I’m glad to see her resting. Tonight has taken a toll on her. When she collapsed in my arms and broke down after seeing Savannah, I felt something snap inside of me. I suddenly found myself holding her against me as I tried to soothe her and reassure her that everything was going to be okay. Right there, at that very moment, I knew I was in deep with this girl...deeper than I’ve ever been with anyone in my entire lifetime.
The best thing for Brooklyn and me is to make some distance between us. Let us both regroup and let the high fade that we’ve both been floating on since our hookup the night of the party at Tank’s house.
I lift my gaze over her shoulder and see Kayden staring up at the ceiling too.
“Can’t sleep?” I ask quietly, trying not to wake Brooklyn and, in the process, startling Kayden. His body jolts at the sound of my face.
Exhaling through tightly pressed lips, Kayden fists his hair before turning his attention from the ceiling to me. “Yeah. My mind won’t stop racing. I keep checking my phone for updates from the police. I can’t believe that piece of shit is still out there. We can only hope he’s injured from the wreck and lying in the woods somewhere bleeding profusely and dying a slow painful death.”
I nod silently in agreement. Neither of us say a word for a few minutes as we allow Kayden’s words to linger between us and stir around in our thoughts. The idea of Zak still being out there leaves us all uneasy. Now, knowing Jacob is dead, Zak is going to more than likely want to seek revenge if by chance the lucky SOB is alive and not dying a slow miserable death somewhere on the side of the highway.
Sitting up, I swing my legs over the side of the pull-out bed, and rest my elbows on my knees and ask Kayden, “What do you say we take a walk and find a vending machine or something. We can try to distract ourselves from all of this for at least a little bit.”
“Okay,” Is all he says before climbing out of bed and slipping on his boots.
He walks over to Savannah, stopping beside her bed. It’s hard seeing him like this. He seems so lost and defeated. The usual 'take on the world and knock anyone who stands in my way onto their ass' cousin I’m used to seeing is nowhere to be found. I hate it. Right now, he should be boiling with anger, pouring every ounce of energy of his energy into finding Zak. Hell, we have more money than we know what to do with. He could easy throw money at the police and widen the search party looking for Zak.
I don’t doubt he’s already thrown an obscene amount of money to the doctors, making sure Savannah has only best. He’s only been with her a little over a month, but I can tell what they have is the real deal. He hasn’t been this way with anyone since Lulu. I am praying for him as much as her that she pulls through this because I don’t think Kayden can handle losing another person he loves.
A person can only receive so many blows in their life before they finally give up and lose that will to get back up and continue to fight. One thing Kayden has learned from the heartbreak and devastation he’s endured in this lifetime is life is too short, and you’re never granted tomorrow.
You can have the whole world in the palm of your hands. In a blink of an eye, everything you thought was good and solid turns to water in your hands and slowly slips away with no chances of holding onto it.
He presses a kiss to her forehead and whispers something into her ear before turning around and following me out of the hospital room.
I glance back at Brooklyn and immediately feel the pain in my chest intensify as I force my gaze to leave her as I exit the room. My head is all over the place. A part of me says to look at what Kayden and Savannah have. Hell, I never thought Kayden would find a girl who would mesh so well into his world, but he did. Maybe I could have that with Brooklyn. But then I think about my life and her life. With our two completely different lifestyles, we would be destined for failure. We’ll do each other a favor and stop this train wreck before it happens.
Plus, neither she nor I have any desire to settle down and commit to one person. So I doubt she’ll even care if we go our separate ways. We shared some hot hookups, and it ends at that. Better to stop a good thing while it’s still going well than wait for it to turn into a ticking time bomb that's ready to blow up at any moment, destroying everything in its wake. At least this way, we can continue to be in one another’s lives with Kayden and Savannah without things being awkward.
“So, you and Brooklyn? What’s going on with that?” Kayden’s question, even though I’ve been expecting it, catches me off guard.
I politely smile at the charge nurse as we exit the corridor to the ICU. The minute we push through the double doors and head towards the wall of vending machines, I finally answer him.
