AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do I look like a fucking patient to you?” she sasses. “I can sort my own lift. There’s a mean-looking security detail who seems to be following my every move. Pretty sure he’ll deliver me back safely.”
“It’s for your own safety.”
“Do you see me arguing? All I want right now, Nico, is for all of us to be okay and to be able to move on from this bullshit. And if that means we all need a shadow, then I’ll shut up and take it. Not sure Stella and Emmie will agree, but I figure I’ll let them find this out on their own. I’ve got enough of my own shit to be worrying about.”
“Like?”
“My shit, Nico. Not yours, remember.”
Pushing to her feet, she steps closer to Brianna and gently tucks a stray lock of her hair behind her ear.
“If you need me, call me. I’ll be right here,” she promises. “And if he gives you any shit, I’ll get the guys to ensure he can’t leave his hospital bed again.” She shoots me a look with that warning. “Can I trust you with her? Or do I need to get Jodie and Toby back before I leave?”
The words dance on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow them down because really, can anyone trust me at this point?
Jodie’s right.
I’m a fucking liability.
And not just to the Family, but to everyone connected with me.
I’m a ticking time bomb, and it seems I got very close to finally exploding on Friday night.
If only I could remember what it was that pushed me to pull the pin.
4
BRIANNA
The second my senses start to come back to me, I know that something is different.
I might still have my eyes closed, but everything is clearer. I no longer feel like I’m trapped in a tunnel with no way of climbing out.
I’m groggy and tired but almost… normal.
The only sound that hits my ears is that of someone breathing.
Jodie.
She’s been here this whole time. I might not have been able to see her, or even hear her, but I’ve felt her. Her love, her support.
She’s my rock, has been for years, and I don’t think she really has any idea how much she’s helped me overcome everything I have, to be where I am now.
If it weren’t for her and Joanne, there’s no way I’d have finished school, let alone be accepted into uni. I owe them everything.
Needing to see her, to tell her how much I love her, I force my eyes open.
I have no idea how long I’ve been asleep, but it feels like someone has attempted to glue my lashes together. Pretty sure I even rip a few out when I finally manage to lift my eyelids.
Sunlight streams in through the open blinds, searing into my eyeballs and making me wince, but I’m unable to focus on that or the room I’m in because my attention is immediately drawn to the person sitting beside me and holding my hand.
It’s certainly not Jodie, and as I stare at his broken face, images of the events that led up to this point start playing out in my mind.
My heart begins to race as I think about him following me to the bathroom, fucking me against the wall and then…
My stomach turns over as I picture him staring down at my phone with what I now know was Calli’s scan image on the screen.
“Oh God,” I breathe, trying to reach for the sick tray on the wheelie table beside my bed.
