Page 38 of Quiet Rage (Wicked Falls Elite #5)

Tamson

I feel like I’ve been asleep for a long time, but it’s still not enough.

My head feels like it’s been stuffed with cotton, my eyelids are heavy, my throat hurts, and my mouth is really dry.

I’m not ready to wake up, not ready to face whatever this day may bring, but there is something tugging at the back of my mind. A small voice telling me to get up.

Sucking in a deep breath, I blink my eyes open. Disoriented, I look around the white, unfamiliar room.

“Hey.”

Kellen’s voice draws me to focus on him. My gaze lands on his big frame sitting in a chair next to my bed. A hospital bed, I realize quickly.

I look down at myself, checking for any injuries. I don’t find any, but I see a hospital gown, and there is an IV stuck in my arm. “What happened?” I ask confused. My voice comes out raspy, and it hurts a little to talk.

Kellen reaches for something on my bedside table. It’s a clear cup of water with a straw stuck inside of it. Sliding his free hand under my head, he helps me lift up enough so I can take a sip. I catch the straw between my lips and suck a few gulps of water down.

When I’m done, he gently places my head back on the pillow and sits the cup back on the table.

“You don’t remember?” Kellen questions, concern written all over his face.

“I…” A lump forms in my throat as memories of what I did slowly come back to me.

“I found you just in time,” Kellen explains. “I brought you here and they had to pump your stomach.”

“I’m sorry.” I don’t even know what I’m apologizing for. Sorry I didn’t die? Sorry you had to drive me here?

Kellen shakes his head. “Don’t apologize. Just swear to me you won’t ever try something like that again.”

“Why do you suddenly care about what happens to me?” The question sounds more like an accusation.

“You don’t think I care if you live or die?”

“I don’t know what’s going on in your head.” I wish I had an inkling of what he is thinking.

“I care about you…a lot,” he confesses with such conviction, I almost believe him.

“I thought we were done pretending?”

“My feelings for you are real,” he insists, but I can’t accept his words. They can’t be real, not after everything he’s put me through.

“I don’t believe you.”

“I’ll prove it to you,” he says with confidence in his tone. “I swear I’ll fix this. I’ll get you out of town, somewhere safe. You and your parents.”

Fuck. My parents .

Guilt slams into me thinking about my mom and dad. They are going to be so disappointed in me.

“Do my parents know I’m here?”

“Yes. I called them. They were going to close up the store and head over here,” Kellen explains, making me feel even more guilty. We really can’t afford to close down for half a day.

“I wish you wouldn't have told them.” Just the thought of facing them right now fills me with dread. I don’t want them to see me lying in a hospital bed.

“They deserve to know what’s going on, and someone needs to be here with you.” Kellen shifts in his seat before he adds, “I can’t stay here much longer.”

I don’t understand why his words hurt, why the thought of him leaving me here bothers me at all. My feelings towards him are skewed, and I can’t even begin to make sense of them. Curiosity gets the better of me and I’m about to ask him where he is going when a knock at the door stops me.

Anxiety about seeing my parents has me tense up.

I stare at the door swinging open, breathing a little easier when I see a nurse appear on the other side.

She is wearing light green scrubs and a pair of pink crocs, and her curly hair is bouncing in a high ponytail.

A kind smile spreads across her face when she sees me.

She walks into the room, carrying a tray of food.

“I figured you would be awake by now,” she says, when she is stopped next to my bed. “I brought you dinner just in case you feel like eating something.”

She places the tray on my bedside table.

“Thank you.” I force a courteous smile.

“How are you feeling?” the nurse asks.

“I…” I want to tell her the truth, but I’m unsure about what the truth is. How am I feeling? Physically, I feel okay. Emotionally, I’m a mess.

She notices me struggling to come up with an answer. “It’s okay, sweetheart, you don’t have to figure it out right this second. Let’s take it one step at a time. How about we sit you up so you can eat?”

“That would be great,” I agree, glad to be sitting up.

The nurse pushes a button on the side of my bed, making it move. She holds it down until I’m in a comfortable seated position.

“There you go. If there is anything else I can do for you just ring me,” she offers before leaving the room. The door shuts behind her, and once again I’m left alone with Kellen.

“Do you want to try a bite?” He points to the tray.

I shrug, unsure if I can get anything down right now. Kellen lifts the lid from the plate, inspecting the grilled chicken with a side of broccoli, and mashed potatoes.

“Looks…eatable,” he concludes, before putting the lid back on the plate. “I could go and see if the cafeteria has something better.”

I decline his offer with a shake of my head. He sighs but doesn’t press the subject further.

“I need to use the bathroom,” I announce when I feel the sudden urge to pee.

