Damaged (Boys of Winter #2) - Sheridan Anne Page 0,153

for my bike and hands me my helmet. I know better than to argue with him, so I pull it on and climb on behind him, curling my arms right around his waist.

We pull up at the hospital within the space of five minutes and make it up to her room before breakfast is even served. King stands outside her room, peering in while desperately trying to find the strength to give her what she needs.

He lets out a shaky breath and instantly takes my hands. “You can do this,” I tell him. “I’ll be right here waiting for you.”

He shakes his head and pushes the door open, tugging me in right along with him. “Hey Caitie,” King beams, slapping on a fake smile and striding deeper into the room, seeing that she’s wide awake and looking up at the cartoons on the TV. “What’s going on? Are these doctors treating you alright or do I need to kick their butts?”

Her leg is held together with pins while her hand is completely casted, and I’m sure also filled with little pins holding everything together. It kills me. No little girl should have to suffer through this. They should be out in their yards playing and having the time of their lives. She shouldn’t have to look back on her childhood years and remember going through months of physiotherapy to retrain herself how to walk and run properly. She should get to remember the times her big brother threw her so high in the air that she accidentally threw up all over him.

She must be in so much pain, but hopefully there’s enough meds pulsing through her little system that she can forget about being in the hospital.

“Move,” Caitlin screeches when her big brother walks right in front of the TV, blocking her view. “I can’t see my shows.”

“I brought someone who wanted to meet you.”

Caitlin’s gaze snaps away from the TV and quickly scans over my face. Her little eyes widen and a bright smile stretches over her lips as I see the memories of last night flashing through her mind. “Don’t be silly,” she laughs, making King’s eyes sparkle with raw happiness. “I already met her. She’s the girl who saved me. Don’t you remember? She picked me up off the floor when everybody else was squishing me.”

“How could I forget?” he tells her.

“She needs to work on her muscles though,” Caitlin grins, knowing exactly what she’s doing, and I don’t doubt that she learned it from her big brother. “She’s not very strong. She couldn’t pick me up very well, not like Cruz. Do you know he could pick me up with one hand?”

King just shakes his head, letting out a soft breath. “Please don’t tell me that you have a crush on Cruz.”

She just beams, but like … girl, same. Who could blame her? Cruz is fine.

“Crap,” King mutters. “What happened to Carver? I thought you liked him last week.”

“Yeah, but he’s kinda scary. Cruz smiles a lot.”

“Fuck me,” King murmurs under his breath, tugging on my hand and pulling me right into his chest. “Where’s Cody and Mom? Are they here yet?”

Caitlin shakes her head, a frown pulling at her face. “No, Mom gave me Dad’s phone so she could call me, but she hasn’t called me yet. I think she forgot about me.”

“Trust me, kid,” King tells her, moving around the side of her bed to sit in the chair and bringing me with him. “Mom hasn’t forgotten about you. How could she? You’re too special.”

“I know,” she laughs, her gaze shifting back up toward the TV. “I’m her favorite. She always tells me that you boys stink and have cooties, but I’m the best because I’m a princess.”

King just nods, a heaviness coming over him. “You sure are, Caitie. Always.”

Sensing the change in his tone, she whips her head back toward us and this time takes note of the way King pulls me into his lap with his hand securely wrapped around mine. She sucks in a sharp breath, her eyes bugging out as a wide smile stretches over her face. “YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH THE ELODIE RAVENWOOD.”

Ahh, fuck.

I laugh and start shaking my head and King leans back in the chair. “So what if I am?” he asks her. “Who’s going to believe you? She’s the leader of Dynasty and I’m just your stupid big brother.”

My mouth drops and I whip back around to King, my eyes wide as he refuses to look