“Oh, of course. She wants to see you. She keeps asking about you. Her room is the last door on the left,” her mother says, shooing me down the hall. “Would you like anything to drink?”
“I’ll be fine,” I reassure her as I make my way down the hall. I slow down as I approach the door, hesitating in front of it. It’s partially open, but I hear no noise coming from within the room, and I wonder if she’s sleeping.
I don’t want to disturb her.
But I’m dying to see her.
Slowly, I open the door to find her in bed lying on her back, her head propped up on a stack of pillows. Her eyes are closed, and her face…
Holy shit her face.
Tony didn’t lie and neither did her mother. She looks fucking awful. Two black eyes have caused dark purple and yellow bruising. There’s a bandage across the bridge of her swollen nose. She looks like she got into a fight and lost.
Rage fills me and I clutch my hands into fists, wishing I could hit something. Someone. It hurts me to see her hurting. My chest aches. My heart pounds. That asshole tried to hurt her, and for no real reason. He could’ve done serious damage to my girl. I’m just grateful she’s still here. Alive.
She must hear me because her eyes crack open and she studies me from where I’m standing across the room.
“Jackson. You made it.” She tries to smile, but she winces, giving up. I’m sure she’s in pain. “I look terrible.”
“Yeah,” I croak before I slowly make my way toward the bed. “But what’s the other guy look like?”
“Terrible. Even worse because he’s in jail.” She closes her eyes, lying still for a moment as I carefully settle onto the edge of the bed beside her. “I did my best to beat him up.”
“I bet.” I drift my fingers down her arm and she smiles, her lips barely turning up at the corners. “What the fuck, Ellie? Tell me what happened.”
She explains everything that occurred last night. How the guy was a drunk asshole and got kicked out of the Doghouse Grill. How he blamed her for getting escorted out, yelling at her in front of everyone. How her car wouldn’t start and then he magically appeare
d. Her car is old, and the doors don’t always automatically lock and that’s how he was able to get inside. How he jumped her and hit her.
“He hit you?” I see red. I want to tear him from limb to limb.
Ellie nods. “It was so shocking. It stunned me more than anything else. I’ve never been hit like that before.”
I can’t stop touching her, but I don’t want to hurt her either, so I keep stroking her arm, needing the connection. “Do you remember what happened next?”
“I kneed him straight in the balls,” she tells me, her voice edgy. As if she’s mad, reliving the moment. “It all happened so fast. His head snapped forward when I hit him, and he nailed me right here.” She reaches up to demonstrate, pointing at her nose and the spot between her eyebrows. “He smacked me so hard with his forehead, I passed out. That’s why they kept me for observation last night. They were worried over how hard the impact was. He gave me a concussion.”
“But you’re okay,” I say, needing to hear her say the words.
“I’m okay,” she whispers, nodding. She smiles, her eyes swollen little slits when she does. “I look terrible.”
“You’re beautiful.” She is. It doesn’t matter if she was toothless and bald, I would still think she’s stunning, because she’s mine. Because I care about her so damn much. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“I’ll get better. This is temporary.” She grabs my hand, squeezing it. “Where were you? You were so mysterious about going to Los Angeles. What happened?”
“It was nothing,” I say dismissively. “I had an appointment with Evergreen earlier this morning, but I bailed on him the moment I found out what happened to you.”
Her mouth drops open and she snaps it shut quickly. “Jackson. Don’t tell me you left without talking to him because of me.”
“Yeah. I did. I had to. None of that shit matters, El, if I don’t have you in my life. Can’t you see that?” I lean forward, dropping the softest kiss on her upturned lips. God, I don’t want to push, but I want to show her how much she means to me. “I freaked out. I didn’t know what happened to you.”
“I’m okay,” she whispers. “You should call him. Try to meet with him again.”
This is such typical Ellie behavior. Thinking of me when it should be all about her.
“It doesn’t matter,” I repeat, pulling away so I can look at her. I’m completely in awe of her. She acts like what happened last night was no big deal. All she can do is worry about me, and I don’t deserve it. Shit, I don’t deserve her. “I think I ruined that chance for good.”
She keeps her gaze downcast, plucking at the comforter that covers her. “I hate that I made you leave your meeting.” Her frown is killing me. Seeing her like this is killing me, and I hate it.