Page 44 of Breaking Point (IceHawks #1)

Bella

LAYLA

have you been kidnapped by aliens?

stolen by a pack of wolves?

is Grayson keeping you chained to a bed and doing magical things with his tongue?

I hope it’s the latter because you’re starting to freak me out, B

please pick up

your mom is worried sick

I’m driving back. If Grayson is keeping you naked find some clothes

please don’t be dead in a ditch

I can’t do this horrid life without you

okay I’m full-blown freaking out now

your voicemail is full

damn it, B, pick up the damn phone!!!!

G rayson hasn’t left my side.

He’s even gone so far as putting on that golden boy charm of his and befriending the nurses so I get, and I quote, “better treatment.”

The man packed a duffel bag, not just with random items but with things I actually need or use.

He got everything right. Phone, charger, toothbrush, toothpaste, comfortable pajamas, fresh underwear—which I was slightly mortified by—and a set of jeans and a T-shirt for when I’m discharged.

The only other person that has taken care of me like this is my mom and not even to this extent because, well, it’s hard to take care of someone when they’re a control freak and can’t let anyone help unless it’s done their way specifically.

Grayson reads over my chart as if he knows what it means, and by the slight furrow in his brow, he most certainly doesn’t. Checking the time on the clock, my heart sinks at what it reads: 2 a.m.

I didn’t respond to anyone for two days, and the one weekend Layla is out of town I’m stuck on the bathroom floor, unable to move.

“Could you pass me my phone?” I ask softly. “It should be charged by now.”

I can finally sit without withering around like a worm. The medication and liquid they gave me through the IV worked wonders, as well as the anti-nausea meds.

My phone is in his hand, outstretched to me in a heartbeat, now fully charged with the dozens of text messages and calls on the screen.

“I think I’m not the only one who was worried sick,” Grayson muses.

“You were worried sick?”

Why is that the thing I focus on?

Pink tints his cheeks as he rubs the nape of his neck. “Yeah, I was. At first I thought it was because of the gummies?—”

My heart melts. “I loved the gummies,” I admit softly.

More than loved. The gesture meant everything to me. It made me feel things I shouldn’t be feeling for my boss.

His eyes soften. “I’m glad, but when I didn’t hear anything I knew something was wrong. I’m glad I flew home early?— ”

I gasp. “Grayson! You can’t do that! You’ll be fined, won’t you?”

He deadpans, “If I hadn’t turned up when I did you could have died of dehydration.”

I scoff. “That’s slightly dramatic, don’t we think?”

“Those were the words I heard from your doctor’s mouth!”

“Oh. Right.”

I wince. He doesn’t need to know, but he just proved his point. I felt delirious when I first came in. I can’t remember much but the mortification of Grayson finding me in my silk pajamas on the bathroom floor, heaving and shaking.

Then there was the paramedic that not only pissed me off but Grayson too. And I feel like it’s hard to piss him off. He’s like a puppy; he loves everyone.

Although, I’m glad he was pissed off. Even delirious, my body clocked how attractive Grayson was in that moment, growling and swearing as he stood up for me.

I scroll through my messages. As I suspected, there’s dozens from Layla, more from my mom—who threatened to call the cops on me for a welfare check—followed by a slew of messages about a dispatcher who wouldn’t send one to me because I was a grown woman.

I roll my eyes at that. Why can’t the system work with us and not against us? The one time my mom truly does need to send a police officer for a welfare check, and they don’t?

Thank goodness for Grayson.

My thumb hovers over my mom’s contact. I know I have to call her, but the question is, do I call or do I walk down the hall to the big C ward and explain everything?

Sighing deeply, I throw my sheets off my bed. If I call her and say I’ve been admitted to the same hospital as her, there will be nothing that will stop that woman from reaching me, and she can’t be up and walking around.

Dr. Stewart also said no stress while she’s admitted for part of the next stage of the treatment. But I can’t keep this from her. It’s unlike me not to answer my phone for two days, especially while she’s in the hospital .

