Brick Brick (Knights Corruption MC - Next Generation, #4) - S. Nelson Page 0,110
knew when I did, they’d be waiting for me. Although being conscious wasn’t any better.
I heard more voices, this time outside my room. Their words weren’t clear, but I didn’t need to hear them to know they were talking about me. I could sense it, like I could sense that Brick was one of the people on the other side of that door.
The last time I saw him, I blamed him for what happened to me, even telling him I hated him. And I meant it… then. And perhaps I still did. I hadn’t fully processed what happened to me, my mind slowing down the events as if I was lost in some kind of haze, only bits and pieces of the attacks filtering in and hitting me when I wasn’t prepared. As if I’d ever be prepared to house those memories.
The door handle turned, and I held my breath, unsure what I would say once I saw him again.
Would my heart continue to splinter?
Would I tell him to go away?
Would it be too painful to see the pity in his eyes?
Would that pity morph into disgust the longer he stared at me?
The light from the hallway spilled into the room, and Brick’s large form filled the doorway, frozen in place the moment our eyes collided. He seemed unsure as to whether he should enter, but I couldn’t alleviate his hesitancy because I didn’t know what to do either.
“Can I come in?” The deep baritone of his voice washed over me, but instead of eliciting a warmth, a craving, a desire, I pressed myself further into the mattress, fearful of the words he’d speak upon entering. The only response I could give was silence, which he took as an affirmative since I didn’t demand he leave. His steps toward me were slow, restrained, his limp slight but present.
My eyes traveled over him, glancing at the area I saw Addy patch while he was here last time. Oddly, a wave of sympathy barreled over me for him. How much more could the man endure? He’d been shot three times in such a short span of time. With the realization, my eyes widened when an image of my dad surfaced.
“Is my dad okay?” I managed to croak, my throat drier than I thought. “Is he—”
“He’s fine. He’s at the hospital with Braylen, making sure the baby is okay.” The mention of them both forced out a sigh of relief, but my alleviation was short-lived when he continued toward me, an odd look on his face as he neared. I moved toward the center of the mattress, the bed dipping with his weight when he propped himself on the edge. He reached for my hand, but I yanked it away before he managed to touch me, cradling my arm close to my chest.
My reaction was immediate, saddening me that I couldn’t stand him making any kind of physical contact. I closed my eyes for some of the longest moments of my life, listening to the sound of his heavy breaths mixed with my staggered ones. When I finally dared to look at him, his eyes had welled with emotion, the sight of his impending breakdown bolstering mine. I wasn’t strong enough to handle any of this, and on top of everything else, Brick, the strongest man I’d ever met, was on the verge of emotionally collapsing. My heart thrummed wildly, my mind blanking from the lack of coherent thoughts.
He moved closer and clasped my hand in his and this time I didn’t resist. “They’ll never hurt you again.” His strangled voice was barely above a whisper. “I made him pay for what he did to you. And the other… they’ll never hurt you again,” he repeated, clutching my hand tighter.
I would’ve thought the knowledge those men were dead, which was what I concluded from what he’d told me, even though he didn’t speak the literal words, would give me solace, but there was nothing.
No relief.
No comfort.
Nothing.
“I can’t… I can’t do this.” I snatched my hand back and turned my head toward the windows, watching as the sun peeked over the horizon, promises of a new beginning doing nothing but reminding me I had to live with the sorrow inside me for another day.
He didn’t move from his position and I didn’t have it in me to ask him to leave, or to stay. And I certainly wasn’t prepared for what came out of his mouth next.