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“Mom, I’m fine,” I groan for the twentieth time, hating that she won’t just let this go, though I suppose that’s all a part of being a mother.
“Don’t sass me, Landon Jones. I birthed you, so if I want to ask how you are a million times over then that’s exactly what I’m going to do and you’re going to sit through it with a damn smile on your face.”
I roll my eyes, not bothering to fight her on it. After all, what my mother wants, she usually gets and I don’t doubt that right now is not any different. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like getting a call from your son’s best friend explaining that he’d been jumped.
My mom is one of the strongest women I know and right now, she’s holding herself together and just reminding me how incredible she is. Though, that doesn’t mean I miss the way that her eyes have been red-rimmed since the second she walked in.
It’s been a shitty few hours, waking up in the hospital to find my body broken, bloodied, and bruised. I’ve been pumped with all sorts of pain meds, but the pain is still real and with every flinch or turn of my head, I’m reminded of it. All I want to do is get out of this damn hospital bed and go and find the fuckers who did this to me and then, I’ll be repaying the favor. No one gets away with this shit. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if the boys are already out there searching them out.
“You know,” mom says, using that tone that tells me she’s about to start meddling in my business. “There was a lovely girl out there who sat by my side the whole time.” My brow raises as she turns to my dad. “What was her name again?”
“Umm,” he grumbles, not paying attention to anything that’s going on around him while he continues checking his emails. “I don’t know. Courtney or something like that.”
“Courtney?” I question, focusing on mom. “Is she out there? Did she sit with you?”
“Oh, yes. All your friends are out there. They haven’t moved since the second you were brought in.”
Well, fuck. Courtney sat with my mom.
Emotions overthrow me and I have a hard time hiding it from my parents. “Do you think you could go and get them? I’m sure they’re dying to get out there and figure out who did this.”
“Ok, honey,” mom says, getting up and giving my ankle a squeeze. “But I don’t want your friends going out there and starting any trouble. We should be letting the police handle it. I know those friends of yours will do just about anything to protect the people they love, but you can’t ask them to put themselves at risk like that.”
I sure can and I will.
“Mom,” I say, fixing her with a look that tells her she’s being silly. “You know these guys just as well as I do. Do you really think there’s any way they’re about to sit back and let the cops handle it?”
Mom sighs as she grabs dad’s elbow to bring him back to the present. “I suppose. I’d just hate to see any of them wind up in trouble.”
“They’d probably love it if they end up in the slammer,” I tell her. “At least Jesse and Ty would. You know what they’re like about bragging rights.”
Mom shakes her head and drags dad out of the room, giving me only a moment to myself before the doors are barged and Jesse forces his way in front of the group. “Fuck, man,” he says as he looks me over. “How’re you feeling?”
“Been better,” I grumble as everyone crowds around the bed to get a good look at the damage, though out of everyone here, there’s only one person who’s got my attention.
Courtney steps up to the side of my bed, staring down at me in horror. “Fuck,” she curses under her breath making me want nothing more than to take her fear away. “Who did this?”
A small smile pulls at my lips as I attempt to help her feel at ease. “You sat with my mom,” I murmur, reaching out for her hand and ignoring the pain that shoots through my arm at the movement.
Courtney takes my hand greedily while being careful not to jostle me as I feel the eyes of all my friends watching us closely, making me realize that we haven’t actually said anything about this thing between us, though if they were smart, they would have figured it out by now. Anyone would have been able to see how I feel about her just by looking at me with her.
“Of course, I did,” Courtney whispers as a blush creeps over her beautiful face, making me wish I could reach out and pull her into my arms. I hate that she’s spent the last few hours worrying about me.
