Page 13 of Tattered Souls (Whispering Falls #2)

Tatum

I eyed Garrick as he drove to his house.

Honestly, everything that had taken place once Lance hit me felt like a blur.

I was still trying to wrap my head around everything Garrick had done since I called him.

I had no clue that he would actually come.

And then I felt like a bitch.

How many times has Garrick been there for me?

How many times have his actions shown that I could trust him?

The answer... more times than I can count.

The moment we pulled down his road, and I saw all the vehicles, I felt my face go white. “What on earth?”

I felt Garrick’s eyes on me as he maneuvered Dom’s SUV down the road, and then he pulled into his driveway.

He shut it off, then turned to look at me. “You’ve essentially been alone all your life, except for Granger. You're not alone anymore.”

And with that, I watched as he climbed out, then rounded the hood.

I had learned not to try to open my own door whenever he was around, or one of the Griggs siblings.

He had the door opened, and then, carefully, I climbed out.

Wincing when my body shifted the wrong way.

“Think it’ll be easier if I carry you,” he muttered.

I looked up at him and then, well, since I’d already told him things no one else knew, I shared something else with him, “This isn’t my first time with cracked ribs, Garrick. This isn’t even the worst I’ve been through. I’m okay.”

I watched as his face morphed to one of anger, his fists clenched and unclenched, and then I saw that tick in his jaw.

But never, not once, did he touch me in anger, or say anything until he apparently got himself under control.

Once that happened, he nodded, then he offered me his hand, and led me up his driveway, his front walk, his five porch steps, and then into his house.

The moment the door opened, I heard everyone stop talking.

Talia was the first to see me, and I watched as her face grew stormy as she said, “I want to punch him in the dick.”

Harlee was next as she got a look at me, then she looked at Carter. “Take him with you on your next rotation and throw his ass into the ocean. With weights on.”

Lila tilted her head, then she said, “I want to throw him in the ring with Bronson.”

Bronson, who was standing beside her, nodded, then cracked his neck, “Gladly.”

Everly walked over to us and then asked, “I want to hug you, is that okay?”

At my nod, she moved in and gingerly wrapped her arms around me.

I wrapped mine around her and hugged her back, as she whispered, “So sorry, sweetie.”

“It’s okay,” I whispered back.

When she pulled away, Misty walked over to me, took in my face, and then leaned forward and pressed a light kiss on my cheek. “Frank and I already have bail money if the boys want to beat the shit out of him.”

I chuckled and then winced.

That caused her to wince, and before she could voice the apology that was brimming on her face, I shook my head. “It’s okay. And thank you.”

I took in the living room, and when I saw Linda standing there in the corner, I frowned. What was she doing here?

I walked over to her and asked, “Hey, Linda. What are you doing here?”

She eyed my cheek and the way I was standing and offered me a sad smile. “Heard that you were going to be out of work for a few days. I got worried. I called Harlee. I hope that’s okay.”

I nodded, “Yeah, that’s okay. Thank you for coming.”

“Tink? The doctor said you needed to relax. So, plant that cute ass on the couch. Yeah?” Garrick said.

And then I slowly turned my head to look at him.

That was when I realized that all eyes had gone to him, and a few jaws had also dropped.

I held in a snicker as I went and did just that.

And the moment my cute ass landed on the couch, he tagged a blanket off the back of his couch and covered me with it.

Then he lowered his voice, “It can get cold in here. Once your meds kick in, you’ll probably fall asleep. Want you to be comfortable.”

And then he moved away and said, “Okay, now y’all can tell her what y’all did.”

Dom was the first to move toward me. he bent down in front of me and pulled out a red envelope, and handed it to me. “I gotta get back to the shop. Glad you're okay, Darlin’. And if you think about returning what’s in that card, I won’t be too happy.” That statement was followed by a wink.

I took it from him and nodded, “Thank you, Dominik.”

He shook his head, “Nah, Darlin’. I’m Dom to you.”

Talia gasped, “Excuse me? How come you’ve never allowed me to call you that?”

I nodded at him and said, “Dom.”

He winked at me, then stood up, and turned to face Talia.

“I only allow those who are not pains in my motherfucking ass to call me Dom.”

And with that, Dom stopped by Garrick’s side and said something to him.

Garrick nodded, clapped Dom on the back, and then he left.

Carter and Harlee did the same thing as Dom, handing me something in an envelope.

Followed by Lila, Everly, Ethan, and Bronson.

Misty and Frank walked over, then as Frank placed his hand on the back of the couch, leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of my head.

Misty took the seat beside me, and I saw she had in her hands a basket. She winked at me, “Got this basket together for you, sweetie.”

Then she proceeded to show me the face masks, the eye masks, a few bottles of nail polish, a new romance book I had my eye on, followed by a magnetic bookmark. I giggled at the mini bottles of alcohol. “Drink these after you're done with your meds to celebrate. Okay?”

At my nod, she smiled, winked, and then held out her hand.

Frank took it and assisted Misty in standing up.

Then Linda moved in and wrapped my hands in hers. “I am so sorry, sweetheart. Take all the time you need to heal. Okay?”

I nodded, “Thank you for coming.”

And then Garrick was there.

“Thanks for showing up and taking care of this. But now, she needs to eat and take her medicine. Appreciate y’all.”

And then one by one, I watched as they all left, and saw Garrick was at the island getting the food out of the bag.

It was then that I saw someone hadn’t left.

I looked over and saw Alec.

