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I wanted to find words to soothe them both, and reassure them that I would be okay, but before I could think of what to say, the door to the room burst open again, and Declan and Grey walked in, followed by my Dad and Trent.
Tears filled my eyes at the sight of them all and a lump formed in my throat as I smiled a little. They all looked just as exhausted as the twins, and I was pretty sure they had each lost weight. Declan’s usually glowing tan skin seemed pale, and his wild hair was flat and in need of washing. Grey was dressed in sweats and a hoody, his stubble heavy. It was so unlike him. I’d never seen him in anything as casual as sweats before, unless he was working out.
“About time you woke up, short stack,” Trent declared, and when I moved my eyes to him I saw the mix of worry and relief all over his face. He was hobbling, his leg still in a cast, but this one was smaller and I was happy to know his leg had to be getting better if the cast had been reduced. He was clean shaven, but there were heavy, dark smudges under his eyes and he had definitely lost weight, his face looking a little drawn.
“You gave us all quite a scare, sweetheart,” Dad added as he stepped further into the room, his eyes locked on mine, unshed tears glistening in them. He was dressed as though he’d been at the office, in a navy suit with an open collar, crisp white shirt underneath. He was the most put together looking, but he too had bags under his eyes and was thinner than he had been.
“How are you feeling? How’s your pain?” Grey asked as he stepped up beside Liam and leaned over the bed a little to look me over.
“M-my head…it hurts. In fact, I th-think everything hurts,” I groaned, the pain in my body intensifying as I thought about it.
“The doctor’s on his way in. He can give you something for the pain, I’m sure,” Dad told me. I gave Liam’s hand a squeeze, then released it, reaching for Grey instead, needing the contact with him. He instantly took my hand in his and raised it up to his lips, placing a kiss on my knuckles. We shared a small smile before I turned and looked for Dec. He was still stood back, near the door with my Dad and Trent, and I hated it. I needed him close. Needed to feel his skin touch mine, just as the others had.
“Dec,” I croaked, forcing him to pull his eyes from where he was staring at the floor, and up to mine instead. He looked angry as those swirling eyes hit me, his face filled with pain and fear. I pulled my hand from Tom’s and held it toward Declan, as much as I could anyway when it would barely move. “Please,” I implored as I locked my eyes on his, begging him not to look away from me.
“Fuck,” he uttered as he took two strides to stand beside Tom. He snatched up my hand and bent forward until he could press the back of it to his cheek. To anyone else he looked like he was pissed off with me, but I knew him better than that. I knew he’d been terrified and he was feeling emotional.
“I’m here. I’m o-okay,” I told him when he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, my hand still pressed against his rough, stubbled face. I saw a tear trickle down his cheek and I did the only thing I could to comfort him – gripped my hand around his, giving it a squeeze.
Finally he opened his tearful eyes and looked down to me, as he whispered, “I thought I’d lost you…thought you were going to leave me.”
“Never,” I assured him. “I wouldn’t l-leave you…any of you.” I looked around, first at my four guys, then up to my dad and Trent. They were my family, and there was no way I would allow them to be torn from me without one hell of a fight.
The doctor walked into the room then, an older man with thin white hair and glasses way too small for his face. He was explaining that my brain injury would likely be complicated by the additional blow to the head I had taken, and that I should expect an increase in headaches and likely some dizziness, but he seemed hopeful that any progress I had made would not be complicated further. He went on more, but I was exhausted once again and the sounds in the room around me started to become drowned out as sleep pulled me under. I was still clutching Declan and Grey’s hand either side of me, the twins still at my side too. Knowing they were there was enough. I knew I was safe, and so I allowed sleep to take me.
“Rest now, little warrior,” I heard Tom whisper as warm lips pressed to the top of my head. “We’ve got you. We’ve always got you.”
CHAPTER 3
BLAKE
“Are you sure you’re good in there, Blake? I could grab a nurse if you need help?” Trent called through the door of the small bathroom, which adjoined my hospital room.
“I’m almost ready,” I called back. It had been a week since I awoke fully, and I was more than ready to get the bloody hell out of that hospital.
For the first few days after I woke up, things had been tough. My body was recovering from weeks in a coma and I was weak and unsteady. I had needed help to get back and forth to the bathroom and I had been extremely uncomfortable with any of the nurses doing that, hating strangers being anywhere near me when I was vulnerable.
So, needless to say I had become much closer to Grey, Dec, and the twins. Nan didn’t have the strength to support me moving around, though she had tried several times anyway, and I absolutely did not want my Dad or brother helping me get to the toilet, or in and out of the shower. So the guys had stepped up, and while it had been terrifying at first, we had found our rhythm. They were all great at keeping their eyes closed at the pivotal points and made me feel comfortable by keeping it all pretty clinical.
As the week progressed I got back a little strength and started to feel steadier. The guys still hovered and worried constantly, but I started feeling able to move the short distance to the bathroom, alone.
Now I was going home, and while I still tired out way too easily, I was feeling a lot more like myself. I had some bruising around my ribs which was still a little painful and hindered my movements, and blinding headaches were regular, but other than that I seemed to have gotten away from the accident pretty lightly, all things considered.
“Is she ready?” I heard my dad ask, and knew he had arrived to drive me home. Trent was in his third, and hopefully final, cast having had it changed just the day before. His leg was healing nicely, and after two weeks in this last pot, he had been told he could start to fully weight bear on it again and start some physio.
He was still on sick leave from his job, which was why he was with me that morning, and not the guys. They had been forced to return to their jobs, though they still worked it so that one of them managed to be with me most of the time, each of them seemingly taking turns. That day they had all been busy – Grey on shift, the Twins needed on an inspection at one of their sites, and Declan in a meeting with his senior staff for the morning – so Dad and Trent had happily agreed to get me back home. Nan was cooking us all a meal, and I was reassured by the knowledge that later that night I would have everyone I cared for, home with me to enjoy it. I couldn’t wait. I just wanted things to get back to normal, or at least to the normal I had found there in San Diego.
While Trent technically could drive now, Dad had asked him not to until he was fully healed and out of the cast. After everything that had happened he was worried about Trent and I, and he was being a little over protective, not that I blamed him. I remembered exactly how terrified I had been after he and Trent had that car accident and I completely understood how he felt.
Knowing I needed to get out there, I took one more, quick glance in the mirror. I was pale and looked exhausted, red rings around my tired eyes. I had scraped my hair back into a ponytail, but it was greasy and flat, in need of several good washes and some conditioner, but my head was still very tender where my skull had been cracked open and I was a little scared to touch anywhere near it.
I had dressed in the black leggings and a long Navy hoody Trent had brought for me. I hadn’t dared to put a bra on, knowing it would anger my bruised ribs. I definitely wasn’t looking my best, but it was an improvement from the way I had looked, laid up in my pyjamas for the last week. Shrugging at my reflection, knowing I had done the best I could, I gathered my hairbrush and the few toiletries I had used into my washbag, then scooped it under my arm and walked back out to Trent and Dad.
“Hi sweetheart. How are you doing?” Dad greeted as soon as I walked out, stepping forward to wrap me up in a hug. I held him tight, loving the feel of his arms around me.
I had changed so much since I arrived there, changed from the girl who avoided everyone around her and completely lost it if she was touched in any way, to someone who adored affection from the people I had actually allowed in, and had come to trust and love.
“Good. I can’t w-wait to get home,” I replied.