She probably called Layla and they both realized I had gone missing.

Fuck, what if Layla is driving back from her family vacation right now?

One quick glance at our text thread confirms that she did in fact get in her car and start driving.

Damn it.

She deserves good things. She wanted a week with her parents before she left for Germany for a year. And I ruined that special moment.

“Bella, I can see the clogs turning in your brain. Are you okay?” Grayson asks, coming to sit on the edge of the bed. His eyes track the white-knuckled grip on my phone. “Do you want me to call friends and family? I would have done it sooner, but your phone was dead.”

“It’s okay. And no, I should do it. They’ll want to speak to me to make sure I’m fine anyways.”

He points over his shoulder. “I’ll go get us something to eat. You should be able to keep food down by now.”

“Thanks, Grayson. You don’t have to do that.”

He sends me a small smile as he leaves and I can’t help but flop back on the bed.

He must be too good to be true. Are men genuinely that nice? I thought my father was one of them. I thought his and my mother’s love was solid and real and a fairy tale, but then one hard bump in the road and he leaves.

Grayson didn’t leave , a small voice in my head whispers.

No, no he didn’t.

“ I thought you were dead!” Layla cries over the phone the moment she picks up.

“I felt like it,” I joke, but it doesn’t land.

Layla huffs. “You better have a good explanation for not answering your mom or me! I’m halfway back to Colorado and your mom is close to pulling teeth out!”

“Why would she pull her teeth out?”

“That’s so besides the point.”

Groaning, I nestle further into the scratchy hospital sheets. “I know, I’m so sorry. I had a horrible endo flare-up and couldn’t move off the bathroom floor. Mom wasn’t there to help, and it was so bad, L. I literally couldn’t walk.”

I can hear a blinker come over the phone.

“And now I ruined your holiday because my uterus likes to torture me.”

“You didn’t ruin anything. I was just worried. Are you okay now?”

“Don’t freak out.” I pause. “Actually, pull over.”

She sighs. “That is not helping me not freak out.” It takes her a moment but the sound of her car moving stops. “Okay, I’m pulled over. Please put me out of my misery.”

“Grayson also didn’t hear from me for two days because, hello , I was dying. Anyways, he was the one who found me on the bathroom floor dehydrated and called the ambulance.”

I pull the phone away as a shrill scream rips through the speaker. “Oh my god! That man likes you, Bella!” She stops her clapping. “Would it be weird if I send him flowers as a thank you for saving my best friend?”

I snort. “You can if you want, that’s very sweet. I feel like my mom will do the same when she finds out.”

Layla’s cheeriness freezes. I can practically feel the energy change over the phone. “Bella…have you still not spoken to your mom?”

I wince. “No.”

“Go call her right now! Wait, are you at the same hospital?”

“Would it be bad if I said yes?”

“Your mom is stressed out of her mind, literally feeling chained to a hospital bed getting treatment for her cancer that has riddled her body. I know you avoid things that scare you, Bella, but for the love of god please go put the poor woman out of her misery! Do it or I’ll call her and you know she’ll begin looking?— ”

“Yes, yes, yes, I know,” I cut in. “I’ll go now. Figured I’d get the easier one of the two out of the way.”

“I’m not sure if I should be offended that I’m a to-do list to you or take it as a compliment that I’m the easy one.”

I let out a small chuckle before I ask, “Now, are you really halfway back home?”

She sighs. “No, I was being slightly dramatic. I’ve only driven two hours.”

“I will Venmo you money for the gas and fast food. Turn back around and enjoy your time with your family. You’re not going to see them for a year.”

The phone line grows quiet. Layla’s parents are emptying their life savings for Layla to go to Germany, so they can’t afford to visit.

It’s a sacrifice Layla isn’t comfortable with, but it’s something that is nonnegotiable in their eyes.

They’ve both vehemently stated that if she passed and they did nothing, their retirement wouldn’t mean anything without her here.

