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Brooklyn slouched down into the bed slightly, folding into herself.“I’m not worth the trouble.”
Her voice was so quiet, it was as if she were speaking to herself. But I heard the words loud and clear. They made me think of the Brooklyn we had first met. Though, even then, she wasn’t this broken. She had worked hard through therapy and creating the life she wanted, she recover from her past. Now she was back there, falling further into the abyss than she had been when I first laid eyes on her.
I reached over and tilted her chin up with one finger. She didn’t fight me. Eventually, her eyes opened, and she looked up at me.
“No matter what, you’re worth it to me.”I let my finger trail over her cheek before pulling away.
Her eyes didn’t react to my words, but her body shivered slightly from my touch. I knew she was still in there, still could feel the things we had together. Her body knew me, despite the abuse she had endured. Her skin knew mine, knew how we had shared breath in hot moments, but also laughter and secrets. It gave me hope, knowing that she would remember those things.
Eventually, she pulled away and looked down at her hands in her lap again. And I let her, stepping back and leaning againstthe wall again. I allowed her to sit in the silence she seemed to need, while I took my fill of her with my eyes. It was hard to realize she was back. She was safe and sitting right in front of me.
Ash came back with two steaming cups of coffee. She handed one, black, to Brooklyn, who wrapped her hands around the cup, holding onto it for dear life. When she carefully sipped, she closed her eyes and swallowed slowly.
“I thought maybe the warmth would feel good on your throat.”Ash motioned toward the coffee.
Brooklyn let out a little broken moan and a small smile for her friend. We stayed in silence until her original doctor came into the room. The doctor was tapping away on her tablet when she entered, but looked up and gave Brooklyn a bright smile. She glanced around and back at her, with a question in her eyes.
“Should we speak in private?”
Brooklyn didn’t look my way, though I knew the question was about me being in the room with her. After she had asked us to leave, I was sure the doctor had questions about the relationships we had with her.
“No. It’s ok,”she said, her voice a husky whisper.
“Alright then. Well, good news, there’s nothing broken in your neck or spine from the injury there. You definitely have some tissue and muscle damage, which will take time to heal. I suggest alternating heat and ice for a few days and we’ll give you some mild pain killers to help with the pain. You’ll definitely not want to use your voice much, but don’t stay silent for so long that it’s extremely painful when you try to speak again. You want to use the muscles, even for whispering.”The doctor turned her tablet while speaking, showing an x-ray image to Brooklyn.
“How long do I have to stay?”
“As soon as your leg is fixed up, I would be ok with discharging you into the care of your roommate, if that’s whatyou’d like to do and if she’s good with that?”The doctor looked at Ash to confirm.
“Of course I would be, but, well…”Ash looked over at me as she trailed off. Her eyes floated back to Brooklyn, and she took a deep breath before speaking again.“Honey, I think you’d be safer with the guys. We don’t know where Lyle is. Gideon said the cops are looking for him in full force, but there’s no knowing if he’ll try to attack again. Don’t you agree, Jaxon?”
I froze, looking between Ash and Brooklyn. Of course, my first priority was Brooklyn’s safety. Having her back under our roof, where we could protect her with all of our resources, would make that task easier. Frank was one of Gideon’s best. However, that didn’t stop the man from being shot on the street and Brooklyn taken in broad daylight.
“It’s up to Brooklyn. Her room is waiting for her at home,”I finally said.
Brooklyn didn’t look at me, only at Ash. It hurt to see anguish on her face, as if coming back to our house hurt her physically. Ash just looked down at her with a soft, encouraging look. Enough that she was trying to push her toward our home, but not enough to be refusing to take her back to the apartment.
Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. Before thinking, I blurted out,“Ash can come stay with us too.”
Ash’s eyes flicked over to me in surprise and the statement finally got Brooklyn to willingly look at me. She was also surprised, but I could see a little relief as well. I knew my brothers would agree to anything to get Brooklyn back under our roof. We didn’t actually have any additional rooms, but Oliver and I could give up our office for a guest room. We didn’t use the room as often as Aiden used his, so the transition wouldn’t be hard.
The doctor, not understanding any of the context of what was not being said between us, cleared her throat.“I would insistthat Ms. Reeves go to the place she is comfortable, can rest, recover—“
“And be safe,”I interjected.
“Of course. I’m sure the police—“
“Haven’t protected her yet.”I rolled my eyes.
“Sir, I understand your frustration, but this really is Ms. Reeves’choice,”the doctor said.
I wasn’t trying to force anything on Brooklyn. It was no secret. I wanted her under our roof, where we could keep her safe, be near her, be in her presence. And to bring our family back together, because that’s what we had created together. My phone had been vibrating in my pocket constantly since I came up to the hospital room. I quickly typed out a text about inviting Ash to stay with us so Brooklyn would come home. I didn’t wait for a response or approval before dropping my phone back into my pocket.
“You’re right. It is her choice. Brooklyn, please come home.”
Instead of trying to get her to look up at me, I crouched next to the bed. Her eyes flicked over to me and held. I reached a hand out and cupped her cheek. She didn’t look away as she leaned into my touch for a moment. A flicker of life came to her eyes for a moment, before it faded and she pulled away.
“Ok. If Ash can come, I’ll go to stay with the Knights,”Brooklyn said.