“Brooklyn and I are just two people who enjoy fucking one another.” For the first time since we got here, I hear Kayden laugh. It isn’t much. It’s only a light chuckle. But still it’s something. If he has to laugh at my expense, so be it.
“Well, you two do enjoy getting laid. That isn’t news to anyone. The last time I had checked, you were not the least bit interested in her. Hell, you acted as if you couldn’t stand to be around the girl.”
I keep my eyes focused on the array of assorted candy and chips and avoid eye contact. The last thing I need is Kayden calling me out on this messed up situation. If he knew I was getting in deep with Brooklyn, he’d bust my balls then go into the full on ‘You better not fuck with her and make it so she wants to flee the state of Texas forever and blah, blah, blah.’
Punching the buttons, I watch my Snickers bar fall and say a silent prayer that Kayden will drop the topic and focus on the matter at hand: Zak. Not me and who I’m fucking at the moment.
“I don’t have to like someone to enjoy fucking them. Sure, she’s an animal in the bedroom. Other than that, I have no idea. It’s not like I wine and dine her for Christ sake. We hooked up. End of story.”
Kayden claps me on the shoulder before sliding his dollar bill into the machine and lets out another chuckle.
Keep laughing it up, buddy.
“For someone who’s just fucking around, you sure are getting pretty defensive. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you like Brooklyn a little more than just for her skills in the bedroom. You have your pick of any woman in Houston, yet you fly to Los Angeles to get laid?”
I take a massive bite out of my candy bar and glare at Kayden with my best ‘drop it or I’ll beat your ass even if we’re standing in the middle of the hospital’ look before swallowing hard and coming to my own defense.
God, sometimes I seriously hate him. He knows me too well. It gets more annoying the older we get.
“I’m not on the defensive. I just want to make it perfectly clear to you that we are only fucking. We’re not even friends. I don’t need you getting twisted ideas in your head and picturing cutesy double dates and shit. I already decided tonight that we’re done. The last thing I need is her getting mixed signals. Because you know how girls can be. They swear up and down they aren’t looking for a boyfriend and are fine with just hooking up and then all of a sudden they’re getting clingy and jealous. The last thing I want is to cause strain between you and Savannah. She’ll have enough on her plate as will you when she wakes up. Y’all don’t need me adding women drama to the mix. She’s going to need her best friend.”
Kayden’s eyes grow large and a look of stunned shock flashes across his face. “Who the fuck are you? Where the hell did my selfish little prick of a cousin go?” He says with his voice dripping in sarcasm and amusement.
He drapes his arm over my shoulder as we begin to head back towards Savannah’s room.
“Laugh it up asshole. I’m standing here trying to be the bigger man and still ya sit here and bust my damn balls.”
Shaking his head in disbelief, Kayden gives me a sympathetic smile and his eyes turn dark and fill with sadness once again, “I appreciate ya bein’ here right now, Dixon, and looking out for Savannah like you are. I’m not blind. I can see Brooklyn is a gorgeous girl, and I’d think you’d turned gay if you weren’t tryin’ to bone her. But I’m glad that you’re thinking with this head.” He says patting the top of my head before opening his bag of Doritos. “Rather than the other head which you think with ninety-nine point nine percent of the time.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh.
I quickly seal my lips together and give the nurse a slight wave of apology as she glares at us both, shhhing us as we reenter the ICU.
“Don’t get too used to it, bro. Because this is a one-time thing. I don’t take passin’ up pussy lightly. Especially with a girl like her.”
Chapter Three
Brooklyn
I open my eyes as I feel sunshine warming my face. I blink a few times as I slowly wake up. For a moment, I forget where I am and roam my eyes over the walls of the hospital room and quickly remember exactly where I am and why I’m here.
Leaning up, I glance towards Savannah’s hospital bed and spot Kayden immediately. He’s sitting beside Savannah, leaning back casually in the chair with his left foot resting on his right knee while watching a show, but at the same time not watching. He seems like he’s lost in thought, which is understandable considering the circumstances.