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Atticus opened his mouth when there was a soft knock at the door followed immediately by a small woman entering the room. She had on jeans, motorcycle boots, and a leather vest over a black T-shirt. She was young. Maybe late teens or early twenties. What was crazy was, when she’d first entered the room, with a welcoming smile on her face, she actually looked the part of a carefree young woman. The second she saw my tears, her expression had changed, transforming her face completely to something like, “Fuck with me at your own peril.”
“Bullet? What the fuck’d’you do ta her?” She rushed over to me, shoving Atticus out of the way.
“Bullet,” I mumbled. “Guess I need to get used to that.”
She tilted her head. “Get used to it? What do you call him?” She seemed genuinely curious.
I started to answer, then glanced at Atticus. He shrugged so I spoke. “Atticus. Um, he’s a doctor.”
The woman nodded. “Yeah. I got he’s a doctor. Haven’t decided completely if I like him or not, though he’s got some great fruit punch. Didn’t know his name was Atticus. Sounds very… patrician. Stuffy.” She turned to Atticus and narrowed her eyes. Something passed between the two and I got the feeling Atticus was bracing himself for whatever came next. “Maybe I’ll shorten it to --”
“You will not shorten it.” Atticus cut her off and actually growled at her. “You’ll fuckin’ call me Bullet.” If he’d directed that look and tone of voice at me, I’d have run from him, screaming. Or, considering how sore I was, waddled carefully to the bathroom and locked the door.
This woman just tilted her head thoughtfully. “Attie got an Attie-tude?”
The giggle that escaped my throat was unbidden but unavoidable. Attie-tude. That was just too damned amusing.
“See? She thinks I’m funny.”
“That’s ‘cause she don’t know you yet.” Atticus nodded in my direction. “Cecilia, this is Lemon. Lemon, Cecilia.”
“Call me CeCe.” It was automatic. Something I told everyone. I didn’t really mean it, though. It was something I used to separate CeCe from Cecilia.
Lemon studied me for several seconds before shaking her head slowly. “No. I think Cecilia is who you are.” She smiled. “Come on. I’ll help you to the bathroom. This Neanderthal can go clean up and find us something to eat. That way you can get on top of the pain before it overwhelms you.”
“Pretty sure I’m the doctor, Lemon.”
“Pretty sure I’m the vice president, Bullet.”
Lemon gently helped me to my feet and let me lean on her until I got my legs under me. I hadn’t been on my feet since I got to the hospital. The other doctor said I hadn’t been conscious at all the first three days I’d been there. After that I was in and out. Inactivity combined with the pain meds they’d had me on made me weak as a newborn kitten.
Surprisingly, Atticus didn’t argue with Lemon. Though he wasn’t really the kind of person to argue much. I thought he was more the type to give a person a hard stare that promised retribution so bad that person would immediately apologize and never commit the infraction again.
“I’ll be back with food,” he said. “I promise I’m not leaving.”
“It’s fine,” I said. Again, it was automatic, when all I really wanted to do was beg him not to leave me. I thought this Lemon might be all right, but I didn’t know her. And I wanted Atticus.
“No. It’s not fine. But Lemon’s right. I’ll get you some food, then you need some painkillers. You don’t need to take them on an empty stomach.” He held my gaze. “I won’t be long, Cecilia. I’ll be right back.”
I nodded. I needed to go to the bathroom, but I was afraid to let Atticus out of my sight for some stupid reason. “You… you promise?”
“I swear it, honey. I’ll not leave you without telling you where I’m going.”
“Ouch.” I winced. “Guess I deserved that.”
Lemon looked from me to Atticus. “Bullet…”
He raised his hands. “That’s between Cecilia and me.” He brought his focus back to me. “Which we’ll be talking about. Later.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
“No need to be sorry. Just promise it won’t happen again. We talk to each other from this point forward.”
I felt like a naughty child, but I nodded. “I promise.”
He gave me a satisfied smile. “Good. Now, let Lemon help you with your business. Take a shower if you feel up to it. There’s a hairbrush and toothbrush in there for you. I think Lemon and Apple brought clothes for you earlier. You can put on a fresh shirt, but make sure it’s not tight. Loose-fitting clothing until you’ve finished healing.”
“Are you always so bossy?” The question slipped out before I could censor it. I blamed it on the lingering fuzziness from the pain meds.
