Always Sometimes Never: Sometimes Brooke Part 17

Once I get them back on my feet I feel a little bit like myself again.

"Where is she?" I repeat. The guy is starting to make me feel like a broken record.

"Sir, I'll need to get you to sign these release papers stating that you are refusing medical treatment.

"Whatever. Give me a pen."

He hands me a clipboard with a pen and I scribble my name on the bottom line.

"And initial right there," he points to another section of the long doc.u.ment. "And there."

I scribble a few more times and then shove the clipboard back at him. "Brooke Rhodes?"

"I'll need to check on that for you."

"Great," I try to control my temper because I know this guy is the only thing that now stands between me and my Wild Child. I don't want to p.i.s.s him off. I want him to give me the information I need.

"Like rock music?" I ask as I follow him out the door.

He stops dead in his tracks and glares at me. "You can wait in the room. I'll be right back as soon as I get the information for you."

I shake my head. "I don't mind. I'll follow you. I think it'll be quicker this way."

He takes in a deep breath and I can see the resignation set into his squinty blue eyes. "Fine."

He doesn't wait for me to respond. He turns on his heels and starts walking down the hallway. "I don't," he says when I finally catch up to him.

"Don't what?"

"Care for rock music."

I roll my eyes. Figures. The one guy on the planet that I truly need a favor from and there's little chance he cares who I am.

When I finally figure out where Brooke is I practically run to that section of the hospital. Probably not the smartest idea considering I got pretty beat up in the accident, but no one ever accused me of being smart.

She looked so bad. She was smashed almost as badly as Harper's car. And she was so b.l.o.o.d.y. I cringe just thinking about it. Brooke is broken and it's all my fault. I was paying too much attention to the Wild Child and not enough attention to the road. I have to do whatever it takes to fix her-to fix everything-to make things right again.

I spot Rayne and Harper pacing outside of a room when I arrive.

"Dude." Rayne looks me up and down. "You look like s.h.i.+t. Are you supposed to be running around the hospital?"

Harper elbows him.

"I don't really give a s.h.i.+t what I'm supposed to be doing. I need to see Brooke."

When Harper puts her hand on my arm my eyes immediately shoot to Rayne. He doesn't seem bothered by the gesture so I relax a bit. My body feels tattered enough. I don't need to get thumped by Rayne on top of everything else.

"Brooke is in surgery," Harper says, and my chest tightens.

It takes me a moment to realize my eyes are moist and I'm blinking back tears. I don't f.u.c.king cry. I've never cried in my life. "Is she going to be okay?" My throat feels like it's almost closed and it's hard to get the words out.

"Her hip is broken. They're repairing it. She has a few bruised ribs. And her wrist is broken. They're pretty sure there isn't any internal damage, so that's good..." her voice trails off.

"I'm sorry," is about all I can manage to say before I sob like a f.u.c.king baby.

"It's not your fault, Man." Rayne puts a hand on my shoulder. "The guy who hit you was drunk. Blew right through the red light. Didn't even slow down."

My fists tighten to angry b.a.l.l.s. "Did he get hurt?"

Rayne shakes his head. "Not a scratch. That's what the cop said anyway."

"I'll solve that problem" I spit. "I'll make sure he's hurt worse than Brooke."

Rayne shakes his head. "Not this time. Brooke needs you. You need to be here for her."

He's right. As much as I want to kill the guy who hurt her I want to be there for her even more.

"Did the cops talk to you yet?" Rayne asks.

I shake my head. "I signed myself out of the emergency room. Refused treatment."

Harper furrows her brow. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

"I'm fine. I've been hurt worse than this in bar fights." I glance around but the hallway is deserted except for the three of us. "Where are Raven and Xander?"

"I sent them home," Harper states. "To get something to eat and get some rest. They'll be back later."

"Do you want something to eat?" Rayne asks.

I shake my head. "I want to see Brooke. That's all, man. I just want to see her."

He nods. "You will."

Eleven.

Brooke I try to open my eyes but the lids feel like they have weights on them. My head is pounding and I feel fuzzy, like I have the worst hangover in the world.

Except I don't remember drinking. I kept the plug in the jug...didn't I?

"You're awake." I recognize the voice, but it takes me a moment to remember who it belongs to...Raven Woods.

