Page 83 of Grumpy

“Gimpy, we’d like you to meet Splinters,” Ghost announced. Grumpy ignored the irritation he felt at the new road name Ghost called him. He wasn’t some newly patched prospect as Pumpkin had been when the club had changed his road name. There was no way in fuck that Grumpy was allowing his new road name to be ‘Gimpy’. But Jackson’s road name was interesting. Splinters hinted at a story that Grumpy clearly did not know yet.

Thankfully Ghost continued explaining without requiring energy on Grumpy’s part to inquire. “I don’t know what you recall,” Ghost told him, “but from what we’ve managed to piece together. Splinters was sucked out of the culvert by the tornado.”

Grumpy’s first instinct was to protest that claim. Jackson had made it inside. He remembered seeing him enter. Grumpy had been the last one. How could Jackson—Splinters—have gotten sucked out if he was between Grumpy and the women inside that small pipe?

“I don’t know what that expression means,” Ghost went on. “From what Kelly and Maddie say, when the storm cleared and they were able to start making their way out, you were there, but Splinters wasn’t. They didn’t see him be sucked out, only noting his absence at the end. They said it looked like you were using your body to plug the end of the pipe. Which is why your back is cut to hell, by the way. Kelly means to kick your ass for your ‘stupid heroics’,” he added with finger quotes. “Maddie and Kelly were able to get you out of the ditch, but they couldn’t find Splinters. Knowing the odds of someone carried off by a tornado, they thought him dead.

“Turns out,” Ghost waved to the other bed where the club’s newest member rested, “he wasn’t. He was carried off into the woods, where he landed in a tree and was impaled by a branch through his right shoulder. We don’t know yet if he was awake or lost consciousness, or if he was taken all the way to the ground or stuck in that tree for a while. All we know is that roughly six hours after you, Kelly, and Maddie made it to the hospital, Splinters comes stumbling in with a fucking branch sticking out of his back, caked in mud and filth. The hospital can’t find a record of him being brought by ambulance, and based on the security tapes, we suspect that Splinters somehow got himself from those woods to the hospital on foot. From the declaration he made to Maddie and Kelly when he stumbled half dead into Maddie’s hospital room that he’d finally found them, we’re assuming adrenaline, shock, and sheer determination drove him to it. He’s got multiple lacerations and rib fractures, broken right collarbone, concussion, hypothermia, and blood loss, in addition to the fucking branch that had been sticking out of his shoulder. The surgeon pulled forty-two splinters out of him.”

“It was a toss-up between ‘Splinters’ and ‘Twister’,” Lucky added. “But we didn’t want anyone thinking he was just really awesome at a children’s flexibility game.”

Grumpy stared at his club, not entirely confident he wasn’t dreaming.

“Is he awake?” came from behind him.

His club brothers shifted out of the way as Kelly rounded the foot of Grumpy’s bed. She wore a pair of loose fitting light blue scrubs, her left arm in a navy sling. Ghost quickly got up, offering Kelly his chair.

Their hands reached for each other, Kelly falling forward to bring herself as close to Grumpy as she likely dared without putting any weight on him. It wasn’t close enough, but Grumpy didn’t have the strength to pull her any closer.

They clung to each other, Kelly shaking as she cried and Grumpy breathing in her floral scent. Several times Grumpy tried to tell her how much he loved her, how grateful and happy he was that she was alive, but the words wouldn’t form, his mouth too useless to offer him the ability to speak. It was sometime later before either of them moved, and Kelly realized Grumpy hadn’t been seen by a doctor yet. The club had vacated the room, offering them privacy.

Grumpy didn’t allow Kelly to let go of his hand when the doctor finally came in. He didn’t give a damn if it interfered with the doctor’s needs. He might not be able to move his body, speak, or even blink without being in severe pain—but he wasn’t letting go. He had strength enough for that.

* * *

It was the next day before Maddie and Grumpy were able to be reunited. They’d tried the night before, but after a physical therapy session for his jaw, Grumpy had fallen back to sleep by the time they brought Maddie down from the labor and delivery ward. At least Maddie was able to sit with him and Jackso—Splinters for a while. Due to the branch’s proximity to his spine, they were keeping Splinters sedated for twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Like when Grumpy had first been hurt in the explosion, Ghost had named Kelly his proxy in Splinters’ case until Ghost was able to arrive with the rest of the club. Kelly was extremely grateful she didn’t have to make any life or death decisions regarding Splinters’ injuries.

She was just grateful. Period.

