“She’s scared for you, that’s all, and she’d be feeling overwhelmed with information too. You know she has trust issues, and she probably feels betrayed by her friends right now. Give her some time to calm down, okay?”
“Does Ryder know?” I asked on an exhale, not wanting to fuck up his recovery despite being angry with him.
“No. We’re still not allowed to contact him for starters, but we don’t want to worry him. You’re okay, so you can tell him about it when he comes home. Unless you don’t want to see him,” she said seriously. “I know Luna wants to visit when it’s allowed.”
“I don’t understand why she’s so persistent about it. He assaulted her,” I grunted out.
“Yes, but she knows he wasn’t himself and she wants to help him heal by forgiving him,” she murmured. “She’s a sweet girl. Way too good for our family.”
“There’s no excuse for Ry’s behavior. What if he’d raped her? That’s all I can think about,” I said softly. “How can I forgive him? I’m so angry about it. Luna might be a gentle soul, but I’m not. I want to beat him bloody for what he did.”
“I know, baby,” she replied, lying down beside me and carefully pulling me in for a cuddle. “We’ll all figure it out together as a family, I promise. Get some rest. We can talk later.”
“Don’t you have badass crew stuff to do?” I joked, but she just held me tighter and got comfortable. I didn’t dare tell her she was hurting me. She already felt bad enough and she needed this, so I pushed the pain away and let her hold me.
“Nothing is more important than you kids. Today, I’m just Mom. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
It was sweet of her to say, but I knew she was just tired herself. Especially when she fell asleep minutes later.
* * *
“Hey,” I smiled as I poked my head into Reid’s room later that night since Mom had thankfully agreed to go home at dinnertime when Skeeter and Diesel showed up. I was supposed to stay in bed, but I got bored quickly and figured I’d visit Reid.
It was the early hours of the morning and I was surprised to see him sitting up in bed, wide awake on his phone.
His eyebrows almost hit his hairline when he saw me, and he seemed to run his gaze over me multiple times as he looked for any damage. “Hey. Logan said you totaled the Supra?”
I closed the door as I stepped into the room, making my way to the chair beside the bed to try and get comfortable. My body ached and my head hurt like hell now that my pain meds were wearing off, but I was grateful not to have broken bones like Reid.
“Technically, Slick totaled it,” I replied with a huff, giving him the rundown of what had happened.
He was quiet as I explained everything, his brow creased with worry. “Is Luna okay?”
I sighed, shrugging my shoulders. “I think so. She was taken home, and I haven’t seen or talked to her.”
“Call her.”
“It’s late as fuck, and as much as my phone’s in one piece, the battery’s dead. I’ll see her when I get out if she even wants to see me. Now she knows I’m alright, she’ll probably go back to hating me.” I tried acting like it didn’t bother me, but I heard the pain in my voice. I’d become such an emotional wreck.
“There’s no way in hell that that’s going to happen.” He chuckled, wincing and pressing his palm to his chest. “I’m glad you’re not feeling like I am right now. This sucks.”
“I have no idea how I didn’t break any bones,” I admitted. “The Supra caught fire not long after the guys helped me out of it. Pretty sure I’m supposed to be dead right now.”
“You and me both.” He sighed, typing on his phone for a moment before looking back up at me. “Turbo’s freaking out.”
“You’re talking to him right now?” I asked, snatching his phone the moment he nodded, hitting the call button and making Reid snort.
“You’re welcome.”
I ignored him, growing impatient as it kept ringing until Turbo finally answered, his voice rough. “You’re worse than a woman, asshole.”
“I am a woman,” I said dryly, his attitude changing completely as panic filled his tone.
“Donovan? Shit. Are you okay? No one will tell me anything.”
“I’m fine. Only bruises and a few cuts with a concussion,” I explained. “How long did the cops hold you for?”
“I only got out a few hours ago. They’ve done their investigation and can’t prove I was involved.” He chuckled but it sounded forced. “And I’m glad you’re alright. Should you be on the phone if you’re concussed?”