“Are you sure?” comes her quiet voice over the line.

“I promise. I’m on a wonderful mental trip with medication that is finally working and Grayson is still here taking care of me.”

That lifts her spirits. “He is?” A small squeal rings out over the phone. “That man likes you and you’re a fool if you don’t see it.”

Wait until she finds out about our practice kiss.

…Both of them.

I quickly change the subject. “I take it you’re responsible for calming my mom down and changing her mind about pressing charges on the dispatcher for not sending the police?”

“Yes, but in hindsight I shouldn’t have…clearly.” She sighs, a hint of guilt in her voice. “In my defense, I thought you were with Grayson.”

“It’s okay, no need to feel bad,” I soothe before pausing. “Wait, why would I be with Grayson and ignoring everyone?” Layla is silent as the cogs in my pain-medicine-riddled mind turn. “You thought I was off having sex with him, didn’t you?”

I thought she was joking in her text messages.

A huff is all I hear before she mumbles, “I wouldn’t have blamed you.” Before I can retort, she’s changing the subject. “Can you please stop delaying and go see your mom? She’s really stressed, Bella.”

She can’t see the guilt that fills every inch of my body. “Yes, I’ll go now.” Grayson chooses that moment to come back to my room, empty-handed. “I’ll call you later. Please turn your car around.”

“Okay, okay, keep me updated though! Otherwise I’ll turn it back around again and take care of you.”

I chuckle. “Go spend time with your family. Love you, bye.”

Grayson’s body stiffens.

I wave my phone in the air. “That was Layla, my best friend.”

He nods along and I can’t help but note his body relaxes. Who did he think I was talking to?

Pointing to his hands, I say, “They run out of food?”

He winces. “Technically no, but nothing good is left at two o’clock in the morning. I ordered food.”

Something melts in my chest. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did. I can’t give you food poisoning after all that.”

“At least I’d be in the right place.”

Scooting to the side of the bed, my stomach muscles tense as a cramp flares, nowhere near as bad as before though. These subdued ones feel like child’s play compared to the knife of red-hot agony that was stabbing me earlier.

“ Ahh , where are you going?” Grayson asks dubiously as I get out of bed.

“I need to take care of something,” I say, avoiding his eyes.

“I don’t think you should be moving around. You’re attached to a drip.”

I roll it back and forth. “They’re easy to move.”

“And you would know that…how?”

I point to the wheels. “It’s mobile.”

“Mobile or not, I don’t think this is the best idea. Just tell me what you need and I’ll go and get it.”

Quickly thinking on the spot, I blurt, “It’s feminine stuff. You don’t want to know.”

“I don’t care if it’s feminine or not.” He rounds the bed, putting a gentle hand on my arm to stop me. “You have to let me take care of you, Bella. You should be resting.”

“I’m fine, I promise. I’ll explain later,” I lie.

I’m still avoiding his gaze when a finger lands under my chin and gently lifts it. Grayson is staring down at me, his blue eyes boring into mine. “Where are you going?”

A lump rises in my throat. I don’t know why but I don’t want him to know about my mom. I don’t want the pitiful expression everyone gives me. They begin treating me differently and I just…don’t want anything to change between us.

It’s been nice, and surprisingly hot. I don’t want to lose that.

“I’ll explain everything later,” I lie once more, hating the way it tastes on my tongue.

And by the small divot between his brows, he knows I’m lying. He takes a step back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Okay. I’ll wait here for the food.”

The sudden change makes me pause. “Really?”

“Yep.”

Glancing sideways at him doubtfully, I can’t believe how quickly he switched up. I don’t have time for this, though. I’ll inspect the man under a microscope when I get back from visiting my mom.

I quickly put on the slippers he packed for me, ignoring the twinge of warmth in my heart at everything he has done and continues to do for me. Without looking back, wheeling my IV drip with me, I call over my shoulder, “I’ll be back soon.”