He was seated on the recliner; his eyes were on me.

I watched as he took in my cheek and then looked down at the blanket that covered my body.

“Hate this happened to you, Tatum. Breaks something in my heart. Also, hate this made me open my eyes. Took a woman we are close to, a woman we all care about, for me to pull my head out of my ass.”

“Alec...” I started.

He shook his head, “No. I’ve been the playboy. Not caring about anything but getting my dick wet. If I hadn’t been that way, I might have seen something. Helped. Something.”

And well, I didn’t know what to say.

Not until he ran his hand through his dark brown hair, and then stood, walked over to me, and leaned down to press a kiss on my forehead, “Be there for you. No matter what.”

And then I watched as Alec clapped Garrick on the back of his shoulder, and then he too left.

Garrick watched him go and then said, “Damn. Wonder if he means it.”

He tagged my bowl of chicken noodle soup, crackers, and a glass of water with a straw in it and brought it to me.

When he set it on the coffee table and moved it closer to me, I asked. “Wonder if he meant what?”

“If he finally pulled his head out of his ass,” he said as he walked away, grabbed his sandwich, a pop, and my two bottles of medicine, and then walked back.

He settled them on the coffee table. Then he asked, “Okay, need me to help you eat, or do you have it?”

To say he shocked me would be an understatement.

He offered to help me feed myself. Holy shit.

I shook my head. “Thank you. But I have it.”

Once I ate the soup... he had been right.

A few minutes after I took the medicine, I fell asleep.

I wasn’t sure how many hours had passed, but I knew that it was dark out.

I sat up on the couch, winced, and then I took in a breath.

Garrick was still sitting there beside me, as he shook out the medicine and handed it to me.

“Come on, show you to the spare room. The bed is more comfortable than this couch.” He said.

I carefully stood after I took the medicine and then followed him.

I was still tired, so I didn’t take the room in.

I just sat down on the bed, curled up, and promptly fell asleep.

But not before he helped me rewrap my ribs.

I wondered why he kept inhaling a deep breath every time his fingers touched my skin.

***

It was four days later, and I was sitting on a stool in Garrick’s garage when I opened the envelopes one by one.

When I got to Dom’s, I felt tears prick my eyes.

“You're cryin’. Those good tears, or do I need to beat someone’s ass?”

I looked over at him and said, “Good tears.”

He nodded, then got back to work on the bike.

I stared at the gift card from Dom and the others that had followed after I opened them.

***

Did I mention that Garrick can’t cook?

The day after everything had happened, I had woken up to hear him cursing up a storm and the smoke alarms blaring.

I had crept into the kitchen slowly and tried not to laugh.

But a few snickers escaped my lips.

How he heard them, I had no clue, but he had.

His head jerked in my direction, and he winced, “Shit. Alarms disturbed you. Sorry, Tink. Was trying to make you something to eat but... yeah.”

I smiled softly, “I’ll make...”

He growled, “No. You’re not standing on your feet for no longer than you have to. I’ll call for something. Go lie back down. Please.”

***

The bruises were starting to fade, and it was getting easier to move around.

And it was exactly three days later when I walked up to Garrick and asked, “So, I have a favor.”

He lifted his chin, “Yeah?”

“Do you think I could ride with you on your bike?” I asked.

He winked, “Yeah. Only saying yes because you’re moving a whole lot better and your bruises are almost gone. Go get changed into jeans and a t-shirt.”

Once I did that, he winked and nodded at what I had on, and I noticed the leather jacket that was over his back.

He locked the door, then led me to the garage where his bike was.

He tagged the helmet and helped me put it on.

Then he winked and said, “We got one stop to make, then I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

At my nod, he climbed on, and then he said, “Put your foot on that peg there, and then swing your leg over.”

I did so, bracing my hands on his shoulders.

Once I was sitting behind him, he chuckled, then grabbed my thighs and pulled me flush behind him.

Then he took my hands and wrapped them around his waist.

At the contact, it was almost as if it had been choreographed.

We both inhaled a breath at the same exact time.

He started the bike up and I giggled.

Then he asked over the roar of the engine, “You ready?”

I nodded, “Yeah.”

He chuckled.

Then he slowly pulled out of his garage and hit the road.

Ten minutes later, he pulled over into a motorcycle store.

Ten minutes after that, we stood at the counter as we were rung up.

A brand new leather jacket and a helmet for me.

I made a move to pull out my card to pay for it, but Garrick stopped me. “No, Tatum. It’s my treat.”

I bit my lip and took in a breath. Then I said, “Then dinner is on me.”

He winked as he handed over his card, “We’ll see.”

Once I had the jacket on and the helmet, he winked, “You look good in leather, Tink.”

I smiled, “Thanks.”

Fifteen minutes after we hit the open road.

When we passed a sign that said Blueridge Parkway, I smiled.

I’d heard of it. But never have I been on it.

With the wind in my hair, there was nothing like it.

The trees seemed to wave as we blew by.

It wasn’t long before he exited the road, and I heard, “Take you on short rides, get you ready for a long one.”

I nodded, then in his ear, I said, “Okay.”

***

Yes... he paid for dinner too. Even though I tried.

He was okay with me leaving a tip, however.

***

He winked at me as I stepped away from him and headed to the spare bedroom.

“Tink?” he called out.

I stopped and turned my head to look at him. “Yeah?”

“That was a date. Just so you know.”

I giggled as I headed to the room, smiling the entire way.