Page 109 of Double Dare
“You don’t remember?” his brows pinch together.
“I remember falling in the bathroom, yeah, but…”
Zahn barks out a laugh that makes my head hurt. “You wiped the fuck out, babe. Gave us all a sneaky show of that hot body, called me beautiful—don’t want you forgetting that part—then we brought ya here.”
“You’ve got three staples in the back of your head and a concussion, but you’re okay other than that,” Four adds.
“Gave us a scare, though. You have a lot of blood in that head and it was all on the—”
“Zahn,” Four cuts him off.
Zahn laughs. “Sorry. You good?”
I snake my hand to the back of my head, feeling the three staples through my hair. Guess they can’t really bandage my head with all my hair. Exhausted and dizzy, I lean back, trying to rest my head without putting pressure on the staples. “This is so embarrassing. Where’s Kade and Jed?”
“Shit, I was hoping you’d forget about them and date me instead.” Zahn grins. “We haven’t been able to get ahold of them yet. Neither of them took their phones, but Hardin went over to Gar’s place, so hopefully he stops whatever bullshit they were about to do. Gar’s too sexy for a beating that doesn’t end in an orgasm.”
Doubt it if I’ve already had scans and been put back together with a staple gun. Poor Gar. I have no idea what happened, but I know Gar, and there isn’t a chance in hell he’d do anything like that.
“Water?” Four holds a cup and straw in front of me.
“I can fucking do it,” I snap, reaching for the cup.
“Still bossy.”
“Independent,” I correct, my eyes closing again.
Zahn and Four chat with me for a bit, and then I check out. Not sleeping, but resting, trying to figure out how my day could have possibly been that terrible. It wasn’t all bad, I suppose. I had a good conversation with my dad, had some butt sex for the first time, and got to watch Hardin tell his family about the pregnancy and admit his love to Freya. It should have been an awesome day, but Instagram and bathroom tiles fucked it up.
“Where the fuck is she?” I hear Kade in the hallway.
Four jumps from his seat, closing the door and blocking their entrance. “Calm the fuck down,” he snaps at both of them loud enough I can hear it through the door. “She doesn’t need your alpha bullshit right now. Calm, gentle, quiet voices, yeah?”
“Just let us in,” Jed demands.
“No. not until you calm down.”
I swear someone growls.
Zahn laughs beside me. “You’ve got those two wrapped around your finger, Lakes.”
“I almost wish they didn’t come,” I admit. “They’re going to feel guilty, and it’s hard to kick them when they’re already down. I’m not letting them get away with going after Gar, though.” I take a small sip of the water.
“Want me to throw them out?” Zahn asks, not even joking.
“No. They’ll just cause a scene and punch more doctors.”
“No faith,” Zahn scoffs.
Four’s explaining my condition, warning them I’m tired and sensitive, and that my stomach isn’t right. He warns them three more times to keep their shit together before the door finally opens. “You calm?” Four asks one more time.
I don’t hear their answer. I throw up. Zahn’s at my side, holding my hair back and steadying my small bin. The force of vomiting has me dizzy, so Zahn holds the back of my neck to keep me from wobbling until it passes. Throwing up is the fucking worst. Like…the worst. I’d rather have a three-month sinus cold than throw up once.
Zahn passes me a towel and takes the bin away. “Here.” He helps lean me back. “Was it the sight of these two pricks that made you sick?”
No. A random thought. I was thinking about Gar, and how he’s been working with a scientific crew studying certain types of cold water salmon, and then the thought of salmon just…
“I was thinking about salmon.” I gag.