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“The time will start when I tuck you into your bed at the suite and not a minute sooner.” I level her with a look that has most people running scared.
She stares back with the audacity to look unbothered. “Fine,” she says, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.
She goes to stand but seems to lose balance. Damien pulls her into him to help steady her. He doesn’t make any jokes about it though. I watch him hold her, his thumb rubbing small circles on her back as he gives her a moment to regain her balance. He cares about her too. If he cracked a joke, not only would Evie be embarrassed, she would be insulted. He already knows how much that would piss her off.
I walk over and unhook the medical equipment from her, not bothering to wait on the staff. When the alarms start going off the nurse comes in visibly flustered.
“I’ll get you a wheelchair,” she offers while she fumbles to turn off the monitors and clean up the equipment.
“I’ve got her,” Damien says, pulling her even closer. Relief flashes across Evie's eyes.
We walk back to the suite, about a quarter of a mile away from the hospital wing. Damien scooped Evie up about halfway because she sounded like she was attempting to run a marathon. She punched him in the chest and tried to yell, but eventually relented. Her eyes start to drift off again by the time we reach her room. Damien sets her in bed, and I note my blanket is spread out next to her.
“Can I change first?” she asks us.
“Just a minute,” I tell her.
I walk into the other room, noticing that Alexi isn’t back. I called for the doors and hardware to be brought here a few hours ago along with new locks. I replace her bathroom door first, so she can change, before replacing the others.
Evie walks out of the bathroom on wobbly legs wearing an oversized shirt and some shorts. She combed through her hair and washed her face but stuck to the rule about no showers just yet. She already looks to be feeling better, she just needs some sleep.
“Alright, in you get,” I tell her as I lift the sheets up for her to slide right in. I know she isn’t a fan of the thick blankets, so I roll up mine, giving her something to lean into.
“I’ll have to wake you every hour, but I’ll give you some space so you can rest,” I tell her. “I’ll be right outside the door if you need anything. No one will be coming to bother you.”
“The new locks?” she asks before yawning.
“They will be here in a few hours. I’ll wake you before I install them.”
She nods, snuggling deeper into the blankets. Damien walks back in with some water and Tylenol. She takes it appreciatively. When she’s done, he tucks a loose hair out of her face before grabbing her cup and leaving the room. I’ve never seen him so gentle with anyone.
“Thank you,” she says as I start walking to the door.
“Anything for you, Lucky Charm.” When I shut the door, I see her using every muscle in her face to keep her eyes open until she’s finally alone.
The door clicks closed, and I have a feeling she’s already fast asleep.
When I turn around, Alexi is standing right there with his arms crossed over his chest. “Tucking your little pet in?” he asks, his voice dripping with disdain.
I match his posture, letting him know he doesn't intimidate me. We’ve been friends since we were in diapers. He should know by now that his little charade doesn’t work on me.
“First of all, she’sours,” I begin. “You seem to think that just because one day you’ll be in charge of the Bratva, that applies here on Elysium too.” Shock crosses over his face, but he erases it quickly.
“You’ve never complained about me making the difficult decisions before,” he spits back at me.
He’s right. I’ve always been happy not having to make any choices. I’ve been a follower my entire life. I have no idea why I’m feeling the need to change that now.
“Well, I’m complaining now. This stops here.” I try to sound assertive, but I’m new at this, and Alexi is very aware of that.
“I’ll let her have the doors back,” he relents, “but she will follow through on the bet she lost.” He uncrosses his arms. “What happened anyways? I half expected her to come out of that bend in front of me.”
“She started hallucinating, you know, because of the fact she hadn’t slept in over fifty hours.” I leave out the fact that she was attempting to run someone over.
“She hadn’t slept at all?” he asks. “Not even when she was with you or Damien?”
“She can’t sleep around other people. You staying in her room till all hours of the night put her on edge.” I sigh knowing I’m getting too worked up about this.
“That girl in there, she’s been through a lot, Lex. I don’t know what, but she has trauma I bet none of us could understand. I know she crossed a line going through your stuff. But this” I gesture around, to our living situation, to the doors, “this shit has to stop.”
