Chapter Twenty-Seven:

Brian stayed with me through the night. It took some persuading, but Doug convinced the hospital staff to allow him to stay with me in my room. Doug apologized that he couldn’t stay, but he had some arrangements that had to be made as soon as possible. He didn’t go into specifics and I didn’t ask. He did leave some men to stand guard in his absence. He promised that he would explain things to me soon, but not just yet. I’m not so sure I want to know just how deep his connections go. Honestly, I’m not sure what would surprise me anymore.

I glanced at the clock on the wall above the mounted TV. It’s almost five in the morning. I didn’t sleep, despite offers to give me a sedative. I think if I did sleep, I’d only have nightmares. I don’t want that – not right now.

I grabbed my phone off of the small table near my hospital bed. I glanced over at Brian. He passed out a few hours ago. I didn’t have the heart to wake him. He’s exhausted. He needs to rest. One of us should be rested, especially if it’s not going to be me.

I dialed Oliver’s number. He picked up on the second ring.

“Lyds how are you?” He asked me. Brian explained to him what happened on my phone while I was passed out earlier.

“I’ve been better.” I told him in a quiet, hoarse voice.

“I’m going to fucking kill them. Like kill them, bring them back, drown them, slice them with a lightsaber and then fucking drag their bodies!” He exclaimed. I chuckled.

“As great as that sounds, Doug’s working on something a little more legal. Well, at least partially legal. And I’m not naïve enough to assume that they’ll be scared off by a piece of paper. They won’t stay away forever. I’m just really tired, Ollie.” I whispered.

“Yeah, I figured. How are you? I mean, how’s your mental state? I can’t even imagine how pissed I would be if it had happened to me. I can tell you that I’m fucking livid that it happened to you.” He fumed.

“I’m okay right now. Ask me later. It hasn’t really hit me yet.” I told him. “When are you coming?” I asked him.

“I’ll be there sometime next week. We’re going to leave here Friday night.”

“You and Hayden?” I guessed.

“Yeah. Is that still cool?” He asked.

“Duh. Of course it is. I’m sure you can stay with me at Doug’s house.”

“You’re not staying with Lynn anymore?”

“No – thank God.”

“Good. You shouldn’t be around her.”

“Preach man.”

“Listen Lyds, I gotta go. I love you. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Alright, Oliver, take care. Love you, too.” I ended the call and set my phone down. I have texts from the guys and Tiffany.

Hey girlie, just wanted to make sure you were okay… You left in kind of a hurry and when your guy came in things got tense. Do you need anything? Let me know.
-Tiff

I smiled at my phone. Even though I’ve only known her for a couple of days, she’s still proving to be a good friend.

I’m okay. I’m in the hospital right now. It’s a long story. I’ll explain later. Thanks for checking up on me.
-Lydia

I debated messaging the guys. Maybe I can just send a mass-text.

I’m okay. I’m at the hospital. Brian’s with me and Doug had some friends stay with us. I’m sure I’ll see you guys later on.
-Lydia

It’s straight-forward and that’s all it needed to be. I jumped as someone knocked on the door. The doctor poked his head inside and Brian’s eyes fluttered open.I looked over at my tired man and he smiled at me.

“How are you feeling?” The doc asked me. I shrugged.

“Shitty – like someone tried to run me over… twice.” I responded. He chuckled.

“I just have to do a few tests and you should be able to get out of here.” He assured me. I nodded.

“Test away.”

---

After a few more hours stuck in the hospital, I was cleared to go. Thank God. They make me jittery. I hate hospitals. I had more than a few prescriptions that we had to stop off and fill. Brian and Zacky picked up food supplies while Doug and I went to the pharmacy part of the grocery store. He walked slowly so I could keep up with him.

I avoided the pharmacist’s suspicious gaze and played with the prescription paper in my hands. Doug did most of the talking. He paid for my medicine despite my objections. We waited for the pills while the guys did the shopping. We met back in the car and headed back to the Baker’s place.

We didn’t talk much. I managed to eat a little something before I took my copious amount of medication. I laid on the couch and watched the guys play some game on the X-Box. This is nice. I feel safe here. I finally feel like I can rest. We can iron out the messy details for everything later. Right now, I just want to sleep.

Notes

More insight into Doug's past next chapter! Slight plot twist coming up!! :) Stay tuned!

You all are amazeballs!

Love,
Katie