if anticipating that I’d ask those questions, he shakes his head, pulling his shirt down.
Silence hangs in the air.