Dismount (Off Balance 5)

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Kova.

The pregnancy.

Dad.

The fight.

Blood… So much blood.

I wasn't at the doctor's office, I was in the hospital.

The last thing I remembered was flying across the room. I'd landed on the coffee table and had taken everything with me when I fell to the floor. Then my world had turned black.

My brows creased. I vaguely remembered shattered glass. Had I been cut?

A memory of lying in a pool of blood flashed into my mind. A loud gasp parted my lips. Panic surged through me at a hundred miles a minute. Blood. Was the blood from getting scuffed up in the altercation between Dad and Kova?

Or was it from the baby?

I glanced around, disoriented. My head was a little hazy and my vision still blurry, but I finally recognized the woman sitting in the corner.

"Sophia?" I said, trying to sit up.

Tears filled my eyes as bile rose to my throat. My eyes widened in alarm. I felt like I was electrocuted. I looked down to find my right arm in a sling. What the hell happened to me?

Another memory filled my head. Dad had twisted my arm in anger. Was it broken?

A sharp pain sliced through my chest and I covered my mouth with my free hand. Sophia moved into action like she knew what was going to happen next. She jumped up from the chair and grabbed a trash can, holding it for me just in time.

After a few more embarrassing rounds of retching, Sophia took the can from me and walked toward the bathroom. She returned with a plastic cup of water.

"Thank you," I said as she handed it to me. Shit. My throat was raw.

Our gazes met. Her green eyes were bloodshot as they beheld mine. The look in them was both relieved and terrified to see me. I wasn't sure what she knew, or how much she knew, but she seemed so sad, and that upset me.

I averted my gaze and looked down. There was an IV inserted and taped down to the top of my free hand. The inside of my elbow was stressed with shades of blue from injections I didn't recall having.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Sophia take a step.

"Wait," I choked out and she stopped. I had a feeling she was going to get my dad. I wasn’t ready for him.

"What's wrong?"

I shook my head, the pain making it unbearable to speak. My arm wasn't in a cast, so it must not be broken. But I prayed my dad hadn’t fractured it either.

"How did I get here?" I asked, my throat still scratchy. Maybe I should've asked when I had gotten here.

I took a small sip of water and handed her back the cup. The last thing I wanted to do was throw up again.

Sophia placed it on the tray at the foot of the bed. Her brows furrowed. "You don't remember?"

I blinked. "I just remember Dad…" I hesitated, and her lips flattened as she gave me an empathetic look.

"Your father fighting with Konstantin?"

My teeth dug into my bottom lip. I glanced away, nodding subtly. "How long have I been here?"