Thoughtful(197)

Holding his gaze, I calmly said, “No. I can’t. And I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? Well, that makes everything okay, doesn’t it?” He lifted his free hand in the air and spoke to the room like it was full of people. “No need to worry, everyone, Kellan’s sorry, so everything is fucking perfect again.”

I lifted my arm to show him the cast covering me from wrist to elbow. “Sometimes you screw up so badly that apologizing is the only thing left that you can do, Denny. I figured you, of all people, would understand that.” Denny sighed and looked away from me. I sighed too. I was so tired of this. “Look, I know you’re mad. I know I fucked up, okay? But all I’m worried about right now is Kiera…and whether or not she’s going to be okay. So maybe we could…hold off on trying to kill each other until she’s better?”

Denny’s eyes returned to mine. The anger had faded, and all I saw was sadness. “I don’t want to kill you. I just…don’t want to ever see you again.”

His words stung, but I deserved them. Nodding, I whispered, “I know. And as soon as she’s okay, you won’t have to. But until then, maybe we could…sort of get along?”

Denny gave me a curt nod. “Yeah. All right. For her sake, we’ll play nice.”

Closing my eyes again, I laid my head back on the chair. Good. Now let’s just hope she wakes up soon.

My nurses came back a little while later with paperwork and steri-strips. I let them do whatever they wanted while I signed myself out of the hospital’s care. Denny excused himself to make some phone calls once my nurses were gone, so I picked up the phone and called Evan. He was naturally quite concerned when I told him where I was and what I needed.

“The hospital? Why are you at the hospital? Are you okay?” With a sigh, I told him the highlights of my night from hell. When I was finished, he was silent for a really long time. “You were leaving? Without saying goodbye? What about the band? Were you going to tell us, or would we just be wondering where the hell you were next rehearsal?”

I could hear the anger and hurt in his voice. “I was…I would have called when I got wherever…I’m sorry, Evan.” My band hadn’t entered my mind, just escaping Kiera. God, I was a selfish bastard.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Evan hung up before I could apologize again, and I stared at the receiver. So I’d messed up in more than one way. My assholishness knew no bounds.

About an hour or so later, Evan walked into Kiera’s room. He looked at her still body on the bed, then over at me. His eyes widened as his mouth opened in shock. “Jesus,” he whispered.

His eyes flashed to Denny then, and I stood up. “Let’s go in the hallway,” I told him, “so Kiera can rest.” And so he wouldn’t start something with Denny.

Evan clenched his jaw and his fists started curling. One of them was holding a plastic bag full of fresh clothes for me. With my good hand, I pushed on his shoulder to get him out the door. I closed it once we were in the hallway.

Evan eyed me again in the bright fluorescents. “Denny did all this?” he whispered.

I shook my head. “No, Kiera and I were mugged. The robbers did all this.” My voice was slow and deliberate. This is our lie, and we need you to follow it. Please. Let this go. This was as much my fault as his.

Evan looked away, muttering, “Yeah…robbers.” With a sigh, he returned his gaze to me. Sticking out his hand, he passed me the grocery bag. “Here. Clean clothes. And I’ll go get your car too, if you give me your keys.”

“Thank you,” I replied, digging into my jeans for my car keys.

When I handed them over, Evan frowned. “Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t heard what I’m about to say.”

I tensed my muscles in anticipation. This was probably going to hurt. “Okay, hit me.” I cringed at my own comment. Bad choice of words.

Evan crossed his arms. “You’re a selfish son of a bitch, you know that?”

Yes, I’m aware. My eyes drifted back to Kiera’s door. “Evan…”

“No.” His finger dug into my shoulder. “You seem to think you’re all alone in this world, but you keep forgetting the fact that the three of us followed your ass up here when you ran back to Seattle.” Eyes boring into me, he shrugged. “Do you think we did that because we were bored?” I opened my mouth to speak, and he shoved me in the shoulder again. “No, you stupid asshole. We did that because we love you, and we believe in you. Your real parents may have been shit, but the three of us, we’re your family now. Get that through your damn skull!” His voice was low but intense, and his words sliced me open like razors. I felt raw all over.