They’d faced down a tornado. They might be worse for wear—some worse than others—but they were alive. The SUV, Grumpy and Kelly’s luggage, Maddie’s things, Splinters’ bike and his belongings, all might have been destroyed. But they were things. They were replaceable. If Maddie, the twins, Splinters, Grumpy, or Kelly had been killed, they would not be, and Kelly couldn’t be more grateful.

Kelly was not surprised in the slightest that her mom had traveled with the club brothers down to Texas. Ghost might be in charge of the club, but Ruth was a force of nature. And no one got between a Jewish mother and her baby. Per Angel, even with Ruth’s physical limitations, she’d practically bowled through the club in her haste to get to the airport gate.

All the ol’ ladies sent their love, but they stayed behind with the club kids to offer the brothers more speed for their arrival.

To prevent bed sores, Grumpy was rotated between lying on his stomach with his neck supported by a wedge pillow and being propped up on his right side. He was also on a special mattress that used air pressure to help distribute his weight.

Kelly had not left his side since returning to his room to find he’d woken up the day before. The only time she’d done so was to use the bathroom, but thankfully he had not woken up during her absence. Kelly also had no intention of ever telling him.

The hospital staff did not seem to know what to make of the club. They didn’t just stand around like sentinels or statues, either. In addition to rotating between ensuring someone was always with Maddie, Kelly, and Ruth, they put themselves to work throughout the hospital. They helped out the orderlies, janitors, security officers, family members of victims trying to find their loved ones, and answered phones to free up the nurses. While Bear’s RN license did not work outside of Pennsylvania, the declared state of emergency allowed him to be more hands-on with actual patients. Cage even traded his cut for a candy striper outfit that he’d apparently found buried in a storage closet. It barely fit him, but the women patients, and some of the men, got to appreciate his tanned, heavily tattooed exposed skin as a much needed distraction.

Kelly was amazed Angel allowed this, but the other woman just shrugged. “They can look at what’s mine all they want,” she’d explained easily. Then her expression turned very dark. “But the second they try to touch, they’ll wish they hadn’t survived that tornado.”

The burn specialist, Dr. Buckner, who had done Grumpy’s original grafts, was on his way with another doctor. Keys arranged for them to be flown in, but per the phone call Kelly had overheard between Keys and Ghost, it wasn’t Keys who was paying for their trip. Kelly suspected it was the Grovetons, Sophia’s parents, who were footing the bill. Both doctors would be arriving the following day and be with Grumpy through his transportation back to Pennsylvania.

Maddie was getting stronger, but she would still be under careful watch for some time. Dr. Pedaleck, the OB in Mount Grove who had seen all the ol’ ladies through their pregnancies, was already informed of Maddie’s arrival and her condition. It was Dr. Lisbon’s hope that Maddie would be able to be discharged the day after tomorrow. Once the burn specialists were able to assess Grumpy’s condition, the club would have a more accurate timeframe for their return home.

With the additional care Grumpy was going to need, and Kelly no longer able to do any heavy lifting on his part, Kelly and Grumpy were going to need to have a conversation about living arrangements. Them being together wasn’t up for debate or discussion, but where was the real question. Neither of their homes were a viable option anymore, Kelly’s due to being a bedroom short and Grumpy’s because of the amount of stairs. The clubhouse seemed like the best choice until they could build a home in the spring, but would Maddie and Ruth be okay with that? Grumpy and Kelly couldn’t move into the clubhouse and leave Maddie and Ruth in Kelly’s house because it would be unfair to Maddie to put Ruth’s mobility issues on her. And to be honest, Kelly would feel better having a doctor a few houses down from them.

However, Grumpy wasn’t up for that discussion. He was managing one or two word answers. And where they would live wasn’t as important as the fact that they were alive. It was a conversation that could be saved until Grumpy was stronger.

Having Kelly and Maddie nearby, even if they were just talking quietly between themselves, did wonders for Grumpy. The doctors put up with Grumpy not letting Kelly leave his side because it kept him calm without requiring further sedation. He wasn’t happy when Maddie had to leave, but Kelly knew he would rather she be rested and healing in her own room than with him unnecessarily. Grumpy unconditionally trusted his club to keep her safe.

Maddie just returned to her own room to take a nap when Keys poked his head into Grumpy and Splinters’ room. “Hey, is now a good time?”

Kelly looked down at Grumpy. His hearing in his left ear was improving, but his right was not. For now, that didn’t make a big difference because he was laying on his right side over his left, but eventually, he’d be vertical again. Chances were high that he was looking at hearing aids in one or both ears in the near future.

But for now, so long as the speaker was speaking clearly and of average volume, he was able to understand.