I kick the blanket off my body and swing my legs to the side. Kellen gets up from the chair and walks around the bed.

“I don’t need help,” I insist, but my words fall onto deaf ears.

Kellen grabs the IV stand and rolls it closer to me. Standing in front of me, he holds out his hand. Refusing to take it, I get up on my feet.

I regret my stubbornness immediately. I barely make it to a standing position when the room spins, and my knees give out. I fall forward, straight into Kellen’s waiting arms.

He curses under his breath, as he helps me back on my feet. “Will you please let me help you now?”

“Okay,” I agree, frustrated with myself for needing help at all.

I hold onto the IV stand with one hand while clutching onto Kellen’s forearm with the other. He walks me into the attached bathroom, leading me to the toilet.

“Um…I got it from here,” I say, a little embarrassed.

Kellen doesn’t look convinced, but he gives me a little privacy, anyway. He steps out of the bathroom, and I do my business. When I’m done, I briefly contemplate getting up on my own, but since that didn’t work out so great five minutes ago, I decide to swallow my pride.

“I’m done,” I say, loud enough for Kellen to hear through the door.

He comes back in right away, helping me off the toilet and to the sink where I wash my hands.

I make the mistake of looking at my reflection in the mirror.

My skin is pale, there are dark circles under my eyes, and my hair is all tangled.

Using my fingers as a comb, I try to tame some of the snarled strands but quickly give up.

We walk back into the hospital room, where Kellen guides me to the bed. I climb back on top, and he covers me with the blanket.

“Thanks,” I mumble quietly while Kellen takes his seat in the chair again.

I know I don’t owe him an explanation of what led me to do what I did, but I feel the urge to tell him regardless. “Dante came to the store earlier.”

Kellen sits up straighter at my words, worry edging his features. “What did he do? Did he hurt you?”

“He told me that he was coming back for me later today.” I shudder at the memory, fear lingering in my bones.

“Dante is dead,” Kellen tells me. “You don’t have to worry about him ever again.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

I never thought I would be happy about someone’s death, but I can’t help but feel relieved.

“What happened?"

“I killed him,” Kellen says, his voice emotionless.

I stare at him in shock, waiting for some further explanation, but it never comes. I blink, trying to wrap my mind around Kellen ending someone’s life,

“Why?” I finally ask, wanting to know more about what happened.

“I saw him at your house. I was coming to check on you, and he was there. We fought. I won,” Kellen explains. “That’s why I have to go. His body is currently laying in your kitchen. I have to get rid of it.”

“Oh…” I don’t know what else to say; my mind is reeling with this new information.

Dante is dead.

Kellen killed him.

“What about the police? What if someone finds out it was you?” Oh my god, Kellen could go to prison for this.

“Don’t worry about that. I got everything under control,” Kellen assures me, like this is no big deal to him.

“How can you be so calm about this?”

“I got more important things to worry about,” he says ominously, which somehow reminds me of what else Dante told me.

I probably shouldn’t bring this up, especially not now, but I just can’t help myself. I have to know if it’s true.

“Dante also said that you are with another girl.”

Kellen frowns. “I didn’t touch her. My father sent someone up to my room, but nothing happened. I let her sleep on the floor so she wouldn’t have to go to the brothel to work. That’s all.” He leans forward a little. “I don’t want anyone else. I just want you.”

My mouth opens but before I can get a single word past my lips, the door flies open, and my parents come rushing in the room.

“Oh my god, Tamson,” my mother cries out when she sees me. She dashes to the bed, where she throws her arms around me. “I’m so glad you're okay. We were so worried.”

“I’m sorry,” I apologize, but I’m not sure if she can hear me over her sobbing. The guilt I felt earlier rushes back tenfold. How could I have put them through this?

“Honey, give her some room,” my father says from the foot of the bed.

Mom peels herself away from me, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, while Dad stands awkwardly across from me. I look up into his face, finding him wearing a pained expression. I would give anything to take that pain away.

Kellen gets up from his chair, and both of my parents flinch. “I have to go,” he announces, before turning to my father. “After Tamson is released, I want you to go home and start packing. I’m getting you out of town.”

Dads eyes go wide, but he manages to nod.

“What about you?” At my question, Kellen turns back towards me. “What if your father finds out you are helping us?”

“He won’t. I’ll be careful,” he assures me.

“Don’t worry about me, just worry about getting better.

” Kellen’s eyes linger on me for another moment, like he is unsure of what to do, before he leans over and presses his lips to my forehead.

“Goodbye, dragonfly.” He straightens back up and walks around the bed, leaving the room without looking back.

The door shuts behind him. I know I should be relieved he is gone, but all I feel is sadness. Did he really mean it? Is this goodbye?