What is Raven doing in my bedroom?

"I'd better let Leo know. He'll lose it if he knows you woke and he wasn't here. He's been here all night. I told him I'd watch you so he could pee. He looked like he was going to burst."

"What are you doing here?"

"Don't mistake my being here for me liking you or anything. I'm here for Leo. He's a f.u.c.king wreck."

I can hear her words, but they're not really making sense yet. I try lift my hand to rub my eyes but my arm is in a cast. When I look down I realize I'm wearing a hospital gown.

"There was an accident," Raven says at the same time I think the words.

"Brooke!" Leo bolts into the room and is standing at my bedside before I have time to blink. "You're awake."

"I feel like s.h.i.+t," I tell him and that makes him laugh. I love it when he laughs.

"Do you remember anything?" His voice is so soft I hardly recognize it. It's almost like he thinks it's going to hurt me if he speaks too loudly.

"You came to the bar. You wanted to scare away all of the other guys. You were taking me home. Someone hit us. That's all I remember."

"You were hurt pretty badly. They had to do surgery on your hip. And your arm is broken. You've got some bruised ribs."

"And her face is all cut up," Raven calls out from behind a celebrity magazine. "Don't forget about that."

Leo glares at her.

I imagine myself looking like Frankenstein's monster.

As if he can read my mind Leo says, "The cuts will heal. Just some scratches from broken gla.s.s. You didn't need st.i.tches."

"How long do I have to stay here?"

"Another day or two, they think. As soon as they can get you out of bed and see how well you're able to move around, they'll make a decision. Rayne and Harper are getting your bedroom set up so you'll be able to do your rehab there. Rayne's hiring a physical therapist just for you."

"Do I look as bad as I feel?" I ask.

"You said you feel like s.h.i.+t?" Raven shouts. "That's exactly what you look like."

Leo gives her a death stare.

"It's the truth," Raven adds.

"At least my outside finally matches my inside," I state.

"You're beautiful." Leo runs a finger ever so gently down my cheek. "Inside and out."

"Don't make me gag over here," Raven remarks.

"Maybe you need a bathroom break," Leo prompts.

Raven rises from her chair. "Great idea. Maybe I'll see what Xander's up to in the lounge."

Once Raven exits the room Leo leans down and gives me the softest of kisses on my forehead.

"Raven said you were here all night..."

Leo nods. "I slept for a few hours in that chair over there." He points to a chair in the corner of the room. "But mostly I just paced. Waited for you to wake up."

"Do you know what happened? Why we got hit? It happened so fast."

He nods. "I talked to the cops. They wanted to get a statement. The other driver was drunk. He ran a red light."

I frown. "Is he hurt?"

Shaking his head Leo says, "I wanted to hurt him. He wasn't injured at all. Not even a scratch. He's lucky he's in jail right now."

When I try to take in a deep breath my chest hurts. "This is karma."

"What do you mean?"

"Payback for all the times I was loaded and got behind the wheel."

"I feel like it's my fault. I should have taken better care of you. I should have protected you."'

"It's definitely not your fault..." He doesn't let me finish my sentence.

"I'm going to take care of you now, Brooke. I promise. I won't let you down."

"You don't have to do that. I have a feeling it's going to take a while for me to get back to normal. When my grandma broke her hip it took her a few months to recover. Of course she was in her seventies."

"Every day, Wild Child. I'm going to be there for you. You're going to get so tired of seeing my face twenty-four seven."

"Don't you guys have some kind of charity concert coming up? Harper said something about it. You're supposed to be out east for a week."

"I'm not going," he snaps.

That surprises me. "You have to go. You play guitar for the band. It's kind of an important instrument."

His eyes turn dark. "I said I'm not going. It's not up for discussion."

"But..."

"You're in a f.u.c.king hospital. You just had surgery. You're going to need a lot of help when you get out. I'm not going anywhere, Brooke. I already told you that."

"Harper can help me."

He shakes his head. "Where Rayne goes Harper goes. He's not going on the road without her. And I'm not leaving you. So it's settled."

I'm too tired to argue with him, but there's no way I'm letting him ruin his career to take care of me. As I slowly nod off I decide to deal with it all later.