22
Doe
Slowly, I opened my eyes. It took me a moment to realize where I was, but it was the nausea that reminded me I was definitely not at home or at Jenner’s. Moaning, I turned my head, looking for someone who could help me ease the tossing of my stomach. I hadn’t been able to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before, so there was nothing in there that could possibly come up, but that didn’t mean anything.
“Welcome back,” a deep voice greeted, and I blinked, focusing on a guy in surgical scrubs. He was wearing a mask, so I had no idea what he looked like, but he was of average height and I saw a wedding band on his left hand. “How is your pain level right now?”
“Nauseous,” I whined.
“Ah, don’t worry. I got you covered, darlin’.”
I closed my eyes and must have drifted back off to sleep, because when I opened my eyes again, I was in a different room. My nausea was still there, but not nearly as bad. The headache was new, as was the pain in my hips. Groaning, I tried to turn over, hoping to find a more comfortable position.
Two different hands stopped me, one soft, the other considerably larger and definitely rougher. “Sweetheart, don’t move too much,” the distinct and very welcome voice of my mother cautioned.
Turning my head, I had to blink a few times before Mom came into focus. “Hi,” I greeted.
“Hey,” she said with a beaming yet slightly trembling smile. “Dr. Contreras said you did beautifully.”
The big man who shifted behind her caught my attention. “Daddy,” I whispered, and he bent over the side of the bed to kiss my forehead.
“Hey, superhero,” he rasped. “How are you feeling?”
“Am not,” I mumbled. “I’m not sure how I feel right now. Tired. Achy. Where are the others? Jenner?”
“Stop worrying about the boy,” Dad grumbled. “They are all still outside. Seemed to be getting along when I checked on them a while ago. Heard all five of them laughing at one point, so they haven’t killed one another. I told Contreras not to bother them when he came out to speak to us earlier. I’ll text them when you’re more yourself.”
As long as they weren’t beating on Jenner, I was okay with them hanging out. He could probably take one of them on at a time, but all three of them at once wouldn’t be possible. My brothers were just as big as he was, and they didn’t play fair—ever.
At least Jenner wouldn’t have to see me all groggy and weak. A nurse came in, and she and Mom helped me to the bathroom. It was hard to walk at first, and it wasn’t without a few tears, which I was glad Jenner didn’t see. I didn’t want him to see my pain, not when Pixie’s was already more than enough for him to have to witness.
Once I was back in bed, I drifted off to sleep for a bit. The door burst open at one point, startling me awake just as Jenner jogged into the room. His face was white, but when he saw me, he stopped and sucked in a deep breath. I’d seen this man run 5K every morning for months—except the past two weeks because he’d stayed in bed with me. There was no way he was out of breath just because he’d run from a different part of the hospital, not even if he’d been on the other side of the property.
But then I saw the fear on his face begin to ease while his eyes caressed me as if he was scared to touch me. Behind him, my brothers and Aspen came in, the four of them just as out of breath as he was.
“I’m sorry.” Panting, Jenner stumbled to the side of my bed and clutched at my hand. “I didn’t realize how much time had passed. I should have paid better attention. Were you scared when you woke up and I wasn’t here? Are you hurting?”
My brain was still fuzzy from the anesthesia and anti-nausea meds, so I didn’t fully understand anything he’d just said. When I didn’t answer him, he dropped to his knees. “Talk to me, little lamb,” he pleaded.
“I’m okay. Just a little out of it.” Turning my hand over in his, I interlocked our fingers.
“We’re sorry, Doe,” Jackson apologized as he and the others came over to the other side of my bed. “We were getting to know one another, and no one noticed how long we were talking until Bryant started complaining that he was hungry.”
I looked at my brothers. They, like Jenner, looked full of remorse for not keeping up with the time. I saw the regret in their eyes and the slight hunch of their shoulders. But there was just something…off. Suspicious, I glared at them. “Were you three giving Jenner a hard time? Did you fight?”
“No!” LJ exclaimed.
“We were good,” Bryant said with a pout.
“We wouldn’t do anything to upset you, baby sis,” Jackson promised. “We actually had fun getting to know one another. Jenner is a good guy. We’re happy to have him be a part of the family. Right, guys?”
“Absolutely,” LJ agreed.
“Can’t wait to call him brother.”
Bryant was definitely the weakest link of the three, and his overplay only made my suspicions grow. If I’d had the energy, I would have dug my heels in until they confessed to whatever deviousness they were up to, or had already done to poor Jenner. But I was exhausted and still out of it from the drugs.
“Maybe you boys should go get some lunch,” Mom suggested. “I can hear Bryant’s stomach from here, and I figure you have about twenty more minutes before he becomes a completely different person.”
“Yeah, we don’t want him turning feral while roaming freely among the public,” I muttered. “Babe, go with them. I know you didn’t eat breakfast this morning. You’re probably starving.”
“I don’t want to leave you.”
“And I don’t want you to go hungry,” I told him, pouting out my bottom lip. “Don’t make me worry about you. Go eat.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but Jackson coughed, hard and loud. Jenner clamped his lips together and stood. “Okay, baby. If it keeps you from worrying, I’ll go eat. But I won’t be gone long. Call me if you need anything.”
“What I need is for these three to be nice to you,” I grumbled, glaring up at my brothers. “I don’t know what you three are up to, but if you do anything to Jenner, no one can save you from me.”
“Noted,” LJ said with a grin as he bent to kiss my cheek. “Glad to see you being all feisty, baby sis. It tells me loud and clear that you’re fine.”