Broken Empire A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance - Callie Rose Page 0,4

would help.”

My stomach flip-flopped at his words, like a fish struggling to stay alive on dry land. I could remember the moments leading up to the accident pretty clearly, but everything after I hit the curve in the road was a blur, a series of images and sensations that I couldn’t seem to piece together in the proper order.

I honestly wasn’t sure I wanted to.

“They met me here, and we waited for you to come out of surgery,” Philip continued. “I hope it’s all right that I called them. I thought you should have… people here who cared about you.”

His voice shifted on the last words, and I glanced up at him, my mind sharp enough by now to read between the lines and hear what he hadn’t said.

“Where’s Jacqueline?”

He dropped his head, his blue eyes growing shadowed, as if he were the one who should feel guilty for her absence. “She’s back at the house. She’s been texting me for updates every few hours though.” He pursed his lips, drawing a hand down his face. “She is worried about you, Talia, she’s just—”

A bitch?

“—stubborn.”

I huffed a noise that would’ve been a laugh if I’d had the energy. I had told my grandmother flat-out that I didn’t want her in my life anymore, so maybe I should consider her refusal to come see me as a way of respecting my wishes.

But that’d be giving her way too much damn credit.

“I’m sorry, Talia.”

Philip rested his wrinkled hand over mine, and I looked down at it, noticing the IV placed in my arm, the small tube held in place by medical tape. A blanket covered my body, but I could see dark bruises marring the skin of my forearm.

“It’s okay.” I swallowed, forcing down the bile that tried to rise up my throat. “What… happened? I mean, I know I got into an accident, but what happened to me?”

I didn’t hurt, but that fact didn’t make me feel much better. I knew what pain meds could do, and the way I still felt disconnected from my body made me worry. Just because I couldn’t feel them, it didn’t mean the injuries weren’t there.

Philip’s face slackened, his cheeks almost seeming to droop as he glanced down at my body, hidden by the hospital gown and the sheet. “You—”

“Ah, you’re awake.”

The voice from the door pulled my focus away from my grandfather’s haggard face, and I looked over to see the same doctor who had spoken to me after Philip’s surgery.

So I’m definitely at Roseland Medical, then.

Philip glanced up too, and we both watched the doctor stride across the room.

Doctor Garrett checked the monitors near my bed, then picked up my chart, flipping through it as he met my gaze. “How do you feel, Talia? Do you know what day it is? Do you know where you are?”

“Roseland Medical,” I scratched out. “And it’s… Tuesday? No, Wednesday.”

It’d been Tuesday when I got into my new car and headed up the coastal highway to meet the Princes at Finn’s house. But unless I was imagining waking up in the dark to the sound of Mason and Cole’s voices, at least one night had passed since then.

“Yes. Good.” Doctor Garrett bobbed his head in a nod as he wrote something on my chart. “And just for good measure, what year is it?”

I almost rolled my eyes as I told him, but I knew exactly why he was asking. He was checking me for signs of brain damage or memory loss. I didn’t think I had any though—at least, not beyond the details of my accident and the time since, which were all a bit fuzzy in my mind.

He nodded again, making another mark on my chart. Then he looked up, meeting my gaze. He had salt-and-pepper hair, which he seemed a little young for, and a kind face with a thick nose and a cleft chin.

“You’re lucky to be alive, Talia. Air bags and seat belts save lives, and in this case, they definitely can be credited with saving yours.” A small smile tilted his lips as he added, “As some might say, thank fuck for seat belts.”

Philip’s eyebrows pulled together, and he drew himself up a little, casting a disapproving frown at the doctor. I knew what Doctor Garrett was referencing though. Oh, thank fuck had been my response to the news that my grandpa had come out of his surgery okay several weeks ago. I was impressed Doctor Garrett remembered that—and it could only